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Environmental Issues Of Methamphetamine - Toxic Waste

So what comes out of a meth lab besides methamphetamine and misery?  Well how about toxic waste?  For every pound of meth produced, it's estimated that between four and six pounds of toxic waste are produced.  And as you might imagine, the people making the meth aren't likely to safely double-bag and mark everything with a nice note for the people collecting garbage.  They get rid of it by any means necessary and fast.

"Riding The White Buffalo"

Anhydrous Ammonia And Making Meth

Anhydrous ammonia is used in one popular method of methamphetamine production and this is usually stolen from agricultural operations or stockyards.  Anhydrous ammonia can cause severe burns, respiratory failure and death.  In addition, many "meth cooks" use empty propane tanks to store the pressurized anhydrous ammonia.  This is really dangerous as we'll explain. (Riding The White Buffalo is the term used in the meth community for someone who is straddling a large agricultural ammonia cylinder siphoning it out.)  (Also REALLY dangerous.

"Anhydrous" ammonia means ammonia "without water." Anhydrous ammonia is a "hydroscopic" compound, which means that it seeks out water from the nearest source, including the human body. As a result, the eyes, lungs, and skin are at greatest risk because of their high moisture content.

Caustic burns result when anhydrous ammonia dissolves into body tissue. Most deaths from anhydrous ammonia are caused by severe damage to the throat and lungs. When large amounts are inhaled, the throat swells shut and the victim suffocates. Exposure to vapors or liquids can also cause blindness.

The Hazard Of Propane Tanks Holding Ammonia

This is a significant hazard because the fittings on propane tanks are not designed or equipped to be used with anhydrous ammonia and are prone to failure under pressure.  Anhydrous ammonia is corrosive to copper and galvanized fittings. Tank fittings in contact with anhydrous ammonia corrode and eventually fail spraying vapor or liquid into the environment.

Corroded fittings may appear bluish in color.  If for any reason you were to see a propane tank with a reaction on the fitting like the one pictured, this is a strong indication that because the tank is housing something other than what it should be and the fittings are failing and there's a possibility of explosion if the tank is disturbed. It is better to be "safe than sorry" and you should call the proper authorities immediately.

However...

Quite frequently we post something on our site, and before reading the entire piece, someone reads the first few lines and immediately begins sending emails to all their friends with the incomplete, and wrong information.  So before anyone vows to never barbeque again because of the danger of propane tanks, let's keep this in perspective. 

Most of the retailers that we've talked to from across the U.S. and Canada report that there are a very low amount of propane tanks they encounter that they suspect have been used to hold anhydrous ammonia.  In fact Blue Rhino, a retailer that exchanges tanks all across the U.S. has the following statement right on their website:

"Our staff of propane professionals is trained on how to identify a propane tank that may have been used in methamphetamine production. We encounter a very, very low amount of tanks used in meth production -- just a handful out of millions each year. More than likely, anyone engaged in an illegal activity like that will be reluctant to bring their tanks to an exchange center."

And what they're saying makes perfect sense.  People involved with methamphetamine on any level are extremely paranoid, particularly meth "cooks."  So while it's an issue, it's certainly not of epidemic proportions.  And to be honest with you, anytime you're using a new propane tank, you should always inspect it throughly and do a "soapy water" test after you've hooked it up.  Now let's look at a solution. 

Some Solutions For The

Methamphetamine Anhydrous Ammonia Issue

In October of 2006, Iowa State University researchers announced their findings that calcium nitrate works as an effective "inhibitor" for using anhydrous ammonia in the production of methamphetamine.  When the calcium nitrate is added in prescribed amounts to anhydrous ammonia nurse tanks, the "yield" of pseudoephedrine that can be extracted for conversion to meth drops from 42% to 2%, which ostensibly makes the anhydrous ammonia useless to the meth cook.

This is a rather major development, since the anhydrous ammonia meth-making method is the "method of choice" in agricultural states where anhydrous is commonly used as a fertilizer.   Specifically in Iowa during 2006, 93% of the state's 259 meth labs that were discovered by law enforcement officers were using the anhydrous ammonia method.  However, some meth cooks have started making their ammonia using fertilizer, so this is going to be another problem that has to be addressed.

The process of making meth produces additional deadly chemicals, such as phosphine gas, which is so poisonous that it can kill a person before they can even smell it.  The gases are typically vented through makeshift ducts, or fans, or in some "labs" not at all. Many meth labs that have been busted have been found stained from the resulting vapors, producing contamination levels in carpets, walls, etc. that can last for years. 

From The Meth Lab To Your Environment

Typically, the waste from making methamphetamine is flushed down the toilet or drains, dumped at roadsides, thrown in trash cans at public parks, or directly into ponds, lakes, streams and rivers and farmlands. One group of meth cooks came up with the brilliant idea of using ice fishing huts to dump waste chemicals directly into the lake after each of the "cook cycles" were completed.

And this isn't just garbage we're talking about here.  These are legitimate toxic wastes that are so powerful, the people who bust these labs wear hazardous waste gear when they go in, and are decontaminated as they leave.  We're talking about things like highly corrosive liquids, acids, heavy metals, solvents and other extremely harmful materials that are not easily absorbed into the environment.

In states like Ohio, refuse and waste from meth labs is so prevalent along toll roads and highways, it's adding a new element of danger for agencies responsible for picking up litter.  Mark Schweter, leader of Boy Scout Troop 32 in Akron, worries about what his Scouts will find when picking up trash along city streets when they volunteer once a year.  "These kinds of chemicals are alarming," he said. "We don't want to be a society that walks around with Latex gloves on to do yard work."

Potentially, Anyone Can Be Affected

So you don't even need to be living near a meth lab to be impacted by it.  The people running a meth lab are going to get rid of waste from their labs however and wherever they have to.  As long as you're drinking water, drive on our roads and highways, or use public parks, on some level, your environment is potentially as susceptible to contamination from a meth lab as someone living next door to a lab.  There's already evidence that even sewer maintenance workers are at risk from meth labs dumping their waste iron sulfide and hydrochloric acid into sewers.  As we said at the outset, this is really the first drug in history with a social impact that excludes no one.

On the next and final page of this section, we're going to discuss the much talked about, "signs of a meth lab."  This is another area of the meth issue where misinformation, or in this case, too little information is potentially harmful

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