Health department faces dilemma over meth houses

The Salt Lake Valley Health Department is caught in a dilemma. The department has been on the cutting edge of drug lab identification and decontamination for more than a decade. Now it is under fire for following state law — for not going far enough. And, as with many hot-button public health issues, pertinent facts are missing from what has become a very public debate over decontamination of meth houses in Salt Lake County.

In the early 1990s, the Salt Lake Valley Health Department quickly recognized the threat to public health from illegal drug labs. The department was one of the leaders in addressing illegal drug labs, and the Salt Lake Valley Health Department has been ahead of the curve in drug-lab issues. In fact, nearly 15 years ago, the health department requested that local law enforcement agencies in Salt Lake County report properties that were likely contaminated by illegal drug manufacturing. Such reports quickly became commonplace after publicity surrounding a pre-toddler diagnosed with contact chemical dermatitis allegedly the result of crawling on carpet in a house used as a drug lab. At that time there were no recognized cleanup standards and no consistent statewide decontamination procedures.

For three consecutive legislation sessions, the health department lobbied the state Legislature for legislation to address contamination issues. Those efforts were unsuccessful, so in 2001 the Salt Lake Valley Board of Health adopted local regulations providing for the decontamination of drug-lab properties.

This local regulation provided for isolating contaminated sites, required submission of a work plan to the health department prior to decontamination work and adopted a standard for allowable levels of meth residue. That standard was not health-based, because no given level of exposure was (or currently is) known to be safe. The adopted standard was based on meth detection and on a cleanup level that could reasonably be achieved.

Three years ago, the Utah Legislature addressed the issue. That 2004 legislation requires (1) that law enforcement notify the local health department of known drug labs; (2) that the health departments place the contamination property on a list available for public review; and (3) that the property be removed from the list after the decontamination specialist submitted lab results showing the property's drug residue levels were below the decontamination standard.

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.