Nation's Building News Online

Good Management Can Stamp Out Apartment Meth Labs

Managers of a multifamily building who discover they have walked into an apartment that is being used as a laboratory for the manufacturing of methamphetamine should hold their breath, back out of the unit and touch nothing, including light switches or canisters, advises Phil Wayne, president of Philip B. Wayne Consultants, which specializes in reducing crime for the multifamily industry.

Otherwise, they risk contaminating themselves or surrounding apartments and even creating an explosion, Wayne warns.

“Your shoes may be contaminated from walking into the apartment, so don’t use your vehicle, or go to the office or into another apartment with those shoes on,” he says. “Use your cell phone or ask a neighbor to call the police. Stay where you are or move to a neutral location until the police arrive and give you further directions.”

For safety and liability reasons, Wayne says, the clean-up should be conducted by Hazmat-trained, independent contractors who are under the direction of the police or fire department.

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If the lab was in operation for only a few hours, a simple, standard apartment turnaround involving painting, cleaning and shampooing should be sufficient.

More serious contamination will require the walls to be washed and special cleaning for carpets and cabinets, at a typical cost of $5,000-$8,000.

In the most severe cases of contamination, everything in the apartment will need to be removed, including the carpet, sub deck, drywall, electrical wiring, cabinets and woodwork.

Hazmat companies have electronic metering devices that can determine the extent of the contamination.

The property will often have to be cleaned at the owner’s expense.

Wayne tells his clients that the best way of dealing with the problem is to prevent it from happening in the first place by adopting good management practices. Preventative action includes:

• Running criminal background checks on prospective tenants, requiring identification and verifying the information on their application
• During occupancy, strictly enforcing rules on appropriate behavior for residents and enforcing a “one strike you’re out” policy. Include photographs of residents in their lease files if this is permitted under state privacy laws
• Inspecting the apartment a few days after the new tenant moves in, 30 days after the move-in date and then at 90-day intervals on an ongoing basis.
• Making monthly property inspections.
• Having your staff trained by authorities on this subject and reviewing this information on a quarterly basis.
• Using your community newsletter to regularly remind tenants to look out for unusual quantities of everyday materials and strong odors, and networking with others in the community to promote professional meth lab awareness.

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