DRUG-LAB DUMP SITE SPARKS HIGH ALERT

Full-Scale Evacuation In Motion After Toxic Garbage Broken Open

The risk of toxic gas from dumped drug-lab chemicals prompted
officials in Surrey to warn of a large-scale evacuation yesterday,
only to pull back the alert late in the afternoon.

"Once the nature of the chemicals is determined, officials will
develop a clear course of action," said Cpl. Roger Morrow of the Surrey RCMP.

Barrels, bags and buckets of chemicals were found Tuesday morning
piled up at a subdivision building site at 182nd Street and 70th
Avenue and a short time later at another location in the 7300-block
of 194th Street, both in the Clayton area of Surrey.

A worker at the subdivision inadvertently broke and tipped over some
of the containers on Tuesday, causing a chemical reaction that
released what police are describing as a "gaseous cloud."

The worker fled but reported numbness on his tongue and a loss of
sensation in his face. He was taken to hospital with what are
believed to be non-life-threatening injuries.

Hazardous-materials-disposal technicians later witnessed a second
chemical reaction and gas cloud.

Since then, crews have covered the two dump sites to protect them
from rain and were confident last night the sites were safe.

It's believed the two dump sites are associated with one clandestine
drug lab, most likely producing crystal methamphetamine. Nobody had
been arrested last night.

An evacuation would have affected hundreds of homes and 2,000 school children.

Officials also contemplated shutting down a section of the Fraser
Highway between 176th Street and 184th Street as they planned a
response to what they called a "worst-case scenario."

Morrow said the most pressing concern was that spilled chemicals may
combine, creating an "exo-thermic," or heat-generating, reaction, mix
with dumped quantities of red phosphorous and produce phosphine gas.

Colourless, flammable and explosive, phosphine gas can spontaneously
combust in air. Inhaling the gas leaves victims with the taste of
garlic in their mouths and can cause symptoms varying in intensity
from nausea and vomiting to shortness of breath, convulsions and even death.

Homeowners in the vicinity say they would have appreciated some
information much sooner.

"I was disturbed we weren't formally notified," said Sue Toews, whose
home is near the construction site.

"I am concerned. I'm too in shock now to be angry."

Wally Lynch said he was prepared to leave his home of five years if
he was told to, but he was not happy about it.

"We really don't like leaving [because of the risk of ] someone
coming in and stealing everything," Lynch said.

Judging from the quantity of materials found, Sgt. Scott Rintoul of
the RCMP's drug-awareness section said "It's safe to say this is an
economic, large-scale lab," not a small operation run by addicts.

"There's got to be some organized crime involvement," Rintoul said.