Pubdate: Sun, 11 Sep 2005
Source: Salisbury Post (NC)
Copyright: 2005 Post Publishing Co.
Contact:  http://www.salisburypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/380
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

LABS' DANGERS CAN LINGER

The spread of illegal methamphetamine labs has been well-documented, but 
their poisonous residual effects are just now coming to light for the 
general public. State rules went into effect in April requiring extensive 
cleanup of these sites once authorities shut them down. Landlords and 
tenants need to be aware of the liabilities and dangers that trail this 
illegal trade.

Meth has been around for decades, but it's just in the last five to 10 
years that homemade meth has become an industry unto itself. Individuals 
use ephedrine-containing cold medicines and other household products to 
make a highly addictive stimulant popular enough to acquire several street 
names -- ice, crank, speed, stovetop and so on.

The drug's longterm effects on users are awful, but there's another public 
health concern. Exposure to residual meth -- what might be found in the 
couch, drapes and carpet of a meth-making site -- may lead to breathing 
problems, burns, skin irritations and more. Some studies indicate such 
exposure could eventually lead to cancer, organ damage, birth defects and 
reproductive problems.

Authorities have been busting these home-based labs here for five years, 
but only this year has the state set guidelines on how these sites are to 
be cleaned up.

Yet how would tenants know any of that when they sign a lease and move in? 
State law requires the owner to clean up the property, but so far no law 
requires disclosure of that history to the tenant. In the law's eyes, the 
cleanup wipes the slate clean -- even though no agency inspects the site to 
make sure the cleanup did in fact happen and meets the law's requirements.

Some Realtors and property owners may feel a moral responsibility to inform 
clients, as Jeff Smith of Glover Reality says, but the state cannot count 
on that in every corner. Tenants would be wise to ask neighbors and do some 
research of recent arrests to determine what kind of activity went on in a 
house or rental unit before they sign a lease.

Likewise, considering that cleanup can cost thousands of dollars, landlords 
may want to screen and monitor tenants more carefully. Refurbishing a 
property after a tenant moves out is expensive enough; facing state cleanup 
requirements and a tainted history could be much, much worse. Getting rid 
of the meth trade is the top goal. But it will take everyone's vigilance -- 
including landlords' -- to wipe it out.
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MAP posted-by: Elizabeth Wehrman