METH CLEANUPS COST LANDLORDS BIG

New Law Requires Rooms To Be Stripped, Scrubbed, Sealed When Labs Are Found

BENSON -- After Ken West's tenants got caught last week with a full-blown
methamphetamine lab in the mobile home they rented, state health officials
handed him a hefty list of cleanup requirements.

West said he would rather haul the trailer to the dump than swallow the
steep cost of getting it decontaminated for new tenants.

A new state law, which hit the books Jan. 1, spells out standards for
removing toxic residue from residences that housed clandestine meth labs.
When West's tenants, Ronald Armistead Jones Jr., 29, and Katina Crenshaw
Jones, 29, were hauled to jail March 30 on charges of manufacturing the
illegal drug, West became Johnston County's first landlord targeted by the law.

"They got caught and I'm suffering," West, a Benson resident, said as he
paced in front of the recently remodeled trailer, near the Dunn-Benson
Dragstrip in southern Johnston County.

A professional cleanup crew estimated the cost of decontaminating the
mobile home at $12,000 -- and probably higher once the costs of ripping out
the ceiling and flooring are included, West said. The 1981 trailer is worth
only about $15,000, the amount he spent remodeling it over the winter, he said.

The Joneses moved in a month ago with their three young children; West said
he never suspected that meth would be cooked in the bathroom of the master
bedroom.

Methamphetamine -- a homemade drug created from common garage and medicine
cabinet items -- is a growing problem in Johnston County. The sheriff's
department has busted 25 labs since 2003. Statewide, agents have hit 117
labs since January and expect to find 400 more this year.

Vapors emitted while the drug is being made cling to everything that
doesn't move. Exposure to the fumes and residue can cause skin rashes,
burns and breathing difficulties, said Douglas Campbell, a physician in
charge of the occupational and environmental epidemiology branch for the
state Division of Public Health.

There is much doctors don't know about the health risks of meth exposure,
but what they do know scares them. Kids who crawl around and put their
fists in their mouths are particularly susceptible.

"Meth manufacturers are not chemists by trade," said Marilyn Parker, a
state industrial hygiene consultant. "They are sloppy. Things get dragged
all over the house on the bottom of their shoes."

According to the new law, any dwelling -- which includes motel rooms --
that held a meth lab must be stripped of carpeting and vinyl flooring.
Walls and other surfaces must be scrubbed three times, then sealed with a
coat of paint. Appliances used to store ingredients must be dumped.
Mattresses and other fabric-covered furniture must be trashed. Plumbing and
ventilation systems must be flushed. Clothing and linens must be washed
twice or thrown out.

Many western states, hit hard by the drug over the last decade, also have
decontamination laws, public health officials said. Some states in the
East, such as Tennessee, have adopted standards as well. The push came in
North Carolina in 2003 as meth labs began ravaging the western part of the
state. The General Assembly passed the law last year.

Local health officials will judge when a house is ready for occupation. If
people move in before officials sign off, authorities can declare it a
public health nuisance and take the owner to court. The law also allows
them to proceed criminally. If the owner simply does nothing and the house
stays empty, many county governments have ordinances to deal with abandoned
houses.

In Johnston County, officials wanted a few more teeth in the regulation.
They will shut off power to the property until they are satisfied that it
is decontaminated.

"Landlords beware," Johnston County Sheriff Steve Bizzell said. "Those that
don't keep tabs on their tenants are going to pay big."

West is not taking chances.

He'd rather spend a few thousand dollars scrapping the mobile home than
risk having future tenants fall ill.

"If those tenants come down with any health problems related to meth --
skin rash, breathing issues -- I'm liable," West said. "I could lose the
shirt on my back."

West has also changed his approach to being a landlord. He is now paying
weekly visits to the tenants in his four other properties.