DRUG LAB DANGERS EXPLAINED

CLINTON - Robert Evans held the Mason jar of clear liquid as if it would
explode. The jar, full of vegetable oil and water, looked like something
that could be found in a methamphetamine lab.

"This is actually for demonstration," Evans told his class at Sampson
Community College on Wednesday. "So if I drop it we don't all have to run
out of here."

Evans is a forensic chemist with the State Bureau of Investigation. He was
teaching firefighters, law officers and emergency medical workers the
dangers of uncovering secret drug labs. The college held four classes this
month to show emergency responders how to protect themselves when
approaching these labs.

The classes were offered at the college for the first time by the SBI and
the federal Drug Enforcement Administration. Similar classes were held at
Johnston Community College in Smithfield and at the Pittsboro campus of
Central Carolina Community College.

State and federal narcotics agents started offering the classes this year
because of the growth in methamphetamine traffic, Evans said. Four years
ago, when he started working for the SBI, agents found six meth labs. In
2001, the number rose to 31. Last year, 98 drug labs, mostly making
methamphetamines, were discovered in the state. So far this year, agents
have found more than 60 labs, Evans said.

J.W. Simmons called it a "great unfolding disaster occurring throughout the
rural landscape." Simmons is the director of occupational and emergency
services training at Sampson Community College on N.C. 24. He said the
four-hour class teaches emergency responders how to detect the signs of a
methamphetamine lab and what precautions they should take.

Saving lives

Traditionally, the college has offered classes to emergency service workers
that teach them how to save lives. The drug lab class teaches them how to
save their own, Simmons said.

Chemicals from drug labs can be explosive or lead to illnesses in people
who are exposed to them, Evans said.

The likelihood of firefighters, lawmen and EMS workers running across these
labs grows daily, Evans said. In the class, he tells the history of
methamphetamine labs, shows the growing trend in North Carolina and goes
through the chemicals used in producing methamphetamine. Evans also talks
about the process involved in making the drug.

"I'm not throwing all this up here so you know how to make
methamphetamine," Evans said. "I'm throwing this up here so you know what
to look for."

Ronald Bass, assistant emergency management director for Sampson County,
attended Wednesday's class. Bass said most fire departments in the county
plan to send people. More drug labs have been found in Harnett and Sampson
counties than any other county in the Cape Fear region. Last year, Sampson
lawmen found three labs. On Feb. 2, deputies arrested two Dunn men on
charges of possession of supplies for producing methamphetamine.

Bass said county emergency service workers have been to those scenes and
need to know what to look for.

Evans has taught three of the four classes at Sampson Community College. He
uses props and pictures as learning tools. During the lectures, he holds up
common methamphetamine-making supplies, such as matchbook covers, foil
packets and plastic tubes.

"Be very careful of going by and kicking things," Evans said. "You could
very easily have something eat through your clothes and skin. You'll know
you've got it on you. I can assure you of that."

Stimulant

Methamphetamine is a stimulant that affects the central nervous system and
causes increased activity and decreased appetite. People can download
instructions for making the drug from the Internet and buy the supplies in
most stores, Evans said. The drug is popular because it is cheap to make. A
"cook" can buy $600 worth of chemicals and make $2,000 worth of drugs.

"It's kind of like cookbook chemistry," Evans said. "It does not take a
Ph.D. to make this stuff."

People from 14 agencies, including the Raleigh Police Department, Newton
Grove Rescue and Cumberland County EMS, attended Wednesday's class.

Sampson Sheriff Jimmy Thornton said his office will try to send as many
deputies as possible to the training class. He said at least a dozen
deputies attended the class this month. "It's crucial for their safety, and
it's something that's needed," Thornton said. "I couldn't go, but I do plan
to attend."