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| 12 July 2001 - Alpine Sun Law enforcement targets meth labs ALPINE – If you’re anywhere near Interstate Eight in the summertime, you can see the steady stream of people driving into the mountains to camp, mountain-bike, hike, fish, and just relax in the local mountains. But a few people seek-out remote areas for other kinds of activities: making methamphetamine, and dumping the leftovers from their illegal drug labs. “Pressure from law enforcement agencies is pushing some meth cookers out of town,” according to San Diego County Supervisor Dianne Jacob, who spoke at a recent news conference near Alpine. “They’re moving farther away from populated areas, and dumping their leftover trash and chemicals in remote areas. Those chemicals can cause serious health and safety problems. And whether you’re going for a day-hike in our local mountains, or camping for a week in another part of the country, there’s a chance of encountering a meth lab or dump site.” Across the nation, the number of meth labs and dump sites found on national forest land increased by 356 percent last year, compared to 1999. Late last year, authorities seized a drug lab in Ramona, and found that the meth cookers had dumped their leftovers in more than 30 locations along Black Canyon Road, which leads into the Cleveland National Forest. Cleanup experts from the DEA found solvents, hydriodic acid, red phosphorus, and other dangerous chemicals in those dump sites. “In a national forest, the odds of coming across a meth lab are very low, but they’re increasing,” said Chuck Shamblin, Law Enforcement Coordinator for the Cleveland National Forest. “If you see something that looks like a meth lab or dump site, give it a wide berth, and notify a park ranger or law enforcement officer. Meth labs and dump sites have hazardous materials, and you don’t want to confront a meth cooker.” State parks in the San Diego region have not had a large number of meth labs or dump sites in recent years, but rangers have been advised of the hazards. “Meth labs are out there,” said Curtis Itogawa, Superintendent of the Ocotillo Wells State Vehicular Recreation Area. Firefighters who work in the back country have been trained to recognize the signs of a meth lab or dumpsite. “Meth makers dump chemicals that are extremely flammable,” said Kelly Zombro, Battalion Chief with the California Department of Forestry. “Those chemicals can ignite by themselves, or turn a small brushfire into a large one. And when a lab or dump site burns, there’s a secondary hazard. The firefighters are exposed to the chemicals and fumes as they walk through the area, putting out the flames.” For every pound of meth produced in an illegal lab, there’s about six pounds of waste product left over. When they’re dumped in the back country, those chemicals kill plants and animals. “The chemicals found in meth dump sites can burn a person’s skin, and even the fumes can make someone sick. Iodine, freon, and acetone can seep into the soil, polluting the groundwater,” said Mike Handman, of the San Diego County Hazardous Incident Response Team. “I’ve condemned two wells because they were polluted with freon, which was dumped by meth cookers. Right now, the state’s trying to come up with standards for the clean-up of the chemicals at meth dumpsites and labs.” What hikers or campers do if they come across what might be a meth lab or a dump site? Avoid the area, and call San Diego County’s Methamphetamine Hotline, at 1-877-NO 2 METH. |
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