METH LAB SAFETY

Officers Learn How To Fight The Illegal Drug Methamphetamine During A
Statewide Conference This Week In Hickory.

HICKORY - More than 150 law enforcement officers from across the state are
at the Hickory Metro Convention Center this week for a seminar concerning
the illegal drug methamphetamine.

The federally funded conference, sponsored by the U.S. Bureau of Justice
Assistance, is an awareness program focused on training officers for the
investigation and management of clandestine meth laboratories.

Methamphetamine, or crystal meth, is a highly addictive stimulant that can
be manufactured in the home from everyday household products. Its
production and abuse have become a growing problem for law enforcement -
and society as a whole - in recent years.

Methods for the production of the drug have changed, leading to the growth
of the problem, said Van Shaw, assistant special agent in charge of the
State Bureau of Investigation.

"It's easier to manufacture now. You can make it on your stove with readily
available chemicals," said Shaw, who is the coordinator of the SBI's
Clandestine Laboratory Research Unit. So far this year, law enforcement
officials in North Carolina have raided 173 meth labs, up from 98 in 2002.
They raided 34 labs in 2001, Shaw said.

The primary concerns of the three-day conference are to familiarize
officers with the methods of investigating and dismantling the labs, and to
promote officer safety.

"Raiding a meth lab is like a SWAT team raid in a toxic waste dump," said
Chief Agent Dr. John Duncan of the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and
Dangerous Drugs Control.

Duncan, one of the instructors of the seminar, said a meth lab raid is
"probably the most dangerous thing a law enforcement officer can do, shy of
disarming a bomb."

In addition to facing possibly violent and armed subjects, the dangers of a
raid include potential explosions, fires and exposure to poisonous gases
that can cause serious immediate or long-term injuries, Duncan said.

The manufacturing process of the drug produces 5 pounds of hazardous waste
per every pound of the drug made.

Among the byproducts are phosphene and hydrogen chloride gases, which are
deadly if inhaled in substantial doses, officials said.

The problem of meth is also an environmental concern, as the toxic waste
materials are often disposed of in wooded or rural areas, or dumped into
rivers and streams.

"It's like having a dirty bomb in your back yard," said Thomas Keith,
district attorney for Forsyth County.

Special Agent Shaw said one of the goals of the program is to give officers
the investigative training necessary to identify potential labs.

"We're being more aggressive, acting on every tip we get," said Watauga
County Sheriff Mark Shook, whose county leads the state in meth lab raids.