Pubdate: Thu, 17 Jun 2004
Source: Knoxville News-Sentinel (TN)
Copyright: 2004 The Knoxville News-Sentinel Co.
Contact:  http://www.knoxnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/226
Author: Frank Munger

DOE EYES METH CHEMICALS

ORNL, Y-12 Show No Signs Of Stolen Drug Ingredients But Told To Boost Security

OAK RIDGE - Federal inspectors did not find any evidence that chemicals of 
use in making methamphetamine had been stolen from Oak Ridge National 
Laboratory or the Y-12 nuclear weapons plant, according to a report 
released Wednesday.

However, the U.S. Department of Energy's inspector general did recommend 
some additional steps to increase awareness of the potential problem and 
help reduce the possibility of meth-making chemicals being diverted from 
the federal plants here.

The DOE audit team did the review at the request of the Tennessee Ninth 
Judicial Drug Task Force to help combat a growing problem with illegal 
production of methamphetamine.

Auditors looked at methods used at ORNL and Y-12 to purchase, receive and 
dispose of certain chemicals that can be used to produce the drug. While 
there are many "precursor" chemicals used to produce meth, the federal team 
focused on those that are difficult to get or "tedious to gather."

The list included potassium metal, anhydrous ammonia, pseudoephedrine, 
iodine, ether, lithium metal and red phosphorous.

"We included red phosphorous because the method commonly used to acquire it 
is to scrape it from the heads of matches, which is tedious and 
time-consuming; hence, bulk holdings of this chemical can be an attractive 
target for theft," the IG report said.

While the team auditors found that the Oak Ridge plant adhered to DOE 
policies for protecting hazardous materials, they also found a lack of 
awareness about the link between certain chemicals and possible drug-making.

During an inspection, the team found a container with 1.5 pounds of red 
phosphorous that was awaiting disposal. It was in a laboratory that was 
kept unlocked due to safety concerns, but the building was accessible to 
more than 1,000 lab employees.

"We explained to an ORNL official that red phosphorous could be a target 
for diversion and used in manufacturing methamphetamine," the report's 
authors said. "When we returned to the laboratory over two months later, we 
found that the red phosphorous remained unsecured."

In another case, a 40-liter container of anhydrous ammonia had been sitting 
on a loading dock for at least 12 years, the report said.

The government contractors in Oak Ridge agreed to put in place tighter 
controls on the chemicals.
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MAP posted-by: Beth