Legislation fails to protect public from dangers of meth labs

Frontiersman editorial board

The dangers of methamphetamine are not limited to those who choose to use the drug, and some people in Alaska may not even know they're being exposed to dangerous toxins that are created during the manufacture of meth.

Meth labs are extremely mobile, and relatively easy to construct. When a lab is discovered in a home, House Bill 59 recommends that the owner seek a third-party evaluation of the property, and that the home be professionally cleaned if necessary. The law does not require those actions. A landlord or homeowner seeking to rent or sell a former lab site is allowed to clean the property and to declare it fit for occupancy.

Many renters or recent buyers may not even know their home was once used to manufacture the deadly drug.

If that is the case, walls, carpets, plumbing and fixtures may be contaminated with dangerous levels of chemicals, including hydrochloric acid, iodine, phosphine and of actual methamphetamine, which is released in large quantities during the manufacturing process. Those chemicals are produced as gases and are deposited on many surfaces in the home. Meth production also creates large quantities of toxic byproducts, and those may be dumped down drains or directly onto the ground near the site.

According to an environmental scientist in Alaska, some meth sites are so contaminated they are referred to as "napalm jobs," so contaminated it's not even worth the cost or effort to clean them.

Under HB 59, which was signed into law on Aug. 20, the property is placed on a list of contaminated sites, but no restrictions are placed upon the site or the owner. The owner may have the property removed from the list by providing data that show the property was sufficiently cleaned. Because no third-party oversight is required, nothing prevents a dishonest owner from sending in false sample material. He could send in for sampling a piece of carpeting or drywall from another property, or could selectively clean part of the property and sample from there only.

HB 59 completely lacks teeth, and is woefully inadequate in terms of protecting Alaskans. We urge the Legislature to revisit this legislation and draft new language that requires third-party sampling and cleanup of former meth labs. This is a serious health risk, and it should not be ignored for the sake of protecting the bank accounts of landlords.