Are Meth Homes in Montana Getting Cleaned Up? (Montana)

You think you’re looking at your dream home. It’s affordable, needs a little TLC, but looks like a solid fixer-upper. But what you can’t see – the former residents cooked methamphetamine in the kitchen, and the house is thoroughly contaminated by the drug’s toxic residue.

Or you rent a nice hotel room for the night – with no knowledge that meth was cooked up in the drip coffee maker.

To many in Montana, meth use is largely invisible. Small-time manufacturers create the drug out of their homes, mostly for their own use. The rising meth problem is a crime story in the local newspaper, or a gritty, disturbing ad on television.

But for renters and home buyers, the drug can have a devastating impact long after it has been made and consumed. The toxic chemicals used to cook meth leave a home, motel room, or rental property unsafe for future residents – who often don’t know about the home’s past.

There are countless recipes for manufacturing methamphetamine, but most involve either over-the-counter cold medications or large quantities of agricultural chemicals. In the process, toxic chemicals, vapors and solvents are left behind.

According to a national law enforcement research agency, each pound of meth results in about five pounds of toxic waste – a deadly mix that often gets dumped outside, washed down sinks, or left as dangerous vapors and residue materials.

The health effects from exposure to these chemicals are significant: As the Washington state health department reports, the chemicals left by meth manufacturing can cause a wide range of health problems, ranging from dizziness or lethargy to long-term birth defects or organ failure, depending on the length of exposure.

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