ARLINGTON – Meth-making chemicals illegally left at two nonprofit agencies will prove costly to clean up, health officials said.

Methamphetamine contamination discovered in December closed a Compass Health apartment building in Arlington and the Helping Hands thrift shop on property owned by the city of Arlington.

Both hope their insurance companies will cover the costs.

Compass Health expects to spend more than $50,000 to decontaminate a four-unit apartment complex where a meth lab exploded Dec. 21.

“We knew it was going to be expensive, but that’s more than we anticipated,” said Terry Clark, director of development services for Compass Health.

Arlington faces a bill of about $6,000 for cleaning up the thrift shop basement, assistant city administrator Kristin Banfield said.

Under state law, property owners must pay the cost of cleaning up meth labs and contamination from hazardous chemicals even if they’re not responsible for the damage.

“It could have been a lot worse. We could have been looking at anything, up to tearing down the building,” Banfield said.

Chemicals used to make the illegal drug were discovered in the thrift shop basement Dec. 29. The basement was not being used by the thrift shop.

State health tests found contamination in the basement, but no contamination upstairs in the thrift shop.

Officers found evidence that at least one person had been living in the basement and had gained entrance by prying off the padlock. No arrests have been made.

After the basement is cleaned, re-painted and re-carpeted, the outside entrance will be sealed so no further break-ins can occur, Banfield said. She hopes the thrift shop can reopen by the middle of the month.

Two blocks away at the Compass Health apartments, the cleanup will be far more extensive.

Two other tenants who lived in the building have not been able to return since the explosion, Clark said. Both are staying with family members during the cleanup, which is expected to last until May.

Compass Health is considering changing its background checks for tenants to prevent any similar incidents, Clark said.

The unit where the meth lab exploded was contaminated, and tests showed contamination in other parts of the apartment building as well, said Jonelle Fenton-Wallace, an environmental health specialist with the Snohomish Health District.

The explosion started a small fire that set off sprinklers, and contaminated water dripped into the apartment below, Fenton-Wallace said. The lab was apparently vented into the attic, which spread the contamination throughout the building.

A 20-year-old man has been charged with making meth in the apartment and causing the explosion. He had been living in his mother’s apartment since summer, court documents say.

She has been evicted from the building, Clark said.

The Snohomish Health District must approve cleanup plans for Compass Health and the city-owned property. Follow-up tests will be done to ensure that the cleanups comply with state regulations, Fenton-Wallace said.

Reporter Katherine Schiffner: 425-339-3436 or schiffner@ heraldnet.com.