SUPERVISOR SAYS DRUG-RELATED FIRES COST THOUSANDS IN DAMAGE

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS NOT ANOTHER MAN'S PLEASURE.

As the number of meth labs continues to boom across the state, landfill
operators are seeing more fires ignited by the drug's waste.

And McDowell is no exception.

"What happens when you're getting ready to get caught with something?"
asked Mike Gladden, the county's Public Works director. "You throw it away."

The homemade stimulant methamphetamine is manufactured with hazardous
chemicals and produces toxic fumes.

Jon Lewis, supervisor of the local transfer station, said fires started
popping up at the landfill a year or more ago, but they didn't realize then
what was happening.

When a man brought his garbage in one day and it caught fire, they rummaged
through the bags and spotted common components of a methamphetamine lab -
matches, brake fluid, iodine and the blister packs that usually contain
pseudoephedrine pills, according to Lewis. They gave the man a warning and
sent him on his way.

Since that time, checking the burning bags after they're extinguished has
become a routine measure.

"It (fire) usually happens when they use the loader to push the trash into
trailers," Lewis stated. "Once the fire starts, it's quick and grows fast.
It doesn't take it long to heat up."

The supervisor estimated that his crew has seen about 10 meth-related
fires, one that torched a $45,000 garbage trailer and two that burned the
tops out of trailers, causing about $3,000 to $4,000 worth of damage. The
day a McDowell News reporter interviewed Lewis last week, he said he had
battled two blazes sparked by drug waste that morning and afternoon.

Gladden stated that he received formal training in what to spot in these
bags of meth waste. Lewis said all the local landfill employees know what
to look for.

Rick Hetzel, the N.C. State Bureau of Investigation's clandestine lab
coordinator for western North Carolina, said meth-related landfill fires
have become a problem across the state. He added that a bag of meth waste
may contain hundreds or thousands of matches. That, combined with heat,
flammable liquids and the paper and plastic products usually found in
trash, is a recipe for fire.

He stated that his team recently worked meth-related fires at both the
Burke and Buncombe County landfills. In the Burke blaze, a worker was taken
to the hospital after he breathed the toxic fumes, causing a burned throat,
a headache and nausea, according to an article in The News Herald of Morganton.

Fortunately, McDowell's landfill employees have escaped harm.

"We're cautious," said Gladden. "We've been lucky so far."

When a fire breaks out, they call Marion Fire Department, whose members are
usually on the scene within five minutes, according to the director.
They've also begun notifying the Sheriff's Office.

The local facility receives trash from residences, businesses and
industries and all the county's convenience centers. Once collected, it is
packed into trailers and transferred to the landfill near Lowe's Motor
Speedway. There, it's dumped in a spot marked on a grid.

If trouble arises out of a load of garbage, Charlotte landfill employees
can pinpoint that area and in what county the load originated. Gladden said
problems, such as fires, can penalize a county and possibly even shut down
the Charlotte facility.

Gladden said there is no foolproof way to deter meth waste. However, he is
taking steps to make it harder on folks who haul it in.

"The state requires us to screen so many loads, but we can't screen them
all," he stated. "We will be monitoring as much as possible. When we
screen, the driver or the owner of the trash has to stay with the load
until we are finished."

The director said his is also looking into the possibility of installing
surveillance cameras at the site.