METH LABS REACH INTO RURAL MIDWEST, ENDANGERING FARM COMMUNITIES

Calm Towns Become Dangerous Places To Live

Shelbyville, Ill. -- Illegal methamphetamine laboratories by the
hundreds have moved into rural areas of Missouri and Illinois, turning
commonly used farm chemicals into grave hazards and making quiet
neighborhoods and towns dangerous places to live.

In 1996, Illinois authorities raided and shut down one methamphetamine
laboratory. Last year, they raided 207. State and federal officials
here say the laboratories seem to be moving in from Missouri, where
state police report that 615 labs were seized last year.

Demand for the drug, a stimulant more commonly known as speed, is up,
authorities said, and it is cheap to make and lucrative to sell. An
ounce of methamphetamine, which can be inhaled or injected, can be
made for $150 and sold for $1,500.

Unlike manufacturing operations on the West Coast, these laboratories
are small and crude, set up in sheds, trailers, hotel rooms or the
backs of cars. They are locating in rural areas because the
manufacturing process smells so bad it can betray the labs' presence
to neighbors. And too often, police say, it's the neighbors who suffer
the consequences.

In February, a police officer surprised thieves in a predawn visit to
a farm-supply outlet in Pleasant Hill, Mo., 30 miles south of Kansas
City. The thieves fled, dropping the hose to a 1,000-gallon tank of
anhydrous ammonia, a toxic chemical used to fertilize farms -- and
make methamphetamine. More than 200 gallons vaporized into a toxic
cloud.

"It was hugging the ground, moving like a fog," said the fire chief,
John M.

Smith, who ordered the evacuation of 250 people in its path. Five
people were treated for minor injuries.

Thousand-gallon tanks are a common sight around here in the spring and
fall,

when farmers fertilize their fields. Farm-supply stores rent hundreds
of them to farmers who use special equipment to apply the ammonia
under the soil. If it rains, a tank may be left unattended by the side
of the road for a few days until the field dries out.

Anhydrous ammonia is both dangerous and inexpensive. It is an
essential ingredient in the manufacture of methamphetamine, law
enforcement officials say, and it is the only one that cannot easily
be purchased over the counter.

In Shelbyville, the general manager of the Lakeland FS farm-supply
chain, said he and other fertilizer dealers are worried about the
dangers to the community. Anhydrous ammonia is "a pressurized,
dangerous chemical that is not forgiving," said Jeff Sullivan. "It
will burn your eyes, burn your skin. People have no idea what they're
dealing with."

The thieves "are ruthless," he said. "They'll cut through fences and
shoot out the lights. There's no way to stop them."

In June, Sheriff Randy Sims was helping to build a baseball diamond in
Oconee, Ill., when his office reported that thieves were stealing
ammonia a block away. Sims gave chase in his pickup truck. His windows
were down, he recalled, because his truck was not air-conditioned.

One of the thieves, Brandon Kamalii, who is 24 and is now serving
eight years in prison, leaned out the passenger window and sprayed the
ammonia, which had been placed in a fire extinguisher, at the sheriff.
Sims was treated at a hospital for burns to his eyes, nose, and neck.

Last year, a man with a fire extinguisher full of anhydrous ammonia on
his lap died of burns on Interstate-55 south of St. Louis, after the
liquid leaked and the extinguisher exploded. A paramedic, a
firefighter and a passer-by who stopped to help were treated for
inhalation burns.

Master Sgt. Dave McLearin, an Illinois state police officer assigned
to the East Illinois task force on drugs, said: "We've had people
steal it and put it in coolers, plastic gas cans, even glass jars."
All of those containers corrode.

New legislation in Illinois, which will make it a felony to transfer
anhydrous ammonia in a portable container not authorized by law, will
go into effect in January.

In August, Gov. George Ryan of Illinois urged other members of the
Midwestern Governors Conference to join him in developing a stronger
plan of action against the manufacture of methamphetamines.

He has also set up a multiagency group -- including conservation,
public health, agriculture, and family service agencies, as well as
fire and police officials -- to identify the risks and threats the
drug poses to family violence and the environment.

Master Sgt. Bruce Liebe, an Illinois state police officer who has
worked with the Drug Enforcement Administration, said that the
manufacture of 1 pound of methamphetamine generates 6 pounds of waste.
Sometimes it is buried, sometimes dumped in garbage bags on the side
of the road. State officials have warned residents of rural
communities not to open any bags they find.

Officials with the DEA in St. Louis say Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota
and Kansas also have serious problems with methamphetamine production
and dealing.

"One of the things we're finding is that a lot of high school-age kids
are using it," said Shirley Armstead, a public information officer for
the agency. "A lot of times children are allowed to be in the areas
where meth is produced. "

Last year, police in Shelbyville found a laboratory in the basement of
a small family home not far from the center of town. The toxic fumes
were vented up the chimney. Across the street, about 200 feet away,
was the Little Red Engine day care center, with 40 children aged 15
months to 12 years.

"I had no idea," said Shawn Rickett, director of the day care center.
"I drove by there every day." She said she was angry and shocked that
the lab was "that close to the kids. It's a scary situation."