Environmental health hazards of clandestine methamphetamine production for the rural community population

Methamphetamine residues and the chemical wastes generated during its production are emerging as significant sources of environmental contamination in the United States. The exponential increase in the number of illegal laboratories seized (3,811 in 1998, 15,994 in 2004), emphasizes the risk of contamination and resulting health threat; however, very little is currently known about the fate of meth wastes in the environment. Upon cooking, hazardous airborne products are generated that can contaminate building interiors, thereby posing a risk to anyone who subsequently enters the lab site. Additionally, liquid waste is generated and indiscriminately dumped onto the ground in rural areas, where the hazardous chemicals can leach into the soil and migrate into groundwater supplies. Additional concerns have been expressed about possible contamination of the food supply based on the discovery of a meth lab at the bottom of a temporarily empty grain bin in Illinois. A multiple year study has recently been initiated in our laboratory that involves (a) synthesis of meth from Sudafed and generation of airborne and liquid residual waste mixtures, (b) assessment of airborne interactions with various materials typically found in structures used for meth cooks, (c) quantification of geochemical and biological rates controlling the mobility of meth-containing liquid wastes in groundwater (d) development of a methodology to estimate health risks due to meth exposure via relevant pathways and (e) dissemination of the health-related and environmental exposure research findings through a training program. Preliminary results of the project will be analyzed and presented at this conference.