METH MAKERS PROLIFERATE, AND SO DOES DANGEROUS CONTAMINATION

They topple in twos and threes. First the police arrive and haul off the
suspects.

Then state Department of Ecology crews, in full face respirators and moon
suits, pick through bottles, jugs and canisters, always on the alert for
explosive booby traps.

"One guy gets busted and tells the cops, 'If you're going to bust me you
should go down the block and bust Jimmy Joe, he's got a meth lab too,'"
said Curt Hart, department spokesman.

And so the manufacturers of methamphetamine fall, leaving a void to be
filled by the next enterprising operator.

A house or apartment can be transformed into a drug lab; so can a mobile
home or a motel room, even the trunk of a car. The use of meth in the past
decade has skyrocketed, and with it, the number of drug labs, large and
small, Hart said.

In 1990, police discovered 38 drug labs statewide.

Last year, police found 207 labs; including seven in Snohomish County,17 in
King County, 42 in Pierce County and 63 in Thurston County.

Never mind other meth-related crimes. Or suspects who admit to police they
don't remember crimes committed while under the influence of meth, a highly
potent stimulant that can induce paranoia, depression and psychosis.

Environmental damage associated with drug labs, 99 percent of which
manufacture meth, cost taxpayers, insurance companies and property owners
thousands of dollars, Hart said.

In this state, Ecology Department workers or private contractors clean up
drug sites.

The narcotics strike team leader tells the cleanup crew what method was
used to make the drugs. That helps predict which chemicals will be found,
said Aaron Alderson, hazardous material supervisor with Olympus
Environmental, which contracts with the state.

Every pound of meth leaves five to six pounds of toxic waste. In some
cases, cleaning up a large lab can cost up to $150,000, according to a
study by the United States Attorney's Office.

Common leftovers include corrosive acids, such as lye, acetone or lighter
fluid, and red phosphorus, which can erupt into flames if dropped or
stepped on.

Another ingredient, anhydrous ammonia, is often stored in propane tanks or
fire extinguishers, which were never intended to contain the highly
pressurized gas.

"We take the ammonia canisters out to the shooting range and shoot them
from 100 yards away," Hart said. "You don't want to be close to them once
they release their contents."

While cleanup requirements differ from one county to the next, most require
that all traces of the chemicals be removed and that absorbent materials,
such as carpeting, mattresses, sofas and chairs, be destroyed.

But merely cleaning up a home may not be sufficient.

Unused chemicals are often dumped into storm drains or streams or down the
toilet into the sewer or septic system.

A septic system contaminated by materials used to make drugs contains both
biological and chemical waste. Biological dumps won't accept chemicals.
Conversely, a chemical waste dump won't accept biological wastes,
necessitating a cleanup process that separates the materials. And that
process can cost about $10,000, said Dave Morris, a specialist in such
cleanup.

Last year, state law enforcement and hazardous materials crews spent
hundreds of thousands of dollars to clean up drug labs.

"This poses a health and environmental problem," Hart said. "This takes
away our resources from other environmental problems. Our resources are
being heavily taxed by this epidemic of drug labs."

Healthwise, the presence of toxic chemicals and minds altered by meth can
spell a short existence for those who spend their days cooking up the drug,
said Sultan Police Chief Fred Walser, a former member of the Washington
State Patrol Clandestine Laboratory Response Team.

"Meth cookers don't live very long," Walser said. "Their teeth fall out.
Their hair falls out. They will literally vomit up their lungs."

One illicit lab that Walser busted stands out in his mind, not because it
was unusual, but because it was so very typical.

"The place was an absolute pigpen. There were three children there," Walser
said. "The diapers weren't changed on this one child for a week. We nearly
broke down and cried. We found $34,000 at the scene, but nothing for the
kids to eat. We went out and bought food for them. They were so hungry.
Virtually every place I've been, I've seen that scenario re-enacted."

Not only are the cooks harmed, but so are children exposed to a home-based
drub laboratory.

That can spell neglect for children or potential health problems. Exposure
to highly toxic chemicals can damage the kidneys, liver or spleen, or
create emotional and behavioral problems, which can cause violent or
paranoid behavior, according to a study by the Drug-Endangered Children
Program.

"We've responded to meth labs where children are eating breakfast and
there's meth cooking in the kitchen," Hart said. "These are horribly toxic
chemicals and you've got families living in that situation. Our guys are
going in suited up and these people are living there every day with this
stuff."

You can contact Janice Podsada by telephone at 425-339-3427 or you can send
e-mail to her at podsada@heraldnet.com .