Area police are warning citizens and businesses to lock dumpsters to prevent volatile waste from meth labs being dumped in them.
More than 75% of all meth labs found in Iowa so far in 2013 were one-pot labs.
A statement from the Gateway Area Police Administrators said more than half of all one-pot meth labs in Iowa are found in counties that border the Mississippi River. The one-pot method involves putting ingredients to make methamphetamine in a single container, such as a plastic drink bottle.
Containers and other items used to make meth have recently been found in local streams and in business dumpsters. That has prompted GAPA and other authorities to encourage businesses to lock or protect their dumpsters.
The chemicals used to make methamphetamine can be hazardous to inhale and can also be highly flammable or explosive.
It can cost thousands of dollars to clean up a single meth lab dump site. Clinton County authorities say they’ve spent more than $20,000 already for meth lab cleanup in 2013. The Iowa Department of Narcotics Enforcement said six counties in our area – Jackson, Clinton, Scott, Muscatine, Henry and Des Moines counties – account for more than four dozen meth labs found in the first 10 months of 2013.
If you find suspicious materials, GAPA recommends you leave the area and contact police. One-pot meth labs often appear to be a plastic drink bottle with tubing coming from it. The bottle might appear to have been subjected to heat.
