There was no provision for full disclosure, the process of disclosing prior drug-lab contamination every time the property is sold or changes owners. That is a critical piece of the puzzle our local health departments need to help protect public health. Instead, chemically contaminated properties are legally deemed "stigmatized properties," which have certain protections from disclosure.

One of the real challenges is there is no recognized health-based cleanup standard because no given level of exposure to meth residue is known to be safe. And nationally recognized standards tend to be very conservative.

Now we are in a period of transition in the meth culture in our valley. In 2003, the health department was informed of more than 100 labs. In the first seven months of 2007, only one has been reported. Methamphetamine is now being produced elsewhere, so new contamination is generally the result of possession and use.

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department's mission is "to promote and protect community and environmental health." This mission reflects enlightened public health policy, but we are legislatively restrained from aggressively pursuing the part of that mission dealing with illegal drug labs and use locations. Again in 2008, the Salt Lake Valley Health Department will attempt to end this dilemma by seeking the authority necessary to fully disclose threats to public health in illegal drug houses.

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George J. Van Komen, M.D., is a member of the Salt Lake Valley Board of Health.