{
  "id": "RL32959",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL32959",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 313175,
      "date": "2006-03-13",
      "retrieved": "2016-04-07T19:08:53.298029",
      "title": "Methamphetamine Lab Clean-Up and Remediation Issues",
      "summary": "Methamphetamine (meth), a drug with limited medical use and high potential for abuse and\naddiction, is a subject of widespread concern. Once associated mainly with the West Coast and\nwhite, male, blue-collar workers, illicit meth is now used by diverse population groups nationwide,\nwith concentrations in the West, Southwest, and Midwest. Meth is supplied primarily by clandestine\nlabs in California and Mexico. The drug is relatively simple to make from easily obtained recipes,\nbut access to certain ingredients has become more difficult. Meth production in small, toxic labs\n(STLs) increased initially due to the successful closure of some \"super-labs\" (labs capable of making\nmore than 10 pounds of meth in a 24-hour cycle), relative ease of making meth, continuing demand\nfor the drug, and desire for potential wealth and involvement in a criminal underground social\nactivity. Although the greater fraction of meth used and distributed across the nation comes from\nsuper-labs, the sheer number of STLs, their geographic diffusion, and their residual impacts have\nprompted concern in Congress, state and local governments, law enforcement agencies, and real\nestate and other groups.\n Meth labs have many significant and widespread residual impacts. According to the United\nStates Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), there were 9,092 STLs and related meth sites in\n2000 and 17,356 in 2003; the number has been declining since. These sites can be found in a wide\nrange of places, such as apartments, motel rooms, abandoned buildings, and packed in car trunks in\nparks and other locations. Meth makers can use common items such as mason jars, coffee filters,\nhot plates, over-the-counter medications containing pseudoephedrine or ephedrine (e.g., Sudafed and\nsome other nonprescription decongestants), acetone, hydrochloric acid, and anhydrous ammonia. \nMaking meth can result in eye and respiratory irritations, chemical burns, explosions and fires, toxic\nwastes, and contaminated surroundings. Some residual impacts of meth production threaten the\nhealth and welfare of children removed from meth sites. This report focuses on the residual\nenvironmental impacts of STLs.\n Cleaning and remediating a meth site can cost more than $200,000, depending on the magnitude\nof contamination. State and local governments that incur expenses cleaning a site can apply to the\nU.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for reimbursement, up to $25,000 per incident. \nAlternatively, rather than incur costs and apply for a capped reimbursement, state and local\ngovernments can notify DEA of a site, and DEA will perform and pay for cleaning. In addition,\nfunds have been available from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to\nredevelop a former meth production site.\n No uniform federal guidelines or standards exist governing the process or the endpoint for\ncleaning or remediating STLs. Across various states, acceptable levels of meth residue, after\nremediation, range from 0.05 to 0.1 micrograms of meth per 100 square centimeters of surface. \nTwelve congressional bills, one enacted into law in March, relate broadly to meth site cleaning or\nremediation. This report will be updated as warranted.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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}