METH LABS ENDANGER NASHVILLE

When a methamphetamine manufacturing lab explodes in a rural Tennessee
county, it might destroy an isolated mobile home, a barn or an old car
parked on a back road.

But if one of the meth labs starting to pop up in Nashville were to
explode, the resulting fire and toxic vapors could devastate half a city
block, drug enforcement officers say.

That's just one concern that's driving federal drug agents as they work to
stem a quiet but growing movement of the labs into Nashville and its suburbs.

The discovery of a methamphetamine lab - one of 14 in and around Nashville
during 2002 - in a Bellevue apartment complex last week is the latest
example of what federal agents say is an increasing problem. The labs
traditionally have been set in rural areas but are being found in hotel
rooms, apartment complexes and even cars.

The Drug Enforcement Administration said more demand for the drug is
causing the labs to sprout here.

"This past year we've seen more, and it's a concern to us because this is
now moving - it's urban now," said Harry Sommers, resident agent in charge
of the DEA office in Nashville.

Authorities say that meth labs remain mostly a rural problem, but that the
presence of even a small number of them in an urban area is troubling.

That's because unlike other drug operations, such as for marijuana or even
crack, meth labs can blow up, as they did in East Tennessee's Hawkins
County in May, killing two people.

Such an explosion in an urban area could cause even more devastating
damage, the DEA said.

"All of the dangers which exist in the manufacture of methamphetamine are
enhanced when it's in an urban area because of innocent people all around
who have no idea that these things are happening around them," Sommers said.

Most activity is still in rural counties: 157 labs have been busted this
year in all of Middle Tennessee, Sommers said. Fourteen urban labs were
found in Davidson, Rutherford, Sumner and Wilson counties, he said.

Five labs have been found in Metro so far this year, equal to the number
found in all of last year, the DEA said.

Police discovered one of those labs at Wyndchase Bellevue apartments a week
ago when officers were called to the apartment over a domestic dispute.
Police discovered the lab and evidence that the drug was being manufactured
with anhydrous ammonia - the most dangerous method for making meth.

Earlier this year, a motel in Lebanon was evacuated when police discovered
a lab in a guest room. Also this year, Metro police arrested a man who had
a meth lab in his vehicle.

Methamphetamine, sometimes called "poor man's cocaine," is a highly
addictive stimulant that gives the user a high similar to cocaine. But
unlike cocaine, meth is a homemade drug that is "cooked up" using products
that can be easily purchased. It's much cheaper than cocaine.

The meth "cooks" start out with pseudoephedrine, an ingredient in many
over-the-counter cold and allergy medicines. They transform the
pseudoephedrine into meth with a volatile concoction of compounds such as
lye, acetone, Coleman fuel and muriatic acid and turpentine. The mixture is
cooked over a stove or a hot plate. The process has the potential for
explosions, chemical fires and release of toxic gases.

Meth Comes To Town

"Just a couple of years ago, it was unheard of to have a lab in Davidson
County," said Metro police Capt. Gary Goodwin, who heads Metro's Vice
Division. Meth has been popular in rural areas because the chemical smell
from a lab isn't easily detected out in the country and because crack isn't
as available as in cities, Goodwin said.

Some of the urban labs have been discovered in hotels, the DEA said,
probably because they offer "cooks" the ability to get in and out without
being detected. But the movement of meth labs into hotels also makes them
more dangerous to more people, he said.

Even without an explosion or fire, the labs pose a threat to the environment.

"It's nasty stuff," said Joel Reece, a group supervisor for the DEA. Reece
said he still has chemical smells on boots he wore 10 years ago when he
raided labs in Texas.

The labs are treated as hazardous waste sites and only DEA-certified law
officers can enter them. The DEA also oversees the cleanup of all labs, and
only contractors approved by the Environmental Protection Agency can clean
them up. Even a small cleanup costs several thousand dollars.

Goal is to halt drug

DEA agents say they hope to stop the growth of the labs before meth becomes
a major problem around Nashville.

"It's a matter of us taking them out before they can establish themselves
in the city," said Vince Morgano, who heads the DEA in Tennessee. Memphis,
Morgano said, already has started to develop a customer base.

Use of the drug has reached epidemic proportions in the Cumberland Plateau,
the high ground that runs northeast to southwest between Nashville and
Knoxville. The problem, however, isn't nearly so bad as it used to be.

In the past, Sommers said, the DEA was investigating about 20 labs a month
in the Cumberland Plateau. That dropped to 10 at one time, but agents now
are working about 12 monthly. Sommers said a focus on training local law
officers on meth and putting retailers on notice that they will be
prosecuted for selling large quantities of pseudoephedrine has made a
difference.

The same tactics are being used to ensure meth doesn't take hold in
Nashville and its surrounding counties. Metro police will continue to watch
the meth closely, they said.

"It's definitely a cause for alarm as far as we're concerned," said Capt.
Goodwin.