Legal Marijuana Grow and Extraction Facilities in Puerto Rico and Unique Occupational Exposure Risks

The growing cannabis industry in Puerto Rico was recently featured in an article published by NBC News. It has been over 4 years since Governor Alejandro Garcia Padilla signed an executive order permitting the use of medical cannabis. Two years later, it was voted into law by the legislature. That year, medical marijuana dispensaries began opening their doors across the islands and today, some 40 dispensaries serve over 77,000 patients.
 
As the industry continues to expand rapidly and employ a growing number of workers to grow, harvest, process and extract components from marijuana plants, there are unique health and safety concerns that need to be addressed. Legal marijuana grow operations (MGOs) and extraction facilities are typically housed in indoor facilities. These greenhouses and buildings, with warm and humid conditions to optimize plant growth, can all too often support the growth of mold. Inhalation exposure to elevated levels of mold can cause allergies, act as a respiratory irritant and trigger an asthma attack in some people with the condition. Some types of mold can even cause opportunistic infections in people with a weakened or suppressed immune system. Exposure to other potential allergens, dust, particulate matter (PM), fertilizers and pesticides associated with these operations also create additional concerns.
 
“There are a number of environmental challenges and health risks that can come into play at a legal marijuana grow operation, extraction facility and even in a dispensary,” said Harry Pena, President of Zimmetry Environmental. “Ventilation, humidity, particulate matter, carbon dioxide atmospheric injections, pesticides, fertilizers and the use of solvents during extraction procedures can all create environmental, health and safety issues, not to mention cause damage to buildings. At Zimmetry Environmental, our team of local industrial hygiene and building science professionals help protect workers and keep companies in regulatory compliance. Zimmetry offers testing, monitoring and consulting services to identify and mitigate these and other potential exposure hazards workers may encounter in the legal marijuana industry.”
 
Zimmetry has also sponsored an educational video about MGOs and potential occupational exposure risks that can be seen at: https://youtu.be/Yu2fwz298C8
 
To learn more about this or other occupational, indoor air quality (IAQ), building science, environmental, or compliance testing and consulting services, please visit www.zimmetry.com, call (787) 995.0005 or email info@zimmetry.com .
 
About Zimmetry Environmental
Since 2002, Zimmetry Environmental has been providing environmental consulting services to building owners and managers, architects, engineers, EHS professionals, and Fortune 500 companies. The company is based in Puerto Rico and provides services across the Caribbean and Central America. The professionals at Zimmetry offer environmental compliance, indoor air quality, asbestos, lead-based paint, Phase I ESAs, and general environmental consulting services.
 

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Paul Cochrane

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