As the opioid epidemic continues to sweep the country, more emergency and law enforcement agencies are taking precautionary steps to avoid harm.
The Lebanon Police Department changed its protocol when responding to a drug call after it learned an officer could have been exposed to a powerful and lethal opioid.
A spokesperson said a powdery substance found after an arrest was submitted to the Tennessee Bureau Investigation. It came back positive for carfentanil, a drug more potent than fentanyl.
"About the size of two grains of salt can be of lethal proportions for a human being," Corporal PJ Hardy said. "That was the first time we have ever seen that in these areas and it's highly dangerous."
Cpl. Hardy told NewsChannel 5 the department immediately added more equipment including gloves and masks.
"We have changed the way we collect our evidence. Pretty much now everything gets a double and triple bag so there isn't a possibility of leakage or contamination," Cpl. Hardy added.
Touching or breathing the dangerous opioid can cause serious harm to EMS personnel, police officers and firefighters when responding to a scene.
In Ohio, a patrolman overdosed when touching a residue of fentanyl after a traffic stop.
The effects can include respiratory problems. More agencies have the medicine Narcan (Naloxone) available to treat people undergoing an overdose and help protect responders.
The drug counteracts the effects of opioids and could immediately make a difference in seconds.
The Lebanon Fire Department fully equipped itself with Narcan as of last week.
"It's a matter of time before we give it," EMS Coordinator Joe Simms told NewsChannel 5. "We're seeing more and more calls everyday and I think if there's not something that can be done it will continually get worse."
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, which included fentanyl, increased by 72% from 2014 to 2015.
About 9,500 people died from overdoses in 2015.
In Tennessee, more than 1,400 people died from drug overdoses in 2015 alone, according to the Department of Health.
The problem is growing at such an exponential rate the state issued a public health advisory on fentanyl last month.
Despite the increase amount of calls related to opioids, the dangers of the job aren't enough to keep police from keeping them off the streets.
"One is more than will stomach and more than will stand here in our community," Hardy said.
