April 5, 2005

Owosso - With the arrival of spring, come efforts to beautify our roadsides. With an increase in production of the illegal drug methamphetamine (meth), community cleanup groups need to pay special attention to items discarded along roadsides, in parks or other public locations.

Meth production creates a large amount of waste, which is often deemed hazardous and usually carelessly discarded in public locations. Coming into contact with a meth dumpsite can cause serious injuries, as the items may be volatile if moved. Things to watch out for include:

Propane tanks

Bottles containing unknown liquids

Bottles or jugs with tubing coming from the top

Drain opener (contains lye)

Metal, gallon-sized cans (Coleman fuel, denatured alcohol, acetone, toluene, etc.)

Starting fluid cans

Funnels, coffee filters, zip lock bags, batteries or battery casings, salt, plastic containers, pieces of hose, cold pill boxes, matches

Any type of container that appears to have been used and may contain dried residue

"If you come across these items don’t touch, handle, shake, open or smell them," warns D/Lt. Gretchen Voltz of MAGNET. "Step back to a safe distance and call 911 immediately to notify the dispatcher that you may have come across a methamphetamine dumpsite."

The dispatcher will ask for the specific location and a description of items seen. A person trained to respond to such scenes will then be dispatched to the location to assess the situation and determine if persons trained in hazardous waste containment are needed to remove the items.

"This warning goes not only for this time of year, but any time you may come into a situation you believe to be meth-related," continued Voltz. "Stop, back away and contact 911 immediately."

Meth-related tips can be called into the statewide tip line at 1-866-Meth Tip (1-866- 638-4847) or to report information regarding any type of drug activity in Shiawassee or Gratiot County, contact MAGNET at (989) 725-7254.

Read more news releases from the Michigan State Police.