Series: 5 Of 10

PROPERTY OWNERS ABSORB METH LAB CLEANUP COSTS

Real estate broker Tim Smith is still upset about the cost he incurred to
clean up his house after police arrested his tenant for having a
methamphetamine lab.

Smith had been renting the Roseburg home to the man for about six years
when the Douglas Interagency Narcotics Team raided the home, arrested the
man, and declared the property uninhabitable about two years ago.

"Actually, I saw the police report in the paper," Smith said. "This
happened to be one of my own personal properties."

After DINT seized the meth lab, Smith was served a notice that he would
have to pay to have it cleaned up before he could sell it or rent it out again.

"If we have a meth lab in a residence ... we send the landowner a letter
advising them that the property is no longer fit for habitation because of
the drug lab, and we also send a letter to the health department," said
DINT Commander John Hanlin.

Methamphetamine manufacturing involves the use of a number of toxic
solvents, metals and salts, and strong acids or bases, according to a
Department of Human Services Web site. These substances can pose a health
risk to inhabitants through skin exposure, inhalation, ingestion, or
injection, if contaminated drug paraphernalia were to inadvertently
puncture the skin.

"It leaves carcinogens that you don't want yourself, or children to come in
contact with," explained Dave Bussen, director of the Douglas County
Environmental Health Division. "And depending on temperature changes, it
can be quite volatile. You don't want to be walking around somewhere that
it was cooked."

To protect the public from these hazards, the state requires meth lab sites
to be inspected and cleaned up by a state-approved environmental cleanup crew.

Disposal of the chemicals and apparatus found at the lab site is performed
by a hazardous materials contractor paid for by the Drug Enforcement
Administration, Hanlin said. But responsibility for the comprehensive
cleanup and inspection process that follows falls to the homeowner or the
insurance provider.

"Most insurance companies are trying to exclude that now," Smith said. "In
fact, mine told me a couple of times that, 'I'm sure we're not going to
handle this,' but they did."

DHS tracks all meth lab sites in the state, and contracts with 26 different
private companies to handle the cleanup process.

DHS Drug Lab Cleanup Program Coordinator Tom Mitchell said once the
contaminated areas have been cleaned up, the owner is issued a certificate
of fitness for rehabilitation. The entire process takes about a month or
two for most people, Mitchell said.

Smith said the cleanup on his property took six months, and it was hardly
the ecological wasteland it was made out to be.

"I was in the house right after the bust, and you look around and there's
virtually nothing there ... the house wasn't trashed," Smith said. "I think
the misconception that people have is these are these great big labs ... it
isn't like the neighbors have been noticing this terrible odor or anything
like that."

Before his home could even be added to the list of meth lab sites, Smith
began receiving advertisements from firms offering to do the cleanup for him.

"The costs for inspection and cleanup are outrageous," Smith said.

First Strike Environmental drug lab cleanup supervisor Jim Roles said the
Roseburg company has been licensed to clean up meth labs in Oregon since 1995.

"It's expensive," Roles admits. "It can range from ... $4,000 to upwards of
$40,000."

The cost varies depending on the size of the lab and how much property was
affected, and whether it was inside or outside the home. The average cost
to First Strike customers is in the $5,000-$10,000 range.

"Outside gets a little more detailed because you can have soil
contamination," Roles said. "That's very unusual to actually have to do any
soil excavation. I haven't done any in probably seven years."

Smith said the location of the property can also affect the cost.

"Ours was in the city limits, and actually in the city limits you're better
off," he said. "You could end up having to rip out a whole septic system"
in the country.

There are at least 13 Douglas County properties that need to be cleaned up
since the discovery of meth labs on the premises. A Web site maintained by
the Oregon Building Codes Division of the Department of Consumer and
Business Services maintains a list of the properties; some were declared
uninhabitable years ago.

"No one can use it - owner, renter or anyone," Mitchell said. "They could
be arrested for knowingly using property before it's cleaned up.

"No one's happy to have this happen on their property, obviously ... they
all feel like victims."