Did you know that meth labs leave toxins and traces of methamphetamine in the walls for months, even if a cleanup crew clears the building? — Click to Tweet.
A perfect example is the home of Beth and Jonathan Hankins, a couple who moved their family into a house in Klamath Falls, Oregon. They’d bought the property from Freddie Mac.
Within just a few days, the mysterious health problems set in. Beth had trouble breathing, and Jonathan started suffering from nosebleeds and migraine headaches. The couple’s two-year-old son, Ezra, even began developing mouth sores.
Other reported health problems have been even worse, with serious respiratory illnesses. Even dogs have been known to get sick.
Cleanup Activities on Meth Labs
It turns out that the Hankins’ home had been previously owned by a meth cook, and no cleanup was performed afterward.
Normally, a registered, qualified meth lab cleanup company has to come in and scour the home for contaminants, many of which are in the walls and ceilings. The dust in the house is also contaminated with solvents and other reactive chemicals that make the meth concoction.
This process is normally rigorous. Cleanup companies have to have licenses and certifications from the state, and they have yearly required refresher classes as well. Once they perform the cleanup, they give the property owner a “Certificate of Illegal Drug Cleanup.” In some states, this certificate has to be given to the local and state health departments as well.
Research on Cleanup Activities
But some environmental research suggests that families might not be safe even when a cleanup is performed.
Glenn Morrison is an associate professor of environmental engineering at Missouri University of Science and Technology, and he’s working with the National Institute of Standards and Technology to find out more about how meth chemicals “accumulate in the building materials, furniture, and common household items” of a meth house during production.
What he’s finding is that the methamphetamine can remain in the walls for months, even years after they’ve been cleaned, which is far longer than most of the solvents and other things that go into making meth. Meth itself, however, is less reactive, so it can stay in the walls and slowly release into the atmosphere of the house.
Although his research isn’t finished, he’s focusing on finding what concentration of meth in the walls could actually cause an effective dosage in the residents of the house. He’s concerned that a high enough concentration could cause a daily exposure similar to a dose of Adderall, which is an ADHD medication similar to methamphetamine His research, however, isn’t finished, so we will have to wait for his results.
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