METH LABS ON THE RISE, STATE POLICE SAY

This year alone, 32 have been found, half the number found all of last year.
The drug is becoming more prevalent in Pa.

The number of methamphetamine labs uncovered by Pennsylvania State
Police has nearly doubled each year for two years, and police say they
are on track to find even more this year.

>From 2001 to 2003, state police uncovered 117 labs or meth-lab dump
sites.

In the first three months of this year, state police discovered 32
labs, half the number that was uncovered all of last year.

"We're going to get slammed this year," said Sgt. Mike Rudda, head of
the Pennsylvania State Police Clandestine Lab Response Team.

In addition to state busts, federal drug agents, who tend to target
larger operations, raided 11 labs in Pennsylvania last year, said Rick
McGoldrick, a spokesman for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration
in Philadelphia.

The Philadelphia region is the origin of a large portion of the
methamphetamine produced and consumed in the eastern United States,
according to the DEA.

Along with heroin, methamphetamine - a highly addictive, powerful
stimulant ingested by swallowing, inhaling, injecting or smoking - is
becoming more prevalent in Pennsylvania, according to state police and
DEA reports.

"A large factor in the clandestine-lab epidemic is the evolution of
technology and the increased use of the Internet," said Armand
McClintock, special agent for the DEA's Indianapolis district.

Drug abusers use common household chemicals, such as over-the-counter
medicine, to produce the drug in makeshift labs - sometimes found
inside car trunks or in hotel rooms. Because many of the people
manufacturing methamphetamine have no formal chemistry education, this
creates a threat because many of the chemicals are corrosive or
flammable, police said.

"These are very dangerous chemicals that can cause all sorts of
problems if exposed to them," said Trooper John Casciano, assistant
coordinator of the state team.

Long-term use of the drug can lead to strokes, heart disease, and
Parkinson's disease, among other health problems, according to the
National Institute on Drug Abuse. Even small amounts can cause
convulsions, which can lead to death, the institute said.

In 2002, police found 32 grams of methamphetamine in a home in
Perkasie, Bucks County. Investigators also found equipment used to
manufacture the drug.

More recently, a Hatfield man was arrested in December after admitting
to police that he was manufacturing methamphetamine in a Towamencin
hotel.

Incidents such as these, police said, are dangerous because they
expose unwitting victims to airborne chemicals that can cause health
problems later.

As the proliferation of these labs continued, police said it became
necessary to have a specialized team to respond to the calls.

In 2001, Rudda, head of the state team, said he recognized that
clandestine labs were a problem. As a trooper, he and other officers
would often stumble across a majority of the labs on routine calls or
traffic stops.

That year, he organized a group of 22 troopers and eight chemists to
form a specialized group that collects evidence from the labs to
assist detectives in investigations. This group wears "moon" suits to
protect them from airborne and tangible chemicals they may come into
contact with while collecting the evidence.

The cleanup fees associated with these labs cost taxpayers, on
average, $2,000 to $4,000 per site. These funds come out of the
already strained budgets of state and local police
departments.

"The worst is yet to come," Detective Chuck Crawford, president of the
Pennsylvania Narcotics Officers' Association, said.

Last year, the association started methamphetamine management
workshops to help police officers better negotiate potential
clandestine labs.

"[Meth] is the crack cocaine of the 21st century," Casciano said.