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Meth lab pollution haunts Oklahoma homebuyers
Darla Hugaboom’s home on five acres north of Arcadia is spacious, clean, quiet and safe. But it came with a dirty past.
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Police raided the house in 2004 and arrested the then-owner on drug complaints. They found more than 440 pounds of chemicals used to make methamphetamine and a once beautiful home in a filthy state of neglect.
It’s not uncommon. The state Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs Control estimates there are about 200,000 properties in the state where meth was once made.
Dozens of states have laws requiring meth lab contamination cleanup. Oklahoma doesn’t.
Legislation was presented in 2008, but it never came to a vote.
Hugaboom found her home about a year after officers removed large traces of the house’s past. Containers of flammable and corrosive materials were gone, but the house was left open, still dirty and reeking of chemical residue and meth.
"In our case the cleanup was worth it,” she said.
Meth remained at high levels in the home even though it was vacant for more than a year before it was tested, said Mike Corcoran, environmental coordinator for Guthrie-based Environmental Management.
Meth levels were still above what many states consider safe. They were heaviest in the areas where the meth was cooked and in the carpeting and ventilation system, he said.
Long-term exposure to the drug and chemicals used to make meth can cause anemia, lung problems, stomach upset, chest tightness, headaches and other problems, said Lee McGoodwin, managing director of the Oklahoma Poison Control Center.
State narcotics bureau spokesman Mark Woodward said even short-term exposure to residual meth can cause coughing, rash, skin blotches and other health problems.
Hugaboom said she was not willing to take chances on her family moving into the house if it wasn’t safe.
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