Cleanup Begins At Former Connecticut Meth Labs
Connecticut, meth, methamphetamine, methamphetamine lab, meth abuse
Remediation Will Follow State Guidelines Developed By Health Department
Local health officials
will use guidelines drafted by the state Department of Public Health in overseeing
indoor cleanup of two properties that were sites of methamphetamine labs, an
official said Monday.
Owners of the two properties have already begun interior cleanup.
Chatham Health District Director Thad D. King said he is preparing to send
the owners of the two properties letters detailing the state Department of
Public Health's requirements for proper remediation of the sites.
The department delivered the draft guidelines more than two months after a
June 8 raid by state and federal narcotics agents on 138 Mott Hill Road and
a tiny cottage at the rear of 5 Bellevue St.
Since the raid and subsequent public concern about the rising profile of meth
in Connecticut, Gov. M. Jodi Rell has ordered the state's public safety, public
health and environmental protection agencies to work closely to deter the drug's
harmful impact on residents.
With the guidelines, King said, the Chatham Health District can be more effective
in ensuring the properties will not present a hazard to occupants, neighbors
or the environment. He said his agency also plans to test groundwater at both
addresses.
The cleanup blueprint will be helpful for other local health directors, King
said, if production of the highly addictive stimulant takes root in their communities.
"As we move forward, local directors of health will be involved in using
these guidelines to review their cleanup," he said.
King said the property owners are cooperating with the Chatham Health District,
which oversees public health and sanitation for East Hampton, East Haddam,
Hebron, Marlborough and Portland.
King said some cleanup has begun at both sites on Mott Hill Road and Bellevue
Street - with the installation of new flooring and walls, among other things.
The property owners are responsible for paying for and completing the cleanup,
he said.
He said the state public health guidelines are the first step toward a more
formal remediation protocol that other states, mostly in the West and Midwest,
have adopted to deal with an epidemic of meth abuse and production. The state
public health agency is concerned with the properties' interior condition,
while the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) monitors exterior
conditions.
Meth production is a particularly acute environmental concern because the
commonly used household chemicals for making the highly addictive drug are
extremely toxic. Meth residues settle on walls, floors and window sills, and
can be inhaled or ingested by humans and animals.
Moreover, the waste byproducts, laced with acids and solvents, are typically
dumped in sinks and toilets, or poured onto the ground or streams, where the
toxic ingredients may eventually taint wells and other groundwater sources.
The new guidelines contain pre-cleanup and post-cleanup testing levels for
traces of meth, King said. He declined to reveal the state's remediation guidelines
until the property owners have been formally notified about them.
The DEP is reviewing the public health department guidelines for cleaning
up the drug while it devises its own protocols for exterior remediation of
the East Hampton sites, or any future meth labs in the state, agency spokesman
Dennis Schain said Monday.
Schain said the DEP is working to determine whether the exteriors of the East
Hampton sites require remediation.
