Anna Holt, 2, needs breathing treatment because of an illness that began in the family home contaminated by methamphetamine. Her mother, Rhonda, "developed migraines. She and her husband, a factory worker, had kidney ailments," The New York Times reports. "More than five years after they moved in ... the couple discovered" that their home in Winchester, Tenn., had housed a meth lab. "The Holts’ next realization was almost as devastating: it was up to them to spend the $30,000 or more that cleanup would require." (Josh Anderson photo for NYT)Reporters Shaila Dewan and Robbie Brown write, "Federal data on meth lab seizures suggest that there are tens of thousands of contaminated residences in the United States. The victims include low-income elderly people whose homes are surreptitiously used by relatives or in-laws to make meth, and landlords whose tenants leave them with a toxic mess. Some states have tried to fix the problem by requiring cleanup and, at the time of sale, disclosure of the house’s history. But the high cost of cleaning — $5,000 to $100,000, depending on the size of the home, the stringency of the requirements and the degree of contamination — has left hundreds of properties vacant and quarantined, particularly in Western and Southern states afflicted with meth use."
The problem is expected to grow because meth-lab seizures are increasing, by 14 percent last year, and meth makers are adopting a simpler method. Meanwhile, the Environmental Protection Agency has missed an end-of-2008 deadline to establish standards for meth contamination and cleanup. "Without standards, professional cleaners say, it is easy to bungle a job that often requires gutting and repeated washing," the Times reports. "About 20 states have passed laws requiring meth contamination cleanup, and they use widely varied standards." (Read more)
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