Rick Dukatz, a former Utah narcotics officer, died on Thursday after battling pancreatic cancer; cancer that he attributed to his exposure to meth lab chemicals. He was diagnosed with the deadly disease in October. Sadly, Dukatz leaves behind a wife, four sons, a daughter and a grandson.
Dukatz served 10 years as a member of the Murray police department SWAT team and 3 years working with the DEA. Over the course of those years, he responded to several meth lab incidents; incidents that he felt caused him to contract pancreatic cancer. The Murray police department can’t confirm that his allegations were true, however they do think that Dukatz should be included in the state’s meth lab health study.
One hundred police officers, both current and former, have come down with illnesses that may be tied to their exposure to meth labs. The death of Rick Dukatz adds one more to the list of officers who have lost their lives as a result of mysterious illnesses. In 2005, Jose Argueta died from esophageal cancer. Salt Lake County sheriff’s deputy Jade Pusey also died in 2005 from a rare form of cancer. In 2005, officers filed a lawsuit alleging that their illnesses were caused by their exposure to hazardous meth lab chemicals. Susan Dunn, attorney for the officers, said that the officers, some in their 30s, have contracted serious health problems related to their gall bladders and several kinds of cancer, including kidney and esophogeal cancers.
In years past, police officers, drug enforcement agents, emts, firefighters and others involved with busting and cleaning up meth labs, entered active meth labs homes without any concern about their health. Running in to an active meth lab without respiratory gear and head-to-toe hazmat suits was a common practice. An officer in Scioto County, said all that he used to put on before entering a meth lab was some rubber gloves. Back then, officers thought that as long as the meth lab smell wasn’t too bad, they didn’t feel they were any danger. Officers downplayed the warnings about the chemicals then. They don’t any more, now that they see what’s happening to their fellow officers.
Today, they’re covered from head-to-foot with hazmat gear and the only air they take in to their lungs comes from the oxygen tank on their backs. Unfortunately, that doesn’t help those who worked “in the days” when that wasn’t standard practice. Veteran officers now hope and pray that they don’t succumb to the kinds of illnesses that they see happening to their comrades.
References:
Dujanovic,Debbie, “Police officers file suit over meth lab exposure”, 6/27/05, http://www.ksl.com/index.php?nid=309&sid=77026, accessed 12/19/08
Reavy, Pat, “Murray Narcotics Detective dies of Cancer”, 12/18/08, accessed 12/19/08, http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,705271522,00.html
“Meth lab cleanups, toxic hazards for law enforcement”, 06/10/2006, http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=news/local&id=4256680
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