DISCARDED METH-LAB MATERIALS CREATE HEADACHES AT WNC LANDFILLS

ASHEVILLE - In 30 seconds, the transfer station in Burke County filled with
smoke.

Worker Greg Watts tried to get everyone out, all the while breathing toxic
fumes.

Watts had been operating a loader, moving some trash inside of a building
when a fire suddenly erupted in the pile of garbage.

"I heard it go up like gas would go up . like poof," Watts said. "I've
never seen anything burn this hot. It's the stuff they throw away from
these meth labs. It is very dangerous, explosive stuff."

Landfill workers like Watts face a new danger as they deal with the
environmental fallout from North Carolina's escalating methamphetamine problem.

The chemicals used to make the drug are being dumped along roadsides, in
the state's waterways and poured into sewer systems, according to a report
released last week by Attorney General Roy Cooper.

Some of the toxic byproducts also are making their way into landfills where
in recent months they've ignited fires like the one in Burke County and
another one earlier this year in Buncombe County.

"We've got not only to be concerned about fire potential, but a more
serious, long-term consideration is how it affects the environment," said
Charles Moody, State Bureau of Investigation's special agent in charge for
the western district.

Methamphetamine is made by cooking ordinary household chemicals.
Manufacturing a pound of the drug generates between 5 to 7 pounds of
hazardous waste, according to Cooper's report.

The number of labs discovered by the SBI has jumped from nine in 1999 to
177 last year. Watauga County last year led the state with more than 30
meth labs. In the first four months of this year, agents already have
uncovered 108 clandestine labs statewide, including eight in Buncombe
County, 12 in McDowell County, four in Haywood County, five in Graham
County and 19 in Rutherford County.

The labs pose a risk to neighbors in the communities where they are set up.
Each illegal lab also costs taxpayers from $4,000 to $10,000 to clean up.

As the number of clandestine labs has grown, so have reports of landfill
and transfer station fires, according to Al Hetzell, waste management
specialist in the Asheville office of the state's Solid Waste Section.

"It's critical that the people handling the waste know what they are
dealing with," Hetzell said.

Since the first of the year, Hetzell said nine meth-related incidents have
occurred in 10 Western North Carolina counties.

"We're just seeing the tip of the iceberg, I'm afraid," Hetzell said.

About 50 chemicals can be used to make meth. They can react and ignite when
jumbled together inside a Dumpster, garbage truck or at a landfill. The
smoke from these fires can contain toxic compounds.

"We can just about link all of our fire problems to meth materials," said
Mike Gladden, public works director for McDowell County.

McDowell County's transfer station, where trash is moved from smaller
trucks to larger trucks, has had a number of incidents including a fire
several years ago that destroyed a $45,000 trailer. Gladden said once each
month or so his workers come across the byproducts of methamphetamine
manufacturing or have a small fire.

"We're not trained to handle this stuff. If it's got a strange odor to it,
by the time you breathe that much, you're in jeopardy," Gladden said.

Hetzell has been trying to educate solid waste workers on the potential
dangers and what to be aware of. He had talked with the workers in Burke
County just a couple of weeks before the fire there.

Watts said he recognized the byproducts of meth production in the trash
that caught fire, the very things state inspectors had told workers to look
for.

Investigators identified materials that ignited the fire at the Buncombe
landfill in March as also coming from a methamphetamine lab, according to
Bob Hunter, general services director for Buncombe County. That fire was
minor. It ignited after two men threw out some trash.

"When this hit the ground, evidently, something broke, and it caused the
fire," Hunter said. A worker immediately spotted the smoke.

Hetzell recommends workers be alert for unusual odors including the smell
of fingernail polish remover, vinegar or solvent and ammonia-like odors.

Hunter said Buncombe County workers screen loads of trash, and the landfill
is equipped with surveillance cameras.

At the Burke County transfer station, Watts said workers are scrutinizing
loads of trash "heavier than what we used to be."

"It's every week they're busting one of these labs," Watts said. "It is a
real problem now."

Watts says the fire he was exposed to burned his throat and made him sick,
but he's suffered no serious injuries. He was exposed to the smoke while
trying to get others out of the building and trying to use heavy equipment
to remove the burning materials.

He says if it happens again he'll get everybody out and not worry about the
building.

"We're not endangering ourselves. We're not equipped for this," Watts said.

METHAMPHETAMINE FACTS

TYPE OF DRUG: Amphetamine, or stimulant

FORMS: Most often a dingy-colored powder, but sometimes crystals or small,
bright colored tablets

HOW IT IS USED: Injected, snorted, smoked or swallowed as a pill

NICKNAMES: Meth, ice, crank, glass, poor man's cocaine

USERS: Traditionally white male blue-collar workers, but use is increasing
among diverse groups, including people in occupations that demand long
hours, mental alertness and physical endurance

During 2000, about 4 percent of people in the United States reported trying
methamphetamine at least once in their life.