EPA WARNS OF FERTILIZER THEFT

Methamphetamine-Makers Mishandling Poisonous, Explosive
Chemical.

WASHINGTON -- Illicit drug-makers are sneaking onto American farms and
stealing a common chemical fertilizer that's also used to produce
illegal methamphetamine. And their sloppy handling of the dangerous
chemical is endangering the American public, the Environmental
Protection Agency warned Tuesday.

In an unusual chemical-safety alert, the EPA warned users of anhydrous
ammonia to beef up security because theft-triggered chemical accidents
are soaring. The corrosive chemical can be fatal when inhaled; it
burns the skin and is highly explosive.

``People from the general public are being injured,'' said EPA
chemical-emergency senior specialist Mark Smith, the author of the
agency's alert. ``Emergency responders are being injured. The public
is being evacuated because of some of these releases.''

Guy Hargreaves, a supervisory agent with the U.S. Drug Enforcement
Administration, said, ``The number of fires and explosions and
poison-gas incidents is just going up.''

Three weeks ago, thieves stealing from a frequently victimized
Pleasant Hill, Mo., bulk-storage chemical tank got spooked and left
the ammonia valve open as they fled. Hundreds of gallons of the
chemical flowed out, forming a toxic cloud and forcing firefighters to
evacuate 300 people in the middle of the night.

``The stealing of anhydrous ammonia is a common occurrence for the
manufacture of methamphetamine,'' said Pleasant Hill police detective
Norman Conant. ``It's a safety issue all the way around. It is not
just the (perpetrators). It's not just the city. It's also those
trying to enforce the law.''

The drug-makers often fail to realize how dangerous and corrosive the
chemical is, experts said.

Some put the chemical into empty propane tanks from barbecue grills,
or into fire extinguishers, milk jugs and coolers. The chemical
quickly eats through the containers and escapes into the air, said Ken
Teeter, chief of emergency response at the Missouri Department of
Natural Resources.

``It's very common,'' Teeter said. ``Every week we probably handle
between 30 and 50 pressure cylinders that have been stolen and
improperly used to store anhydrous ammonia.''

Last May, two men were driving down Interstate 70 in Missouri when
anhydrous ammonia hidden in a fire extinguisher they were carrying
exploded. One man was killed, a second severely injured. Three people
were injured attempting to rescue the pair.

The problem is focused now where methamphetamine is used: in the
Midwest -- especially in Missouri, Iowa and Arkansas. It started in
California and Washington state several years ago and has been
spreading east, Smith said. Only the Northeast seems spared, he said.

Nationwide, more than 6,400 clandestine methamphetamine labs were
seized in 1999, Hargreaves said. The problem ``was just
skyrocketing,'' he said, until federal drug agents made major dents
against labs last year.

Methamphetamine is easy to make; all the ingredients but anhydrous
ammonia can be found at a store, Hargreaves said. That leads
methamphetamine lab operators to turn to bulk chemical tank farms --
and farms, where ammonia is used as a fertilizer on wheat, corn and
sorghum.

The EPA recommends that farmers and other anhydrous ammonia users put
locks on valves and fences around tanks if possible.