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WEBVTT KETV NEWSWATCH 7'S KRISTYNAENGDAHL IS LIVE.KRISTYNA: IT'S CALLED SYNTHETICFENTANYL, AND LOCAL AUTHORITIESSAY 2017 HAS BROUGHT AN ALARMINGSPIKE, SO MUCH SO, A STATE-WIDETASK FORCE AIMS TO TACKLE WHAT'SBEING CALLED AN EPIDEMIC.>> THAT CHANGES THE STRUCTURE,THAT'S A DIFFERENT CHEMICAL.KRISTYNA: IN HER LAB, FORENSICSCIENTIST CHRISTINE GABIGENCOUNTERS A LOT, BUT NOTHINGSCARES HER QUITE LIKE THIS.>> I TOUCH IT OR GET IT ON MYSLEEVE, AND I WIPE MY FACE, ITCOULD KILL ME.KRISTYNA: FENTANYL ITSELF IS ANOPIOID WITH MEDICAL USE, ABOUT50 TIMES MORE POTENT THANMORPHINE, BUT THIS SYNTHETICFENTANYL BRINGS A WHOLE NEWCAUSE FOR CONCERN.>> THAT CHANGES IT TO SOMETHINGCALLED CARFENTANIL, WHICH HASBEEN RESPONSIBLE FOR DEATHSACROSS THE COUNTRY.KRISTYNA: YOU CAN BUY IT ONLINEFROM CHEMISTS IN CHINA, CHANGINGTHE FORMULA TO STAY AHEAD OF THELAW.>> THESE ARE SUBSTANCES THAT AREKILLING PEOPLE, AND THEY'RELEGAL TO HAVE IN NEBRASKA.KRISTYNA: AND WHEN IT'S SHIPPEDIN, IT PRESENTS EXPOSUREPOSSIBILITIES TO EVERYONE'SMAIL.GABIG SAYS THE SUBSTANCE JUSTTOUCHING YOUR SKIN CAN BEDEADLY.>> IT'S ABSORBED THROUGH THESKIN, THEN YOU'RE EXPOSED.KRISTYNA: GABIG SAYS FENTANYLABUSE HAS BECOME AN EPIDEMIC INTHE PAST TWO YEARS, BUT JUST IN2017, THERE'S AN EXTENSIVE LIST.>OF SYNTHETIC VARIATIONSAPPEARING ALL OVER THE METRO,DOUGLAS COUNTY, OPD, EVEN INBELLEVUE.>> I THINK WE'VE SEEN 809DERIVATIVES OF FENTANYL HERE INTHE LAB.KRISTYNA: AND IT LOOKS LIKE ANYOTHER POWDER, ONLY IDENTIFIABLEUNDER A MICROSCOPE.>> WE'VE HAD TO IMPLEMENT ALLSORTS OF SAFETY PROTOCOLS HEREIN OUR LAB.KRISTYNA: SO NOW, GABIG IS PARTOF A STATE-WIDE TASK FORCE WITHATTORNEY GENERAL ANDSTATE-PATROL TO STOP THISLABORATORY-BORN KILLER, BEFOREIT SPREADS.>> WE'RE COMPOSING LEGISLATIONTHAT WOULD LET US SEIZE THESESUBSTANCES AND GET THEM OFF THESTREET.KRISTYNA: THIS HAS BECOME SUCH ACONCERN, THE SHERIFF'S OFFICELAB AND CRUISERS SOON WILL BEEQUIPPED WITH NALOXONE KITS,

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A drug over 100,000 times more potent than morphine is showing up in local law enforcement laboratories.It has the same chemical makeup as an elephant tranquilizer and can be deadly to the touch. It's legal in Nebraska, thanks to quick-moving chemists overseas.Synthetic fentanyl brought an alarming spike in 2017, local authorities said. So much so, a statewide task force aims to tackle what's being called an epidemic.In her lab, forensic scientist Christine Gabig encounters a lot, but nothing has scared her quite like this."I touch it or get it on my sleeve, and I wipe my face -- it could kill me," Gabig said.Fentanyl is an opioid with medical use. But synthetic fentanyl brings a whole new cause for concern."That changes it to something called carfentanil, which has been responsible for deaths across the country," Gabig said.It can be bought online from chemists in China, who change the formula to stay ahead of the law."These are substances that are killing people and they're legal to have in Nebraska," Gabig said.When it's shipped into the country, it presents exposure possibilities to everyone's mail. "Just a little bit on your skin, it's absorbed through the skin -- then you're exposed," she said.Gabig said fentanyl abuse has become an epidemic in the past two years. In 2017, there's an extensive list of synthetic variations appearing all over the metro."I think we've seen eight or nine derivatives of fentanyl here in the lab," Gabig said.It looks like any other powder, only identifiable under a microscope."We've had to implement, as you can imagine, all sorts of safety protocols here in our lab," Gabig said.Gabig is part of a statewide task force with attorney general and State Patrol to stop the laboratory-born killer before it spreads."We're composing legislation that would let us seize these substances and get them off the street," Gabig said.