Pubdate: Mon, 05 Mar 2001 Source: Chattanooga Times & Free Press (TN) Copyright: 2001 Chattanooga Publishing Co. Contact: http://www.timesfreepress.com/index.html Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/992 Author: Dick Cook and Carolyne Park METHAMPHETAMINE MENACE The production of methamphetamine is an explosive problem -- both literally and figuratively -- in Southeast Tennessee and North Georgia, law enforcement officials said. "It's become a serious problem and it's increasing rapidly," said Agent Dave Shelton of the Drug Enforcement Administration office in Chattanooga. In Georgia, legislators want those convicted of manufacturing methamphetamines to help pay the high cost of meth lab cleanups. State Rep. Bobby Parham, D-Milledgeville, sponsored a bill that would fine those convicted of manufacturing meth up to $30,000. Federal officials spend an average of $30,000 cleaning up hazardous chemicals each time a lab is shut down, he said. But Chris Hill, commander of the Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force, said offenders would never be able to cover the cleanup costs. "It's a good idea, but I don't think it will ever work," he said. Methamphetamine, a powerful stimulant often called "poor man's cocaine," is known by a number of street names including crank and speed. Ingredients used to make meth can be bought legally at hardware and grocery stores. A "cooker" can turn a $100 investment in materials into about $1,000 worth of the illegal drug in a matter of hours, officials said. Officers with North Georgia's Lookout Mountain Drug Task Force -- which covers Dade, Walker, Catoosa and Chattooga counties -- said they have seen the number of meth-related cases double since last year. On average, agents are beginning a new investigation every day into the manufacture of the illegal drug, local drug enforcement officials said. According to the Chattanooga DEA office, 172 labs were seized in the task force's 17-county operating area of Tennessee last year. This year officers have seized 240. In the task force's Georgia area of operations, the number climbed from 51 last year to 81 this year. Agent Shelton said the meth problem surfaced in this area about five years ago. "It is generally a rural thing, but not anymore. As evidenced by the Mountain Creek Road bust, it's everywhere." On Feb. 21, three people were arrested when Chattanooga police officers found a meth lab in a unit at Signal View Apartments on Mountain Creek Road. William "Moby" Dick, 49, of Chattanooga and Bryan Ritchie, 22, and Krystal Layne, 30, both of Dunlap, Tenn., were charged with criminal attempt and conspiracy to manufacture meth and possession of paraphernalia. Detective Gene Hargis of the Marion County Sheriff's Department said children often are endangered when the drug is made. "In two out of five labs you have children present, or children living there," he said. On Feb. 17, 1-year-old Shelton Hicks was severely burned over more than 30 percent of his body when a meth lab exploded at 145 Nason St. in Catoosa County, authorities said. Mr. Hill said the incident has raised awareness of the problem in North Georgia. Labs have blown up in the past, but there have been only minor burns before this, he said. "Every lab that's out there has a potential of doing that. People don't realize that," he said. "It could blow up and burn the whole neighborhood down." The child's parents, Suzette Callaway, 27, and Christopher Hicks, 28, are both in custody charged with manufacturing meth. Authorities are searching for two other people, Lance and Connie Rockholt, said Catoosa County Detective Teresa Wengert. Shelton is at Shriners Hospital in Cincinnati. "He is listed in critical but stable condition," Detective Wengert said. The child has had skin grafts to his hands and arms, and pins placed in his fingers. "The injuries are still very life threatening," she said. The substances used to make meth, like lantern fuel, alcohol and certain fertilizers, are not dangerous by themselves. But they become volatile when mixed together, Agent Shelton said. "It's like the old paint in your basement that you're never going to use," Agent Shelton said. "You wouldn't go pour that out on the ground. You're supposed to dispose of it. Substances used to make meth are the same kind of thing. It's an environmental issue." Agent Shelton puts a lower price tag than Georgia officials on cleaning up small meth labs. "A lot depends on the location of the lab and how much hazardous materials are actually there," he said. "A good average is $3,000 to $4,000, but there may be a $10,000 cleanup in there." The DEA has contracts with companies around the country that specialize in cleaning up and disposing of hazardous materials, Agent Shelton said. For the last couple of years, the DEA office here has contracted with Environment Management Inc. out of Guthrie, Okla. EMI subcontracts with five companies in the area that remove the dangerous chemicals, Agent Shelton said. A spokesman for a local company involved in cleaning up meth labs for the DEA spoke with the Times Free Press about the process. His identity and the name of the company are concealed for security reasons. The company responds to about 18 meth lab sites a month, the spokesman said. The largest cleanup, in the Sequatchie Valley, involved 20 containers of various sizes and took about 20 hours, he said. Typically, a crew of three workers will go to the site of a meth lab to remove the substances. The workers wear chemical protective suits and have self-contained breathing apparatus available if needed. The cleanup crew never handles any "finished product," the spokesman said. "The DEA guys take the lab down," he said. "Occasionally, if the bad guys are in a hurry, we find stuff lying around on the ground." Crews received intensive training, completing a minimum of 40 hours of hazardous materials waste operations training and fulfilling Occupational Safety and Health Administration requirements, the spokesman said. "Remember, we are just one of five companies," the spokesman said. "This area is very aggressive in prosecuting people making meth."