AL: Kids find meth lab cooler in the woods and bring it home

7/23/09 Two boys in Marshall County, Alabama were riding their four wheelers in the woods near their home this week, when they found a cooler containing a portable meth lab.

The mother of one of the boys says her son came home with the cooler and said “mom, I think I found some meth”. Inside the cooler, she says she found lithium batteries and a container that was about the size of a 20 ounce bottle with a crystallized substance in it.

She then told the boys to wash their hands, take a shower, and change their clothes. She then called Read more

Hunters warned by Indiana State police about outdoor meth labs

November signals hunting season in many areas of the country. It’s the time of year when hunters pull their orange hats, vests, or jackets out of the closet and check their shotguns, rifles, and bows to make sure they’re working properly. Hunters know the routine. They’ve been doing it since the settlers came to America. But, this year, state police are advising hunters that they need to be aware that they may have more to fear from “man” than they do from animals, now that meth lab cooks have moved their operations outdoors.

According to the Department of Natural Resources, Indiana is home to more than 250,000 hunters. Deer  hunting season runs through Jan. 4, but other birds and other animals are hunted year-round in the state.

This spring Indiana law enforcement noticed that meth cooks were increasingly turning to the one-pot method to make methamphetamine.

The one-pot method doesn’t require the cook to use anhydrous ammonia or create the fumes associated with traditional meth cooks. But, the chemical dangers of the one-pot cooking method still remain, either in plain sight or in trash bags that meth cooks have tried to hide in the woods or disposed of by leaving them on roadsides. One-pot meth labs have also been found in backpacks.

Law enforcement officials in Indiana would like hunters to be aware that the chances of them finding the remnants of a meth lab this year may be greater than in previous years,  based on the rising number of meth labs they have encountered this year.

The Indiana State Police Department advises hunters:

• Methamphetamine “cooks” use a variety of containers to manufacture the drug, and small gas cans are popular. Don’t pick up a discarded gas can, even if it looks new.

• Other trash that could indicate a meth lab: Battery casings, clear plastic bags, empty blister packs and containers such as pop / soda bottles and jars.

• Be careful of any discarded cylinder with a modified valve; it could have contained the volatile chemical anhydrous ammonia.

Meth Labs Contaminate the Environment

What problems do meth labs present to our environment? People who make methamphetamine in small labs across America use several toxic chemicals to produce the drug. When they are combined, they produce toxins that contaminate homes and the contents within them. For every pound of methamphetamine that’s made, 5 to 6 lbs of toxic waste are produced, which are often dumped down sinks, toilets, or on the ground outside of the lab. The hazardous wastes produced by meth labs affects everyone, one way or another.

What kinds of chemicals are used in the production of meth that are being dumped?

• Starting fluid (either)
• Paint Thinner
• Freon
• Acetone
• Anhydrous ammonia
• Red phosphorus
• Iodine crystals
• Brake cleaner (toluene)
• Drain cleaner (sodium hydroxide)
• Battery Acid (sulfuric acid)
• Reactive Materials (sodium or lithium)
• Cold tablets (containing pseudoephedrine)