An Encounter With a Meth Lab May Be Closer Than You Think

A majority of Americans sit in their comfortable living rooms and offices and believe that they will never be in a 'situation' that would expose them to the dangers associated with methamphetamines. That's just stuff you see on the news, right? Not necessarily. As they say, being forewarned is being forearmed and you certainly need to be well armed to get through a run-in with meth unscathed.

Almost 12 million Americans have tried meth at one time during their life, according to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health Report Methamphetamine Use, Abuse, and Dependence: 2002, 2003, and 2004, released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Meth users and manufacturers include people from every lifestyle. Doctors, lawyers and dentists are no more exempt than factory workers or roofers.

Meth labs are encountered in neighborhoods from affluent to poor. Methamphetamine can be cooked virtually anywhere, and commercial buildings, homes, apartments, hotel rooms, trailers, barns, vans, and storage units are just a few of the structures used for labs. Although many are located in rural regions for concealment, meth labs can be found in urban and suburban areas.

The danger of fire and explosions is always immediate in meth lab operations and even after they're dismantled, meth labs leave a poisonous trail of chemical dust and vapors that can seep into neighboring spaces, including adjacent homes, apartments, and hotel rooms. Walls, floors, toys, furniture, ventilating systems, plumbing fixtures, septic systems, and surrounding soil can be contaminated and may require professional decontamination.

Amongst those at risk of exposure are real estate agents, landlords, property managers, potential tenants and homebuyers, garbage collectors, utility workers, plumbers, social service agents, and first responders. Children living in the neighborhood of a meth lab can be placed at risk as well. In fact, thousands of clandestine seizures every year involve children. Visitors or neighbors can be injured by the toxic fumes that vent from meth labs or from the poisonous "cooking" debris that's sometimes concealed outside or flushed into a septic system.

The dangers that go along with meth homes include exposure to cancer causing chemicals that can saturate walls, carpets and other building materials in addition to all contents. Lead and mercury are frequent by-products. Chemicals, such as solvents, may be disposed of in plumbing or just poured on the ground. If not removed properly these can cause various health problems. Respiratory problems, eye irritation, headaches, dizziness, and nausea are a few of the symptoms people may experience if they're exposed to contaminants from a former meth lab site.

Encounters with Meth Users, or "Tweekers", may not be a walk in the park either. Meth induces intense paranoia and symptoms similar to OCD, obsessive compulsive disorder. Meth users may even save their urine in bottles stashed away in living areas to recover the unmetabolized meth from the urine. Meth users sometimes become obsessive about objects. They might disassemble things like appliances, watches or computers. The objects can occasionally be found in a pile dismantled down to the smallest component.

Most people with OCD are pretty harmless except to themselves. According to police reports, the paranoid meth user can be very dangerous. They're frequently reported to have large, sometimes eccentric, weapon collections that may have large quantities of knives. Dangerous booby traps are often set up to protect the individuals meth stash.

So, how do you know when you're in the presence of a meth lab or potential meth users? Here are just a few signs:

Meth lab signs:

o Yellow stains on walls, drains, sinks and showers
o Blue discolorations on valves of propane tanks and fire extinguishers
o Smoke detectors that are removed or taped off
o Having physical symptoms while inside the house, such as burning in your eyes or throat, itching, a metallic taste in your mouth and breathing problems
o Peculiar strong odors that smell like materials from a garage, such as solvent and paint thinner, cat urine or ammonia o The use of security cameras and surveillance equipment

Signs that property owners should look for with their homes and tenants:

o Renters who behave strangely and are exceedingly thin, have open sores, bad teeth or enlarged pupils
o Extensive amounts of trash with items such as lithium batteries, torn-apart matchbooks, water bottles, cold medicine packs and antifreeze containers
o Stained coffee filters that are not brown
o Plexiglass or other dark-colored cookware
o Glass containers with two layered liquids and chemistry sets

Rapid Response BioDecon recommends that anyone with concerns about potential meth lab exposure ask local law enforcement to run a criminal check on the property and, if living in a rental unit or purchasing a home, request documentation that the property was decontaminated professionally.

Patricia Abney, is President and Founder of Rapid Response BioDecon, Inc., West Central Florida's Specialized death and trauma scene cleaning company. In addition to Biohazard Decontamination, Rapid Response offers Meth Lab Clean Up services to all Southeastern States including Florida, Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi and South Carolina. RAPID RESPONSE BIODECON is one of only three companies in the State of Florida that employ OSHA Certified Meth Lab Decontamination Specialists who are experts in handling site contamination caused by illegal drug production. Meth Lab Testing and Clean Up information can be found at http://www.FloridaMethLabCleanUp.com

The company's website can be accessed at: http://www.rapidresponsebiodecon.com and they are ready to assist 24 hours a day 7 days a week. Technician's can also be reached at: 1-866-98DECON.

