After declining steeply since 2004 when controls were placed on the availability of cold and allergy medicines, meth lab seizures increased in 2008 as small-time drug cookers learned to bypass federal regulations to get the ingredients they need. Federal law imposes daily and monthly limits on how many grams of ephedrine-based products may be purchased. Employees check customers' identification and log the amounts into a store or chain-wide database to ensure compliance.

However, a new technique known as ‘smurfing’ has surfaced. Accomplices travel from store to store buying the maximum allowable amount of product, then trade it to meth lab operators for cash or meth. This works because the databases of different store chains are not linked, so a person can purchase maximum amounts of medication from CVS and Walgreens, as well as Walmart and the local supermarket, without alerting authorities.

Chemical hazards
The chemicals used to cook meth and the toxic compounds and byproducts resulting from its manufacture produce toxic fumes, vapors, and spills. Among the chemicals found at a meth lab are acetone, anhydrous ammonia, bleach, iodine, muriatic acid, organic ether, battery acid, drain openers, hydrogen peroxide, lithium batteries, mineral spirits, and toluene.

Approximately 15 percent of meth labs are discovered as a result of a fire or explosion. Solvents and other materials in the lab can explode due to careless handling, overheating, or unsafe manufacturing methods. Meth cooks often seal windows to keep the odors created by meth manufacture from escaping and giving away the lab location. This practice increases the risk of fire and explosion by diminishing ventilation of flammable gases. Lab operators often ignore safety, and store improperly labeled and incompatible chemicals together, increasing the likelihood of fire and explosions. Highly combustible materials may be left on stovetops and near ignition sources.

Responders at risk
Meth labs and meth users present special dangers to police officers and other first responders. Although federal law expressly allows only “clan lab certified” police officers to enter a structure or vehicle known to contain a meth lab, too often officers carrying out their normal duties unknowingly enter a structure or vehicle containing meth-making chemicals. This puts them in an extremely dangerous, unstable, and unpredictable situation, including explosions, fires, booby traps, respiratory hazards, and dangerous meth addicts.

Exposure to low levels of some meth ingredients may produce headache, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue; exposure to high levels can produce shortness of breath, coughing, chest pain, dizziness, lack of coordination, eye and tissue irritation, chemical burns (to the skin, eyes, mouth, and nose), and death. Corrosive substances may cause injury through inhalation or contact with the skin. Solvents can irritate the skin, mucous membranes, and respiratory tract and affect the central nervous system.

Better training needed
Training of law enforcement officers and other emergency personnel in meth lab awareness and safety can prevent injuries.