WSNIA - The Educator

INFORMATION ♦ EDUCATION ♦ ENFORCEMENT

THE EDUCATOR - Fall 2002

O' Little Town in Methlehem

In an e-mail from Mike

Politics, folks.

Politics and money. That’s what Washington State’s "meth epidemic" has de-evolved into. There is currently a push by some eastern Washington health departments (replete with a questionnaire that they’ve broadcast like dandelion seeds to all 39 local county health authorities) to get meth lab clean up out from under their administration. After all, toxic residue, poisoned wells and septic systems aren’t a health and safety issue, are they?

But it’s my understanding that any administration of local rules regarding hazardous waste is under the authority of the local health department. So, any enforcement is always done by the health department. Further, any monetary grants given out are given to the health department and not, let’s say to a different agency, i.e. the solid waste utility.

Even some local judiciaries are too uninformed or disinterested to follow the laws. Recently, a licensed Washington State Certified Drug Lab Cleanup Contractor, called to update me on the continuing saga of his favorite cleanup site. The tweaker had been carted off to jail and while incarcerated, found Jesus. The folks providing ministry to the jail were sucked into believing that this drug addled con-man was sincere in his new found beliefs. The tweaker convinced the naïve minister, et al, to petition the local judge to allow the congregation into the house even though it was posted "Unfit For Use." Again, my understanding is that only licensed contractors and the local health authority can enter a "posted" site. No homeowners and certainly not the clergy and his sheep.

So the ministry entered the home and confiscated all personal belongings including the kitchen stove, the bed (with fuzzy handcuffs attached to the bed frame), and all the porn and sex toys. When the contractor arrived to start the cleaning, everything was gone. "But why the stove?" my contractor buddy asked me. Most men don’t know this, but an electric stove surface lifts up and is held open with a metal bar like the hood of your car. A perfect place to hide drugs, guns, and money. All the property was put in storage…just waiting for the criminal when he’s released, some day, from prison. Amen.

Want more? An elderly woman, Olga, called me several weeks ago from an eastern Washington county. She said that a unit in her son’s apartment building had had an explosion that turned out to be a CDL. The Franklin County Health Department told her to go ahead and clean it herself. She called me for some sampling equipment (Watman filters, methanol, sample jars, etc.). Before I would send her these materials I asked her:

H: Are you 40 hour Hazmat certified?

O: No.

H: Do you have access to Tyvek protective wear?

O: No.

H: Have you been inoculated for Hepatitis or do you have HIV/AIDS training in case of a needle stick?

O: No.

H: Are you WA State certified and fitted to use a respirator?

O: No.

H: Do you know how to spot boobie-traps and disable them?

O: No.

H: Do you know how to prepare a workplan and carry it out so that you are not liable for any effects that future tenants may exhibit?

O: No.

H: Do you know the preferred method for cleaning a CDL?

O: Well, the health department said I should use STP on the walls…

H: STP is a fuel additive that you pour in your car engine. What you want is TSP – TriSodium Phosphate. Do you know how to use TSP and methanol safely? Methanol is a poison.

O: No!

H: Do you feel confident that you can sufficiently clean a CDL to state required non-detect limits, because if you re-rent this apartment and someone’s children get sick due to your inability, who do you think they are going to sue – you or the health department?

I read her the WAC. She then asked me why would the health department (a) break the law by giving her permission to clean the CDL (b) why would they put her in harm’s way? I said that the health department allows ordinary, non-certified people to clean their own CDL’s under the guise that they want to save the homeowner money. But that is a lie. What they really want to do is save the health department money. If the health department doesn’t have to study and approve a real workplan, if they don’t have to commit time or resources (labor/money) to overseeing a job site – they save on the bottom line. It’s stupefying.

Chemical exposure to methamphetamine residue is especially toxic to children. Children are not miniature adults. They imbibe and store toxins at a far greater rate and extent than adults. Soft-tissue like the liver, lungs, kidneys, and brain are affected. Respiratory distress, blood poisoning and open sores are common for children exposed to toxins from CDL’s. Children that move into homes or ride in cars that were former drug labs can become ill from the oily chemical residue left behind as part of the cooking process. Does the State really want untrained people haphazardly attempting to clean drug labs when, ultimately, children’s health is at stake?

So fairly warned be thee says I. It’s called an epidemic for a reason and the politics of meth in this state are not the cure, in fact they are the curse. There is no interest in real demand reduction. There is no mandated drug education that profiles addiction and meth. At every steering committee meeting and conversation I have with officials there are only excuses as to why more emphasis is not put on meth education and demand reduction.

So stop bitching. For every addict that is created, supply has to follow. It’s basic Econ 101. Supply and demand. As the various departments take less responsibility and the public stays uninformed, the epidemic surges ahead leaving broken bodies, lives, dreams, and innocent kids in its wake. Bravo.

Disregard for the RCW and WAC is not an isolated occurrence. It is common procedure in many counties to ignore the RCW and WAC in lieu of hiring competent, trained staff and budgeting properly. As I’ve said before, I contend that when the children start dying and the lawsuits start flooding in, it will be too late.