SEIZED GROW OPS CAN POSE A HEALTH CONCERN

When it comes to marijuana grow operations, the job of police
officers is to secure the homes, which are often booby-trapped, and
sift through and collect evidence.

Health inspectors who check the home after police finish are also
looking for evidence and the culprit they stalk certainly sounds
guilty -- stachybotrys, a type of black mould.

Andrea Hohne, a health inspector, and Brian Dalshaug, program
director, outlined the procedures they use to inspect a grow op for
Chinook Health board of directors Tuesday.

Hohne showed pictures taken from four grow-op homes they inspected
earlier this year. The exterior of one home looked just like
hundreds of others in any residential area. Driving by, one wouldn't
likely notice.

Up close, the story changes. Exterior shutters usually cover windows
so no one can see inside. Only one door will be used and the rest
boarded up, creating a fire hazard from a health inspector's point
of view. Extra security measures are often evident.

"Once inside, you could see a lot of the accesses to the attic were
secured or nailed up," Hohne said.

Sealing off the house can create a cocoon-like effect and cause high
levels of condensation which contribute to mould growth.

In one home, heavy plastic sheets were taped together to form tents
over marijuana plants. Large, high-intensity lamps dangled down over
the plants which are grown on light-dark cycles of 12 hours.

An assortment of wiring and timers was found in one home, both to
bypass the electrical meter and to automatically turn on lights.
Bathrooms were taken over as rooms to house and mix chemicals.

"A lot of it was fertilizer but there were some unlabelled
chemicals, too," Hohne said.

Propane tanks were used for extra heat and carbon monoxide was blown
back into the house to help the plants grow. Vents had been sealed
off to prevent fumes from entering the rest of the house.

Sometimes no one resides at the house but someone may drop by to
make sure everything is working. Other times, evidence of children
living in the home has been found.

Inspectors deem such homes unfit for human habitation and the land
titles office is informed of the health hazard.

"The house tends to be full of mould," Dalshaug said. "If you buy
the house, it has to be remediated before the unfit notice is removed."

The health hazard notice stays in place until a professional firm
has assessed the mould in the home.

Stachybotrys has the potential to cause respiratory problems but
more sophisticated operations usually show less mould.

The housing inspection program is complaint-driven, Dalshaug said. A
tenant or neighbour may initially complain and health inspectors
will follow up with the owner or landlord. Under the Public Health
Act, health inspectors have the authority to get a court order
if an owner or landlord is unco-operative.