METH DANGER EXTENDED TO ROAD CREWS, SCOUTS

Officials Say Lab Waste Being Dumped In Ditches
Poses Threat To Workers

Madison - Drug dealers concocting the highly addictive drug
methamphetamine in backwoods labs are endangering a new category of
people: road crews as well as Cub Scouts, church youth groups and
others who volunteer to gather litter along highways, law enforcement
officials say.

In recent years, those who manufacture meth have fled aggressive law
enforcement in Iowa and Minnesota, and have set up labs in western
Wisconsin. Until now, the primary concern about the highly toxic waste
from the labs was the danger it poses to landowners who discover the
abandoned sites and the authorities called to investigate.

But authorities now say meth lab workers have started pouring the
toxic waste into thermos bottles, coolers and other containers, and
dumping them into highway ditches. The meth residue could be lethal if
an unsuspecting road crew member or volunteer from the Adopt a Highway
program opens those containers, officials say.

Lafayette County Sheriff Scott Pedley said several thermos bottles and
water containers have been found along roads in the southwestern
Wisconsin county, where there has been a burst of meth lab activity.

"Some of the most at-risk people are highway workers and our
volunteers who participate in the Adopt a Highway programs because of
the very portable nature of the methamphetamine labs," Pedley said.

State Rep. Stephen Freese (R-Dodgeville) said the problem is so bad he
plans to introduce a bill within the next week that would impose harsh
penalties for the possession or disposal of waste resulting from the
manufacture of methamphetamines.

"Meth has suddenly become the greatest threat in our efforts against
drugs in southwestern Wisconsin," Freese said. "It is more potent than
cocaine, more addictive than heroin, and its manufacturing waste is
highly explosive and toxic."

Freese said the measure would set maximum penalties of seven years'
imprisonment and a $100,000 fine for a first offense. The maximum
penalties for a second offense would be 15 years' imprisonment and a
$150,000 fine. He said the state currently has little on the books to
deal with the problem.

"The current law basically regulates the storage, treatment and
disposal of hazardous and solid waste," Freese said. "It currently
prohibits the unlawful manufacture of a controlled substance, like
methamphetamine or other versions of it."

But state law does not expressly prohibit a person from possessing or
disposing of waste from meth labs, which is what Freese's proposal
would do.

Pedley said that last year, 10 abandoned meth lab sites were found in
his county. Authorities also discovered three working labs, he said,
adding that three people were arrested and charged with the
manufacture of the illegal drug.

"These are big numbers to us," Pedley said. "In Milwaukee, they're
minuscule, (but) we're on the front lines of it here. In the
southwest, the methamphetamine issues are moving in from Iowa. Iowa
deals with over 300 meth labs a year."

When abandoned or working labs are discovered, federal authorities who
are trained to handle and dispose of the hazardous materials are
called to the scene, Pedley said.

"When you mix things like isopropyl alcohol, with acetone and ether,
drain cleaner, Heet - the kind you pour in the gas tank of your car -
lithium from batteries, along with muriatic acid and so forth, that
concoction can put off a very, very toxic residue," Pedley said.

"Unfortunately, our highway cleanup people come along and see this
thermos container, and they may take the lid off," he said. "Very,
very toxic fumes from the container can cause severe and permanent
injuries to their lungs, if they happen to breathe in the
contaminants."

Jim Haney, a spokesman for the state Department of Justice, said a
recent survey of local law enforcement agencies in seven southwestern
counties showed that there were 30 meth labs or waste sites found in
1999, compared with two in 1998.

Attorney General James Doyle supports attempts by Freese to increase
penalties for possession or disposal of meth waste, Haney said, adding
that Doyle's office was helping Freese draft the legislation.

Freese said he expected swift action in the Assembly, once his bill is
introduced.

He noted that on Oct. 26, the Assembly passed, 86-13, a bill to
increase the penalties for possession and use of methamphetamine. The
bill was sent to the Senate, where it was referred to the Senate
Judiciary Committee.

That bill would increase the maximum sentence for possession of meth
from one year in the county jail to two years in prison. The maximum
fine of $5,000 would remain the same.

In most cases, drug dealers also would face stiffer penalties under
the Assembly bill, depending on the amount of meth involved. The
maximum prison term for dealing in 3 grams or less would increase from
7 1/2 years to 22 1/2 years. If the offense involved more than 400
grams, the maximum prison term would remain the same: 45 years.