Pubdate: Thu, 07 Apr 2005 Source: News & Observer (NC) Copyright: 2005 The News and Observer Publishing Company Contact: http://www.news-observer.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/304 Author: Mandy Locke Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine) METH CLEANUPS COST LANDLORDS BIG New Law Requires Rooms To Be Stripped, Scrubbed, Sealed When Labs Are Found BENSON -- After Ken West's tenants got caught last week with a full-blown methamphetamine lab in the mobile home they rented, state health officials handed him a hefty list of cleanup requirements. West said he would rather haul the trailer to the dump than swallow the steep cost of getting it decontaminated for new tenants. A new state law, which hit the books Jan. 1, spells out standards for removing toxic residue from residences that housed clandestine meth labs. When West's tenants, Ronald Armistead Jones Jr., 29, and Katina Crenshaw Jones, 29, were hauled to jail March 30 on charges of manufacturing the illegal drug, West became Johnston County's first landlord targeted by the law. "They got caught and I'm suffering," West, a Benson resident, said as he paced in front of the recently remodeled trailer, near the Dunn-Benson Dragstrip in southern Johnston County. A professional cleanup crew estimated the cost of decontaminating the mobile home at $12,000 -- and probably higher once the costs of ripping out the ceiling and flooring are included, West said. The 1981 trailer is worth only about $15,000, the amount he spent remodeling it over the winter, he said. The Joneses moved in a month ago with their three young children; West said he never suspected that meth would be cooked in the bathroom of the master bedroom. Methamphetamine -- a homemade drug created from common garage and medicine cabinet items -- is a growing problem in Johnston County. The sheriff's department has busted 25 labs since 2003. Statewide, agents have hit 117 labs since January and expect to find 400 more this year. Vapors emitted while the drug is being made cling to everything that doesn't move. Exposure to the fumes and residue can cause skin rashes, burns and breathing difficulties, said Douglas Campbell, a physician in charge of the occupational and environmental epidemiology branch for the state Division of Public Health. There is much doctors don't know about the health risks of meth exposure, but what they do know scares them. Kids who crawl around and put their fists in their mouths are particularly susceptible. "Meth manufacturers are not chemists by trade," said Marilyn Parker, a state industrial hygiene consultant. "They are sloppy. Things get dragged all over the house on the bottom of their shoes." According to the new law, any dwelling -- which includes motel rooms -- that held a meth lab must be stripped of carpeting and vinyl flooring. Walls and other surfaces must be scrubbed three times, then sealed with a coat of paint. Appliances used to store ingredients must be dumped. Mattresses and other fabric-covered furniture must be trashed. Plumbing and ventilation systems must be flushed. Clothing and linens must be washed twice or thrown out. Many western states, hit hard by the drug over the last decade, also have decontamination laws, public health officials said. Some states in the East, such as Tennessee, have adopted standards as well. The push came in North Carolina in 2003 as meth labs began ravaging the western part of the state. The General Assembly passed the law last year. Local health officials will judge when a house is ready for occupation. If people move in before officials sign off, authorities can declare it a public health nuisance and take the owner to court. The law also allows them to proceed criminally. If the owner simply does nothing and the house stays empty, many county governments have ordinances to deal with abandoned houses. In Johnston County, officials wanted a few more teeth in the regulation. They will shut off power to the property until they are satisfied that it is decontaminated. "Landlords beware," Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said. "Those that don't keep tabs on their tenants are going to pay big." West is not taking chances. He'd rather spend a few thousand dollars scrapping the mobile home than risk having future tenants fall ill. "If those tenants come down with any health problems related to meth -- skin rash, breathing issues -- I'm liable," West said. "I could lose the shirt on my back." West has also changed his approach to being a landlord. He is now paying weekly visits to the tenants in his four other properties. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom