Pubdate: Tue, 19 Apr 2005
Source: Province, The (CN BC)
Copyright: 2005 The Province
Contact:  http://www.canada.com/vancouver/theprovince/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/476
Author: Matthew Ramsey
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

METH-LAB WASTE SPREADS ITS POISON

In January, a crystal-meth lab in Surrey exploded, forcing the evacuation 
of 20 nearby residents. In June last year, two garbage disposal operators 
in Delta became violently ill when their truck crushed containers of 
discarded chemicals believed to be from a meth lab.

In 2003, a 20-tonne compactor in Vancouver was lifted a half-metre off the 
ground by an explosion believed to have been caused by compacting cans of 
discarded ether, an ingredient of crystal meth.

And in 2002, a Burnaby woman had a lucky escape when methane gas exploded 
in a Kitsilano sewer line. The force of the blast sent a manhole cover 
through her car windshield. Drug-lab chemicals dumped into sewers were 
believed to be responsible.

Costs linked to the cleanup and disposal of chemical waste produced during 
the manufacture of crystal meth are soaring.

For every kilogram of meth, the "cooks" leave behind six to eight kilograms 
of waste chemicals, says Vancouver's environmental protection branch 
manager Doug Roberts.

The poisonous sludge is often stored haphazardly, posing a serious threat 
not only to people making the drug, but to those living next door.

"The atmosphere in those buildings can be poisonous, corrosive, explosive. 
Would you want to be living next to that?"Roberts says.

The porridge of waste chemicals includes acetone, dustings of highly 
flammable red phosphorous, lye, muriatic acid and anhydrous ammonia.

The toxic brew is dumped down drains, emptied into sewers or abandoned in 
ditches, fields and back gardens. A blob of tar-like substances in the 
sewers in Port Coquitlam led police to a meth lab in late March where they 
found 11 kgs of ecstasy.

Sgt. Mike Harding, the RCMP officer in charge of the Mounties' clandestine 
lab team, says these substances contaminate groundwater, soil, damage the 
sewer systems themselves and poison fish habitats.

They also pose a hazard to fire crews and other municipal workers for whom 
special, costly training is required.

"The biggest danger for us is just soaking up this stuff," says Archie 
Roberts (no relation to Doug), a training officer with the Vancouver fire 
department. Anhydrous ammonia, if inhaled, sucks moisture out of a victim's 
lungs, giving him "instant freezer burn," he says.

Vancouver fire crews, who have been summoned to the scene of six drug labs 
in the past two years, have to be taught what to expect.

Make a mistake and the "front of the house blows off," Roberts says. "

The financial impact of environmental cleanups is also substantial. The 
cost of of disposing of ingredients is between $5,000 and $7,000 per lab, 
Harding says, not including labour or materials.

A City of Vancouver report put the average cleanup cost at between $18,000 
and $33,000. And the number of labs discovered and dismantled is 
increasing. Municipalities pay for clean-ups and bill Ottawa. But Health 
Canada refunds the money only when there's a police report and charges are 
laid.

Plus, says Doug Roberts, Ottawa does not pay the wages for first responders 
or subsequent legal expenses.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom