LABS' DANGERS CAN LINGER

The spread of illegal methamphetamine labs has been well-documented, but
their poisonous residual effects are just now coming to light for the
general public. State rules went into effect in April requiring extensive
cleanup of these sites once authorities shut them down. Landlords and
tenants need to be aware of the liabilities and dangers that trail this
illegal trade.

Meth has been around for decades, but it's just in the last five to 10
years that homemade meth has become an industry unto itself. Individuals
use ephedrine-containing cold medicines and other household products to
make a highly addictive stimulant popular enough to acquire several street
names -- ice, crank, speed, stovetop and so on.

The drug's longterm effects on users are awful, but there's another public
health concern. Exposure to residual meth -- what might be found in the
couch, drapes and carpet of a meth-making site -- may lead to breathing
problems, burns, skin irritations and more. Some studies indicate such
exposure could eventually lead to cancer, organ damage, birth defects and
reproductive problems.

Authorities have been busting these home-based labs here for five years,
but only this year has the state set guidelines on how these sites are to
be cleaned up.

Yet how would tenants know any of that when they sign a lease and move in?
State law requires the owner to clean up the property, but so far no law
requires disclosure of that history to the tenant. In the law's eyes, the
cleanup wipes the slate clean -- even though no agency inspects the site to
make sure the cleanup did in fact happen and meets the law's requirements.

Some Realtors and property owners may feel a moral responsibility to inform
clients, as Jeff Smith of Glover Reality says, but the state cannot count
on that in every corner. Tenants would be wise to ask neighbors and do some
research of recent arrests to determine what kind of activity went on in a
house or rental unit before they sign a lease.

Likewise, considering that cleanup can cost thousands of dollars, landlords
may want to screen and monitor tenants more carefully. Refurbishing a
property after a tenant moves out is expensive enough; facing state cleanup
requirements and a tainted history could be much, much worse. Getting rid
of the meth trade is the top goal. But it will take everyone's vigilance --
including landlords' -- to wipe it out.