After Fentanyl Spill At Police Station, GBI Changes Handling Procedures

DECATUR, GA -- The Georgia Bureau of Investigation has changed procedures in its Crime Lab after the super-potent opioid fentanyl spilled out of a cardboard box at a local police station, the agency said.

As an opioid crisis sweeps across much of Georgia, state and federal officials have been warning police departments about the dangers of handling fentanyl and its various combinations, which can cause severe health affects from the slightest exposure. (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Decatur Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The dangerous drug spilled out of the untaped corners and seams of a cardboard box at the Duluth Police Department, causing a hazmat situation.

Because of the spill, the GBI had put a temporary hold on the release of all drug evidence.

"The Crime Lab has modified lab procedures related to repackaging and return of drug evidence to ensure that this situation does not recur. These procedures include enhanced sealing and new containment protocols. Return of drug evidence has resumed," GBI spokeswoman Nelly Miles said in a Thursday news release.

The Marietta Police Department issued an advisory this week alerting the public of the increasing dangers associated with the dangerous new street drugs. The alert comes after several deaths in Georgia attributed to overdoses connected to the illicit use of street drugs sold under the guise of prescription drugs.

In a handful of the cases, Georgia agencies have identified the use of fentanyl, which is said to be 50 times more potent than heroin.

Read more: Don't Cut Opioid Epidemic Funding, Gwinnett Lawmaker Says

"Fentanyl alone is so potent that merely touching or inhaling tiny amounts, as small as a grain of salt, can cause a person to suffer an immediate drug overdose," Marietta police said in a news release Monday. As if fentanyl weren't enough, authorities said carfentanil -- at 10,000 times more potent than morphine -- is being seen on the streets today as well.

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Over a 48-hour period earlier this month, hospitals in several Georgia cities, including Centerville, Perry, Macon and Warner Robins, reported overdoses -- and fatalities related to street drugs taken under the pretense that they were prescription drugs.

Early reports indicate the culprit to be a street drug that the victims believed was Percocet.

What makes law enforcement's new message so urgent is that the risk of overdose now exists not only for those normally exposed to street drugs -- users, traffickers and addicts -- but for those not normally associated with drug culture.

"There is an increasing amount of fentanyl and carfentanil recently showing up across America and it is now causing concern that residue inadvertently left behind in places later accessed by the public may cause accidental exposures and potential overdoses of unsuspecting victims," the police said.

"Places like hotel rooms, rest rooms, vacant apartments, or rental vehicles containing Fentanyl residue creates a serious hazard for unsuspecting citizens or maintenance personnel who may accidentally touch or inhale it."

Read more: GBI Confirms Georgia's First 'Gray Death' Drug Fatality

Law enforcement is asking the public that if they encounter suspicious drugs, drug paraphernalia, or powder substances, do not touch or handle it but call 911.

Georgia has yet to have a case where someone not involved in the drug culture has been exposed to fentanyl. They want to keep it that way.

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