Dangers Of A Meth Lab

As we said previously, another distinguishing quality of meth is that you don’t need to smoke, snort or inject it yourself to be affected by it. Close contact with someone whose clothes have soaked up fumes from its caustic ingredients is enough to make you sick and this now becomes a concern for anyone who has inadvertent contact with anyone, even children, who are living in meth labs.

One of the first things that's done when children are removed from a meth lab is that their clothes are disposed of, and they're put into jump suits to protect against hazardous materials. In order to psychologically "soften" this experience for these tragic little victims, it's become popular to tell them they're going to put on a "bunny suit."

When we began monitoring the methamphetamine issue several years ago, from all the data we gathered, we found that generally, one or two people in a mom & pop level meth lab were actually doing the cooking, and usually it was "mom" and/or "pop." However, as the small meth lab "industry" matured, we're seeing more and more accounts of the whole family being involved - from gathering the ingredients, to delivery of the finished product. Some of these operations become specialized as "finishing" shops, that do nothing but refine manufactured raw methamphetamine, changing it from a powdery consistency into crystal meth, or "ice." In essence, the small, amateur labs are in some cases, taking on a little the sophistication of medium and super meth labs.

Right from the beginning, kids have been used as "look-outs," but meth producers have now realized that using someone under eighteen years old to deliver the finished meth also has its benefits. That's because in many regions, someone under eighteen will be treated more leniently by the Courts if they're caught. In response, many jurisdictions are adding "aggravating factors" to their felony laws regarding meth, such as using someone under eighteen intentionally to avoid harsher penalties.

As stated, explosions and fires are common in meth labs and the pictures are so horrific of what happens when a human being is near such an explosion that we have chosen not to show them on our site. In certain cases, plastic has had to be chiseled off the skin of meth cooks, or even worse, removed from kids and other innocents who just happened to live there at the time of the explosion. One of the major reasons why so many meth labs catch fire or explode is because only about 10% of labs use laboratory-quality glassware. Add to that the fact that the meth cook is either higher than a kite, "tweaking", or half asleep, and you get the picture.

Burns from meth labs exploding, or from chemicals spilling got so frequent that in and around 2006, some burn units in hospitals were full to capacity with meth-related burn victims. Regrettably, the victims are often children, whose only crime was having the misfortune of living in a make-shift meth lab.

In one horrific case in California, children burned to death in a trailer fire that started when the mother was cooking methamphetamine in the kitchen. But here's what really illustrates how meth corrupts the hearts and minds of some that use it - the parents would not allow neighbors to rescue the children for fear that the laboratory might be discovered. And even now, in 2008, the percentage of seized labs with kids in them is high because this is after all, usually an activity that's conducted in ones home.

Obviously, meth labs create an immediate danger to anyone in the lab, or in close proximity to it. But it doesn't end there. Even children in adjacent apartments to a meth lab, or in duplexes or semi-detached homes that share a wall are at risk from toxic fumes as well as explosions, should they occur. Those who live in former lab properties that have not been adequately and professionally cleaned are also at risk and should also receive a full examination because the toxicity from a meth lab can endure long after the lab has been busted or has moved.

In Idaho, and increasingly, other jurisdictions, real estate agents are now required by law to reveal if a particular home they are selling has ever been used as a meth lab. Many landlords are now terrified of labs popping up in their rental units because not only are cleanup costs enormous, there's also legal liability if a new tenant becomes sick from traces of meth not properly cleaned up. Compensation has already been awarded in some cases, so the precedence is more or less set. Naturally, insurance companies want nothing to do with underwriting that risk.

There have been cases documented where clean-up crews have gone into labs, cleaned them as per the protocols established, gone back in and taken readings, and the toxicity within the residence is still off the charts. In a case involving a mom and pop meth lab in upstate Illinois, the cleanup crew had to go back in four times until they could get toxicity readings back to normal. (Something to ponder if you stay in a lot of medium priced hotel rooms.)

In another case in California, a cache of phosphorus (used for making meth) was buried in a back yard, undiscovered. Ten years later, a new owner, who didn't know the property's history, decided to put in a new patio and began leveling out the ground with a pick and shovel. The next thing you know, 100 square feet of the ground lit up on fire.

So it's fair to say that meth labs don't just pose a cleanup problem today - it could be a problem for years to come and it's reminiscent of what certain areas of the world have experienced with buried land mines, and toxic waste from chemical plants.

When you research the figures on what it costs to clean up a meth lab, the first thing that becomes obvious is that standards and protocols are still under development. Some regions and jurisdictions both within the U.S. and Canada are way ahead on this, simply because meth has been a problem for them longer. We've seen quotes for meth lab cleanup as low as $ 2,000.00 (U.S.) and as high as $ 100,000.00 (U.S.) It depends on a great many factors, but the bottom-line is that it's an expensive proposition.

Secondly, who pays for it? Some regions are trying to get laws to make the offender liable for cleanup costs, while others are trying to get insurance companies to have it covered. One thing is fairly certain, in many, many cases, due to forfeiture of the property or whatever, the taxpayer is going to pay - big time.

The House of Representatives in the U.S. overwhelmingly passed a bill that sets national standards to guide states and local authorities in cleaning up methamphetamine lab sites. The bill requires the Environmental Protection Agency, along with the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to establish guidelines for decontamination of meth labs. While the guidelines are voluntary, it's certainly a step in the right direction.

On a lighter and extremely positive note, Jennifer Wu, a student at the Arkansas School for Mathematics, Sciences and the Arts has developed a new non-invasive technique for determining the toxicity of an environment. Until now, determining whether a former meth environment was hazardous meant pulling out walls, etc. Jennifer has developed a chemical formula that can be brushed on a wall. If it turns a certain color, you've got problems. The color result will show if there's any residue at all, and provides a very basic range of toxicity. If the test was positive, then additional clean-up measures would be initiated. While this may not solve the problem entirely, it's a terrific achievement and a solid start toward making some real progress in this area.

On the next page in this section, we'll examine the impact meth making has on the environment, as well as some of the signs that could be possible indicators of a meth making operation. If you need the services of a meth lab testing and cleanup company, you'll want to visit our LINKS section, where we have a link to a company the specializes in those services and offers coverage throughout most of the U.S. and Canada.