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Exposure to drug fumes leave police officer fighting for his life

Sergeant Nader ''Ralph'' Hanna was administered the last rites as he lay critically ill on life support three years ago.

What had begun with him coughing up blood culminated in a complete shutdown of his lungs, an induced coma and a total dependence on machines to breathe.

Less than four months earlier, he and fellow policeman Senior Constable Andrew McGrath had been perfectly healthy.

Then came a directive in March 2009 to perform a ''drug audit'' in the Sydney Police Centre's drug exhibit centre.

In the overcrowded 4 x 5 metre room the men, along with colleague Detective Senior Constable Steven De La Croix, were confronted with shelves laden with drugs and other chemicals up to 15 years old.

Some had been used in prosecutions as far back as 1996. The court destruction orders were attached to them but there they had remained, festering in the unventilated room.

The toxic fumes hit the officers as they walked in unprotected, with temperatures of up to 40 degrees only increasing the conversion of liquids and powders to harmful vapours.

Three years on, neither can work, and they are suing the NSW Police Force for damages, claiming severe negligence on the part of their employer. In court documents seen by The Sun-Herald, the men allege they ''were not given any training to conduct a safe audit, there was no mention of any safety precautions, special equipment or what to do in case of an emergency or exposure to drugs''.

''[They] were not issued with masks, gloves or any protective equipment,'' alleges Hanna's statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court.

Hanna also alleges an ''intense strong chemical odour'' was present from the beginning of the drug audit but the concerns he raised to superiors fell on deaf ears.

At one stage, another officer came into the drug safe and told the men: ''You guys look drug f---ed.''

Hanna and McGrath both claim that on March 18, 2009, one particular instance of toxic exposure directly contributed to their dire medical conditions that remain debilitating to this day.

http://sl.farmonline.com.au/news/metro/national/general/toxic-drug-fumes-leave-officers-fighting-the-force/2553882.aspx

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