Law enforcement issues warning to public about dangers

By Misti Strader
Tribune-Courier News Editor
mstrader@tribunecourier.com

BENTON – More than fifty methamphetamine lab dumps have been located in Marshall County since the beginning of the year, causing concern for public safety, local law enforcement investigators said.

As the dumps continue to surface in and around public use areas, Sheriff’s department clandestine lab technician Deputy Kelly Drew said the word has to get out about the dangers of finding such hazardous materials.

Methamphetamine, an illegal substance also known as meth, speed, crank, crystal and ice, is a potent synthetic drug that is a stimulant of the central nervous system.

The effects of meth are similar to those of cocaine. It gives the user a “rush” or intense feeling of pleasure that lasts longer than cocaine.

Meth is an increasingly popular drug that can be injected, snorted, taken orally or smoked. Long-term use leads to physical dependency and may also lead to severe depression, delusions, hallucinations, paranoia, and violent behavior in users.

Methamphetamine use in Marshall County continues to be problematic, even though many of the larger-scale operations have been eradicated through various law enforcement initiatives.

“This epidemic is obviously a major concern for our children,” Drew said.

It is not only the use of the drug that is concerning law enforcement, it is the danger associated with meth-lab dumps surfacing throughout the county.

“When property owners find trash dumped on their land, they instinctively want to go through the trash, which they assume to be household trash, trying to find some sort of identifying information,” Drew said. “This can have devastating consequences for an unsuspecting victim.”

Five years ago, one such incident occurred when a victim encountered a cooler which had washed onto his property.

Upon opening the cooler, the man inhaled fumes from the liquid which was inside the container. His lungs were severely burned by the chemical later identified as anhydrous ammonia.

Marshall County Deputy Tim Reynolds, also a clandestine lab technician, noted the danger in that the labs currently being found are generally within 50 feet of the woodline, often on main pathways where four-wheeler riders and walkers often travel.

“We have found several dumps near campgrounds and locations where people frequent,” Reynolds said. “They are not dumping these toxic wastes out in the middle of no where, and that poses a danger for everyone.”

There are many different chemical “recipes” used for “cooking” meth. Each utilizes different ingredients, each largely dependant on availability.

Many chemicals used in meth labs are common household items; however poor handling and disposal of these chemicals, as well as mixing incompatible compounds, can create toxic hazards for those who come into contact with the chemical concoctions.

Common household chemicals used in meth labs include flammable and volatile solvents such as methanol, ether, benzene, methylene chloride, trichloroethane and toluene.

Other common household chemicals include muriatic acid, sodium hydroxide, table salt and ammonia.

Meth-related chemicals not commonly found in large amounts in homes include anhydrous ammonia, red phosphorous, iodine and reactive metals. Other hazardous chemicals can be formed during the “cooking” process.

These chemicals are often mixed and stored in containers such as two-liter bottles, coolers and gallon jugs and then disposed of after the cooking process has taken place.

Drew said often, users will store their ingredients in a remote location where they can cook and use the drug without having it located on their own property.

“Often times they will use the drug and leave behind hazardous waste such as needles and various other drug paraphernalia,” Drew warned. “The public needs to be warned that if they are walking through the woods and come across suspicious items that are out of place, they don’t need to mess with it or go through it,” Reynolds said.

“Users used to be really good about burning their items, but they found out we could get information on them from sifting through the burn piles,” Drew said.

“So now they will just go out to someone’s property in a remote location, and they’ll manufacture this stuff and leave the waste right there. The danger is that if a person were to not know what they were handling and get it on their skin, it would severely burn them.”

Drew noted the recent increase in lab dumps can, in part, be attributed to the start of planting season where anhydrous ammonia is more prevalent.

“A common problem that we are encountering,” Drew said, “is that farmers will leave farm equipment hooked up to anhydrous tanks with hoses attached. In doing that, they accommodate thieves who want to steal the chemical for making methamphetamine.”

Drew said taking simple precautions such as removing hoses from tanks would go a long way in preventing easy accessibility to these dangerous chemicals by criminals.

The sheriff’s department currently has four officers certified in clandestine lab clean-up and estimate each dump site clean-up to cost an average of $7,500 to $12,000, including evidence gathering, removal and disposal.

Short-term exposures to high concentrations of chemical vapors that may exist in a functioning meth labs can cause severe health problems or even death. For this reason, law enforcement is encouraging anyone who comes in contact with suspicious items to contact the sheriff’s department.