MANUFACTURING METH CAN BE AS HAZARDOUS AS DOING IT

Pseudoephedrine, red phosphorus, hydrogen chloride gas, freon, sodium
hydroxide, acetone, chloroform, ether, and methanol are just a few of the
dangerous chemicals manufactures might use when making methamphetamine.

They represent a litany of personal and environmental hazards that can
cause serious illness or injury to manufacturers, children, and innocent
victims alike.

Personal injury can result from faulty equipment or the manufacturers own
inexperience. Many accidents result from ill informed amateurs trying to
manufacture meth using kitchen appliances and other equipment not intended
for that purpose.

The use of hazardous chemicals that can be both caustic and highly
flammable has presented firefighters and emergency rescue personnel with a
whole new wrinkle that officials such as Havre Fire Chief, Greg Ellingson,
never used to have to worry about.

"We're looking into doing some departmental things to look out for it,"
Ellingson said, adding that he is concerned that ambulance crews or fire
crews could be exposed to hazardous chemicals without their knowledge when
responding to a fire or medical emergency.

The Havre firefighters are each equipped with a self contained breathing
apparatus (SCBA) and have "turn-out" suits consisting of coats, pants,
boots, and a hood.

Ellingson said this standard assortment fire fighting gear is protection
enough against most fires — even chemical fires and additional protection
can be added to the suits, he said, by using duct tape around openings in
the sleeves and legs.

Department personnel have also seen videos on chemical fires and are
somewhat familiar with what they need to look for. But Havre firefighters,
Ellingson said, have never responded to a meth lab explosion or rescued
someone that has been overcome by toxic gases resulting from meth production.

"We treat every fire as though it were a chemical fire," Ellingson said,
adding that they never know when they respond to a fire what they might be
dealing with.

The new wrinkle for ambulance crews is that generally they do not wear
protective suits when they respond to a call. Ellingson is concerned about
what could happen if ambulance crews entered a building where someone has
collapsed from toxic fumes resulting from meth production.

Ellingson said the fire department is working on getting grant funds to pay
for hazardous chemical training and chemical suits. The training and the
suits could be used for cleanup of all kinds of hazardous chemicals
including meth.

"It's fair to say that we are trying to keep ourselves abreast of the most
recent training and equipment," Ellingson said.

The department is also working with the Havre Police Department, Ellingson
said, to try and work out a plan whereby they can receive advance warning
in the event firefighters are walking into potentially hazardous situations.

The use of hazardous chemicals in the production of meth are capable of
creating hydrogen cyanide or other poisonous gases that can cause coma,
respiratory failure, and even death if if they seep into the air. The fumes
from various acids used can also be strong enough that over time they will
eat the paint off walls and appliances and soak into walls and ceilings.
Solvents, like the acids, can, depending on their quantity and length of
time used, be thick enough to cause solvent filled carpets to be ignited by
static electricity generated by someone walking across the room.

The heart of any methamphetamine lab is pseudoephedrine and ephedrine. The
two drugs are commonly used in over-the-counter sinus decongestant medicine
or in some herbal diet aids. Separating the compounds from the
decongestants or diet pills is a potentially dangerous process that
requires grinding the tablets up and mixing them with a solvent so the
mixture can be strained to remove binders and fillers.

The solvent is then boiled off and the pseudoephedrine powder, hydriodic
acid, and red phosphorus are heated. This is the process known as cooking.

There is a high risk of toxic fumes and explosions during these two steps
of the process.

Once cooked, the red phosphorus sludge is strained out and caustic soda is
added to begin separating the meth. The solution is cooled usually using
ice. The mixture is separated into layers using refrigerants such as Freon.
One layer is pure liquid meth.

Hydrogen chloride gas is pumped through the liquid meth to produce the
solid, powdery methamphetamine.