Pubdate: Thu, 06 Nov 2003
Source: Commercial Appeal (TN)
Copyright: 2003 The Commercial Appeal
Contact:  http://www.gomemphis.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/95
Author: Bill Poovey, Associated Press

CLEANUP OF METH LABS COSTING TAXPAYERS MILLIONS, DEA SAYS

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. - Taxpayers have a big stake in the growing popularity 
of methamphetamine: the cost of cleaning up after people who get caught 
making the synthetic stimulant, usually in rural areas.

While city dwellers are typically far removed from the human cost - 
children exposed to the toxic vapors of household chemicals and the hazard 
of fires and explosions while they are cooking - the national average cost 
of cleaning up each lab is $3,280.

In Tennessee alone, Drug Enforcement Agency records show that 525 labs were 
seized in the first six months of fiscal 2003, 724 the previous year, 630 
in fiscal 2001 and 236 in fiscal 2000.

Using the national average, those cleanups - by hired crews wearing 
hazardous materials protection suits - cost the government $6.9 million. 
DEA spokesman Will Glaspy said Congress gave the agency $20 million last 
year for state and local agencies to clean up methamphetamine labs that are 
found in home kitchens, backyard sheds and even motel rooms.

"Not only do you have the problem of the drug use and drug addiction but 
the problem of the clandestine lab itself," Glaspy said. "You've got issues 
with kids being in labs . . . people pouring this stuff out. You've got 
contamination issues that you don't necessarily have with drugs imported 
into the country."

DEA special agent David Shelton said Wednesday at a meeting of the 
Southeast Tennessee Council on Children and Youth that "our tax dollars" 
are footing the cost to clean up the labs. He said owners of property where 
labs are discovered are notified "there may be residual chemicals" that are 
their responsibility.

Shelton said he was unsure if follow-up tests are conducted after cleanups 
of contaminated property to detect potentially life-threatening residues, 
such as phosphine.

He said chemicals used to make methamphetamine - including red phosphorous 
from matchbook striking plates, ephedrine from cold tablets and fuel line 
antifreeze - can be purchased in stores and by mail order. He said some 
retailers have started notifying law enforcement agencies about suspicious 
purchases of such items.

Asst. U.S. Atty. Paul Laymon described the drug-making in southeastern 
Tennessee, northwestern Georgia and northeastern Alabama as "primarily a 
Caucasian phenomenon." He said there are also "large, organized Mexican and 
Cuban drug gangs" transporting large quantities of methamphetamine to the 
region.

He told the dozens of social services, child protection, courts, health and 
law enforcement agency employees that some users say the drug initially is 
an aphrodisiac, reduces appetite and boosts energy. He said some users say 
it keeps them awake for up to two weeks at a time. Users quickly become 
addicted and become paranoid and develop sores.

Odorous vapors from cooking - sometimes on kitchen stoves - the hazardous 
chemicals cause respiratory problems, headaches, nausea, rashes and sores. 
Exposure can cause loss of consciousness and even death, and the labs 
sometimes explode and burn.

Long-term meth use can create paranoia and hallucinations.

State records show Tennessee child protective services took custody of more 
than 600 children from parents involved with methamphetamine since the 
start of 2002, also mostly in rural communities.

Tennessee's first statewide methamphetamine conference is scheduled for 
Dec. 1-3 in Nashville.

Glaspy said an eastward migration of methamphetamine is continuing since it 
first turned up decades ago in California. He said a DEA agent was recently 
shot in Philadelphia in a case involving the drug.

"We're hoping that it doesn't" become a problem in major cities, he said. 
"We are monitoring it closely
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman