Mobile lab funds approved

Rebecca Malone and Angela Soo

Thursday, July 19, 2001 | 11:24 a.m.

The North Las Vegas Police Department was given money to buy a mobile lab by the North Las Vegas City Council on Wednesday.

The council awarded $170,431 to Super Vac Manufacturing Co. for the truck that would allow police to identify and clean up illegal drug labs. It will take about a year to deliver the truck, police said.

The police department has been paying environmental technician groups and the Drug Enforcement Administration $3,000 for each lab raid, Lt. Victor Dunn of the narcotics division said.

"Trucks ensure the safety of officers during raids," Police Capt. Ed Frinize said. "Producing meth causes teeth to fall out and adverse skin reactions. So it is important that officers assume safety precautions."

The truck will have all of the safety equipment needed to clean up a lab that has been raided, Frinize said. The dirtiest labs are meth labs, he said, and for police to enter one they must be in protective suits and wear respirators.

"Sometimes labs are in the deserts, where there is no water to wash down people who come into contact with hazardous materials," Frinize said. "The truck carries all of the equipment needed for such situations. Trucks come equipped with a safety shower, protective suits, breathing apparatus tanks and containers for evidence."