Meth Workshop To Address Lab Cleanup Issues
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Staff Report-
Rental properties, including hotel and motel rooms, as well as seasonal homes which are left vacant, are prime targets for meth activity. If you own a property where a meth lab has been located, you may be required to have testing completed to determine contamination levels, and be held responsible for costly clean-up procedures.
The Meth Awareness Workshop, to be held at the Center Lake Pavilion, Warsaw, at 7 p.m. Wednesday will include clean-up specialists on the panel of experts to discuss this problem.
Officers from the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Unit will be available to answer questions from property owners.
A property is considered contaminated if it has been used for illegal manufacturing of a controlled substance such as methamphetamine. Contamination can pose serious health and environmental dangers. These drugs are manufactured in homes and outbuildings, garages and apartments using toxic household and agricultural chemicals that can explode or ignite without warning.
Title 318 of the Indiana Administrative Code governs the required clean up of the properties.
Niki Crawford, Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Section commander, said Title 318 outlines the contamination levels, what testing must be done, how the testing is done and who is qualified to do the testing.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is the lead agency in providing meth testing training for contractors.
When a meth lab is seized, Crawford said, police are required to notify the health department, fire department and child services if children under 18 are involved.
The health department then abates the house - essentially condemns it - until testing is complete. The homeowner is responsible for the cost of the testing - approximately $1,300.
After the house is tested and results certified by IDEM, the health department either lifts the abatement or orders a cleanup, Crawford said.
If a cleanup is needed, the homeowner is responsible. Cleanup can range from washing down the walls with soap and water to stripping out all the carpet and drywall.
"It really all depends on how long they've been cooking there," Crawford said.
Average cleanup cost is around $14,000, she said.
Worse, she said, is when homeowners simply abandon a house because they can't afford the cleanup.
"Now you've got an abandoned house in your neighborhood and it drives down your property values," she said.
Some insurance policies may cover some of the costs, but even insurance companies are beginning to avoid the risk.
Dan Woods, of Hall and Marose Insurance Agency, Warsaw, advises that property owners should contact their insurance companies to confirm exactly what their policy covers for this type of claim.
"Some of the companies are stepping up and paying the claims and others are totally excluding it," Woods stated. "We are seeing the rates for rental properties going up. The average cost for a clean up ranges from $10,000 to $15,000."
When meth is cooked, it releases high levels of iodine and phosphide. Hydrochloric acid and meth residue can cover the floors, walls and countertops.
It permeates carpet, seeps into the niches, cracks, corners and seams that make up a house.
Since not every meth lab is seized and cleaned up, unsuspecting homebuyers could wind up unknowingly purchasing a home that was used in meth production, officials say.
New owners believe the house is in good condition and have no idea they are living in a virtual toxic waste dump.
Often the first sign that something is not right is when unexplained illnesses begin to develop in family members and even pets.
Law enforcement personnel involved in seizing meth labs wear masks, eye protection, gloves, long-sleeved shirts and helmets in many cases because meth cooking creates toxins.[[In-content Ad]]A wide range of health problems which can result from prolonged exposure to meth lab toxins include:
- Respiratory illnesses
- Headaches
- Cancer
- Dizziness
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Eye damage
- Birth defects or miscarriage
- Skin irritations
- Organ damage
Meth labs have been found in vacated homes, rental properties and even hotel rooms where they leave behind damage that must be assessed, tested and cleaned up by professionals.
Meth cookers pay for a hotel room or apartment rental for a short period of time, and then leave behind costly damages. Local property owners have spent thousands of dollars in cleanups.
One property owner in Kosciusko County opted to tear down his rental home because the expenses to clean it up exceeded the value of the property.
For information about meth-lab cleanups, property owners should attend the local meth workshop on Wednesday, or call IDEM at 317-232-4535.
E-Editions
Rental properties, including hotel and motel rooms, as well as seasonal homes which are left vacant, are prime targets for meth activity. If you own a property where a meth lab has been located, you may be required to have testing completed to determine contamination levels, and be held responsible for costly clean-up procedures.
The Meth Awareness Workshop, to be held at the Center Lake Pavilion, Warsaw, at 7 p.m. Wednesday will include clean-up specialists on the panel of experts to discuss this problem.
Officers from the Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Unit will be available to answer questions from property owners.
A property is considered contaminated if it has been used for illegal manufacturing of a controlled substance such as methamphetamine. Contamination can pose serious health and environmental dangers. These drugs are manufactured in homes and outbuildings, garages and apartments using toxic household and agricultural chemicals that can explode or ignite without warning.
Title 318 of the Indiana Administrative Code governs the required clean up of the properties.
Niki Crawford, Indiana State Police Meth Suppression Section commander, said Title 318 outlines the contamination levels, what testing must be done, how the testing is done and who is qualified to do the testing.
The Indiana Department of Environmental Management is the lead agency in providing meth testing training for contractors.
When a meth lab is seized, Crawford said, police are required to notify the health department, fire department and child services if children under 18 are involved.
The health department then abates the house - essentially condemns it - until testing is complete. The homeowner is responsible for the cost of the testing - approximately $1,300.
After the house is tested and results certified by IDEM, the health department either lifts the abatement or orders a cleanup, Crawford said.
If a cleanup is needed, the homeowner is responsible. Cleanup can range from washing down the walls with soap and water to stripping out all the carpet and drywall.
"It really all depends on how long they've been cooking there," Crawford said.
Average cleanup cost is around $14,000, she said.
Worse, she said, is when homeowners simply abandon a house because they can't afford the cleanup.
"Now you've got an abandoned house in your neighborhood and it drives down your property values," she said.
Some insurance policies may cover some of the costs, but even insurance companies are beginning to avoid the risk.
Dan Woods, of Hall and Marose Insurance Agency, Warsaw, advises that property owners should contact their insurance companies to confirm exactly what their policy covers for this type of claim.
"Some of the companies are stepping up and paying the claims and others are totally excluding it," Woods stated. "We are seeing the rates for rental properties going up. The average cost for a clean up ranges from $10,000 to $15,000."
When meth is cooked, it releases high levels of iodine and phosphide. Hydrochloric acid and meth residue can cover the floors, walls and countertops.
It permeates carpet, seeps into the niches, cracks, corners and seams that make up a house.
Since not every meth lab is seized and cleaned up, unsuspecting homebuyers could wind up unknowingly purchasing a home that was used in meth production, officials say.
New owners believe the house is in good condition and have no idea they are living in a virtual toxic waste dump.
Often the first sign that something is not right is when unexplained illnesses begin to develop in family members and even pets.
Law enforcement personnel involved in seizing meth labs wear masks, eye protection, gloves, long-sleeved shirts and helmets in many cases because meth cooking creates toxins.[[In-content Ad]]A wide range of health problems which can result from prolonged exposure to meth lab toxins include:
- Respiratory illnesses
- Headaches
- Cancer
- Dizziness
- Nausea and/or vomiting
- Eye damage
- Birth defects or miscarriage
- Skin irritations
- Organ damage
Meth labs have been found in vacated homes, rental properties and even hotel rooms where they leave behind damage that must be assessed, tested and cleaned up by professionals.
Meth cookers pay for a hotel room or apartment rental for a short period of time, and then leave behind costly damages. Local property owners have spent thousands of dollars in cleanups.
One property owner in Kosciusko County opted to tear down his rental home because the expenses to clean it up exceeded the value of the property.
For information about meth-lab cleanups, property owners should attend the local meth workshop on Wednesday, or call IDEM at 317-232-4535.
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