Family Home Was A Former Meth Lab, They Didn't Know It

When Rhonda and Jason Holt started their family in the Winchester, Tenn., home they bought in 2004, they couldn't understand why they and their children were hit by mysterious illnesses.

Rhonda started getting migraines. Her husband had problems with his kidneys. And the three children they had, now ages 4, 2 and 1, had respiratory problems that required drugs and hospital visits, reported The New York Times.

Finally, in February, they found out that their house had previously been used as a drug lab, and was contaminated with methamphetamines, which had permeated the drywall, carpets, insulation and air ducts, leading to the family's health problems. And cleaning up the toxins would cost at least $30,000.

"We had no idea that we were starting a family in a meth house," Rhonda Holt told the Times. "We bought a house that eventually was going to sentence our family to death."

The paper reports that seizures of meth labs are on the rise across the country, and that federal data suggests there are thousands of contaminated residences in the U.S. The massive cleanup costs can destroy a family's finances.
About 20 states have laws requiring cleanup from meth contamination, but there are no national standards.
The Holts are now living with family nearby as they try to save money to have the decontamination work done on their home. Their health problems have largely subsided since they moved out, the Times said, but "We don't know what it's going to be in the future," said Rhonda Holt.

Motel Evacuated After Meth Lab Found

Les Smith

MEMPHIS, Tenn. - Omaha, Nebraska native, Anthony Collins and his family are experienced "road warriors."

So, on their first vacation trip to Memphis to attend the famed World Championship Bar-Be-Que Cooking Contest, Collins & Company were hoping to add to their collection of travel memories.

Collins explains, "Every time we go somewhere, we always got a story to tell and so this will be part of our story to tell when we get back to Omaha."

While they've enjoyed the sights in Memphis, so far, the Collins' scrapbook will now include memories of a far stranger moment captured in pictures. Hey, remember the time we found ourselves rousted from our motel rooms by Memphis firefighters?
Whoo....hoooooooo!

Collins remembers, "I thought it actually was my friend telling met to get up, 'cause we had a late night. But, pounding on the door was the fire department to tell everybody we had to evacuate. We was asking questions. Why? They said we don't know. You just got to evacuate."

However, it didn't take long for two fire-fighting companies, called to the Sleep Inn in Raleigh by an alarm that went off, to figure out why none of the 40 to 45 guests would be sleeping-in late on Friday morning.

MFD veteran Lt. Robert Quarrells says when the firefighters arrived they found, "Went to the third floor, noticed a slight cloud, and received information from the people here in the motel that they felt someone was in one of the rooms conducting drug activities."

Quarrells' confirmed, "It's a meth lab. I think they call it "shake and bake" now. They don't have to use all the hard to get stuff anymore. They can just do it with simple chemicals. But, what that does is make it a lot more dangerous."

Despite finding, what was described by firefighters and HAZMAT crews as two bottles of abandon "product" found outside a room window and a third inside the unidentified room, none of the bewildered guests were harmed or complained of sickness.

As for the little "ole" Meth-makers themselves?

So, the guys who did this have already checked out? Define "checked out?" They checked out on foot! (ha, ha, ha,)

But, once he was allowed to return to his motel room, Anthony Collins, was still ready to give the Bluff City an entertainment whirl....and its crime problems the benefit of the doubt.

Collins concluded, "We think Memphis is a great place. This certainly won't stop us from coming back or saying something...any bad things against Memphis.

Official Statement from MPD:
The Memphis Police Departments Organized Crime Unit was called to the Sleep Inn Hotel at 2855 Austin Peay Highway this morning shortly after 9:00 AM.

The Memphis Fire Department had responded to a smoke detection alarm at the hotel and was in the process of evacuating the top three floors when they noticed smoke fumes coming from one of the rooms. The guest of the room had left but fire department personnel noticed several soda bottles had been tossed out the window of the room. The bottles were filled with unknown chemicals. The scene was secured awaiting the arrival of the Memphis Police Department Organized Crime Unit.

The Organized Crime Unit investigators located several items used in the manufacturing process of crystal methamphetamines. These items were located both inside and outside the room and on the hotel grounds. The meth lab was dismantled and the United States Drug Enforcement Agency was notified. A cleanup crew was dispatched to the hotel.

A witness advised the fire alarm sounded and she went to the third floor to determine the cause. The witness observed two individuals, in a room, attempting to disconnect the smoke detector. Both these individuals fled the scene prior to the arrival of police. This investigation remains active.