SALE SIGN ON METH LAB HOUSE STIRS ANGER

Neighbors: Clean It Up First

Neighbors of a Cobb County house used as a methamphetamine "super lab" say
they're upset because the landlord has already put up a "for sale" sign,
but there has been no environmental cleanup.

About 100 people attended a neighborhood watch meeting Saturday afternoon,
which was scheduled long before Feb. 9, when federal agents busted the lab
at 200 Church Road near Smyrna. The rental house also had been raided in
September after a nine-month investigation into a Mexican drug cartel.

A red sign warning of hazardous materials remains on the front door, though
it's barely visible from the road. But now a red "for sale by owner" sign
has been planted in the grass near the curb.

"Why should he have the right to put that house up for sale and endanger
another family or children?" said Shirley Streetman, who lives behind the
house. "Legally how can he do that? That's my question."

Streetman said she was disappointed she didn't get answers at the meeting.

The operation inside the home's basement was considered a "super lab"
because it could manufacture more than 10 pounds of methamphetamine a day,
federal agents said. Meth was also converted there into its more pure, and
addictive, crystallized form, called "ice."

This month, U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration agents seized 11 pounds of
ice, 39 pounds of methamphetamine and several 30- to 55-gallon containers
that held liquid methamphetamine in various stages of processing.
Containers of those sizes can yield 10 to 15 pounds of ice.

Sherri Strange, the DEA's head agent in Atlanta, told the crowd she
couldn't discuss the case, but wanted to dispel concerns that the chemicals
used in the lab would "forever taint your neighborhood."

Residents should not worry about eating fruit growing in their yards, she
said. If a tree had become contaminated, it would die "long before there's
any apples on it," she said.

The manufacturing process requires pseudoephedrine, found in cold
medicines, and toxic materials such as acetone, ethyl alcohol, Freon,
ammonia, iodine and acids, according to federal officials.

The drugs, manufacturing supplies and ingredients found in the house were
removed, and sewer lines were flushed all the way to a pumping station. But
several immediate neighbors said no one appears to be taking responsibility
for ensuring the home and the yard are properly cleaned up.

They are waiting to hear whether any government agency will sample the soil
in their adjoining yards. Georgia needs regulations addressing meth lab
contamination, said next-door neighbor Lynn Zinn. "Everybody's handing off
responsibility for enforcement," she said. "There's more at stake here than
just a neighborhood."