BILL REQUIRES DRUG LAB DISCLOSURE

Property Owners Would Have To Reveal Whether Lab Has Been Cleaned Up.

A state senator from Southern California has introduced a bill in the
Legislature to require property owners to notify prospective buyers or
renters if an illegal drug lab has been discovered on their property, and
to disclose whether it was completely cleaned up.

The bill by Sen. Debra Bowen, D-Redondo Beach, would extend an existing law
on real estate disclosures that covers hazards such as asbestos, radon gas
or lead-based paint to include chemical residues left from the clandestine
manufacture of methamphetamine and other illicit drugs.

About 2,000 such labs are discovered each year in California. Although a
state agency provides funding for removing stored chemicals and
contaminated equipment, there is no public money available for removing
residues that may linger in walls, carpets and other places, Bowen said in
a statement.

"It's illegal for a property owner to cover up asbestos-laced insulation in
the floors or attic, then try and sell the home without disclosing that
information," Bowen said. "So why should it be any different when a
property owner just paints over a wall that had been contaminated by the
toxic cooking process used to make meth?"

The problem of unsuspecting buyers and renters moving into contaminated
sites of former drug labs was one of several hazards identified in an
18-page special report, "A Madness Called Meth," that was published jointly
Oct. 8 by The Fresno Bee, Modesto Bee and Sacramento Bee.

The report by the McClatchy Co.'s California newspapers also found
inconsistent cleanup standards from county to county, making it difficult
to say with assurance that a former drug lab site has been cleaned up
enough for habitation.

At one extreme, Sacramento County officials require owners to hire an
industrial hygienist to take samples before and after cleanup; only then
will the county issue a letter declaring the property safe. Some counties
require no site cleanup at all; most are in the middle.

Bowen sponsored a bill last year to require the state Department of Toxic
Substances Control to set statewide cleanup standards, but Gov. Davis
vetoed it. However, the governor included funding and staff in his proposed
2001-02 budget for the department to develop such guidelines.