A TOXIC CHEMICAL USED TO CREATE CRYSTAL METH ALMOST WOUND UP IN THE
MUNICIPAL LANDFILL LAST THURSDAY

Hatzic Street Evacuated For One Hour

A highly toxic substance commonly used in the production of crystal
methamphetamines was found in a garbage truck last Thursday, prompting the
evacuation of a Hatzic street.

Six pounds of red phosphorous amorphous were discovered by accident when a
small fire started in the back of the vehicle around 3 p.m. July 15. The
truck driver put it out with an extinguisher and then noticed a red powder
coating the back of the truck.

He tried to scratch it off with a rock and stopped when it began smoking.

Mission Fire Rescue was called to the scene and they in turn contacted the
District of Mission's environmental technician, Mike Hofer.

According to Dennis Clark, the district's director of corporate
administration, after Hofer spoke with the truck driver, Hazco
Environmental Services was called. As a precaution, said Clark, all houses
on Moffat Avenue were evacuated for about an hour. The fire department
followed the dump truck to the district landfill where the vehicle was
guided to an undeveloped portion of the site.

"A field chemist determined that the material was red phosphorous
amorphous," said Clark.

After firefighters soaked down the load - as red phosphorous dust will
ignite - the truck was emptied onto a mat and all the trash was sorted
through, bagged and drummed.

The truck had just completed its route and was about to empty its load at
the landfill, reported Clark, meaning the garbage was collected from only
four streets: Coleman, Pakenham, Moffat and Vosburgh. This information was
passed onto the RCMP, but Clark said someone could just as easily have
driven into the area and dropped it in someone's trash.

As friction can cause the phosphorous to ignite, it is fortunate the trash
was not emptied into the landfill. If a fire had started, it would have
gone underground and become virtually impossible to extinguish, said Clark.

Red phosphorus amorphous is used as a chemical reactant to help create
crystal methamphetamine, said RCMP Sgt. Jerry Prevett.

Once it is used, it becomes a waste product. This material is less
difficult to obtain in Canada, compared to the United States where the Drug
Enforcement Agency requires sellers to see a purchaser's end-use permit.

Some of the smaller drug labs will gather thousands of packs of matches and
obtain the red phosphorous from the matchbook strikeplates. This is not
done too often due to the intense labour required, said Prevett.

RCMP are continuing to investigate.