Thousands face drug lab dangers

Published 9:00 pm Tuesday, February 10, 2004

Almost 30,000 people live, drive and send their children to school near places in Snohomish County where police have found methamphetamine labs or toxic waste from making the drug, records show.

The Snohomish County Drug Task Force responded to more than 100 meth labs and dumpsites last year, up from 73 in 2002.

That figure doesn’t take into account the labs that police haven’t detected yet. Those are the ones to worry about, officials said. But shutting down meth houses could get tougher as some agencies face funding shortfalls.

Meth-related sites were found in the neighborhoods of about 28,800 people and near 10 schools — a statistic that doesn’t shock police and activists fighting the drug’s spread.

"None of us are safe from this," said Travis Talbot of the anti-drug group Lead On America. "If people are surprised that it’s affecting 28,000 people, then they should be stunned to learn that it’s affecting thousands more living near drug houses that haven’t been shut down."

Police and neighbors are becoming more adept at spotting labs and recognizing drug waste, task force Sgt. Mark Richardson said. That’s a key reason for the rise in meth sites reported last year, he said.

"I can’t say we’re getting it under control. But we have a good understanding of the process" and are seeing some success, Richardson said.

As the number of meth-related sites rises, agencies throughout Snohomish County are struggling to pay for the battle against methamphetamine and for cleaning up the drug’s damage.

The Snohomish Health District recently reported that it was nearly out of money for overseeing the cleanup of drug labs. A deputy prosecutor who helps shut down meth houses could be cut from the Snohomish Drug Task Force, and a bid to get a meth strike force failed last year.

"I’m very concerned," said Susan York, who started Lead On America after working to shut down a meth house in her Mukilteo-area neighborhood. "Just when we’re getting it right, all of a sudden it’s a funding issue. We’ve got to have that or it’s going to set us back."

The Snohomish Health District’s meth lab cleanup program won’t face any immediate cuts, though. On Tuesday, the district’s board approved continuing the program at its current funding for two months. In the meantime, board members want to get more information on how to pay for the program.

"We think it’s important for us to continue this," said Jim Smith, a Lynnwood City Council member who serves on the health district board. "This is a good program, a program with a track record, one of the best programs we have out there."

Police and health experts say the map of meth-related sites confirms what they’ve seen: The effects of meth can be found anywhere.

Meth is cooked "in wealthy, middle-class and low-income neighborhoods, in motels and condos, in vans and tents and next to wells that provide drinking water," said Snohomish Health District environmental health specialist Jonelle Fenton-Wallace. "Chemical dumpsites have been found in public parks, such as Silver Lake’s, and on roadsides and private property in every part of the county."

The sites police found last year were spread throughout Snohomish County, with the highest number concentrated along the I-5 corridor.

That belies east Snohomish County’s reputation as a haven for methamphetamine labs. In January 2003, Rolling Stone magazine labeled Granite Falls as "Methville," saying the town was swamped by drugs.

The highest number of labs and dumpsites were actually in Everett, due mainly to Everett officers’ skill in detecting them, Richardson said.

Finding labs can be tougher in rural parts of the county, where fewer neighbors are around to spot suspicious activity, he said.

The chemicals used in methamphetamine labs and the waste created can be deadly, but experts say the sites found last year aren’t the ones you should be concerned about.

The dangerous chemicals have been hauled away from those sites and the locations checked for contamination. Property owners are held legally responsible for cleaning up the mess.

The biggest health risks occur before officers arrive. The volatile chemicals used in making methamphetamine and the disregard meth cooks have for safety can turn homes, motel rooms and cars into hazardous waste sites, Fenton-Wallace said.

Cooks use ingredients from solvents, drain cleaners, battery parts, red phosphorus and other hazardous chemicals, she said. The solvents are highly flammable and can explode. Improperly mixed chemicals can cause violent reactions and form deadly gasses.

Caustic acids and bases can also burn skin to the bone and destroy lungs if inhaled, Fenton-Wallace said. Those chemicals are often left in unmarked containers, such as a pop bottle with plastic tubing.

Those containers can explode when opened or cause other injuries to the unsuspecting people who find them.

Meth labs and waste also pose other unexpected hazards. Drivers carrying mobile meth labs have crashed, spilling chemicals across lanes of traffic, Richardson said.

In May 2002, an anhydrous ammonia leak apparently caused by someone trying to steal the gas — a key ingredient in making meth — forced 1,500 people to evacuate from Arlington.

No children were evacuated from the 10 schools near sites where police found labs or waste last year, but school officials say they’re concerned.

"We would be concerned about those not only close to the school but those anywhere in the school district, because of the impact on children," said Rosemary O’Neil, a spokeswoman for the Monroe School District.

Several public and private schools in Monroe are within 1,000 feet or less of the locations where waste or labs were found in 2003, records show. Sites were also found near schools in Everett, Sultan and Bothell.

But Snohomish County is far from the meth capital of the state.

In 2003, the state Department of Ecology responded to 98 lab incidents here, compared with 466 in Pierce County and 202 in King County. Snohomish County had the third-highest total.

"Education is starting to make a difference," York said.

York and Lead On America now help neighborhoods work with police to close drug houses. The group helped shut down 22 drug homes in 2003, she said. They’re now working to stop six more suspected sites.

"More people are coming out of denial and recognizing how meth is affecting their neighborhoods," she said.

Herald reporter Sharon Salyer contributed to this article.

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