Division of Waste Management is coordinating session
Contact: Kim Leingang 502-564-6716
FRANKFORT, Ky. (Feb. 15, 2008) – Contractors certified by the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet to clean up methamphetamine (meth) labs will have an opportunity to receive important information concerning Kentucky’s new meth lab cleanup program during an orientation on Feb. 27 at the Kentucky Higher Education Assistance Authority building, 100 Airport Road, Frankfort.
Certification of contractors who decontaminate meth labs is a new requirement under a law that went into effect in June 2007. There are currently 15 contractors certified to clean up meth labs in Kentucky.
The goal for this orientation, sponsored by the cabinet’s Division of Waste Management, will be to provide information on meth cleanup issues and to develop and enhance the working relationship between the certified contractors and state agencies who are involved with meth lab cleanup. Those agencies include the Division of Waste Management, Kentucky State Police, Department for Public Health, Office of Occupational Safety and Health, and Kentucky Housing Corp.
Jim Morrison, Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, will be the featured speaker. He will address general questions and issues concerning meth lab cleanup and discuss Tennessee’s experience with this effort.
For more information about the orientation, contact Kim Leingang in the division’s Superfund Branch, 502-564-6716, ext. 236, Kim.Leingang@ky.gov. Details about Kentucky’s new meth cleanup law, including a guidance document and cleanup standard, is available by going online to http://www.waste.ky.gov/branches/sf/Meth.htm or contacting Leingang.
Chemicals and equipment used to “cook” meth in illegal makeshift labs create an immediate danger of explosion and fire. The process also leaves behind waste that contaminates the site – often a house, apartment or other dwelling – and poses a threat both to the environment and the health of future occupants. If you find what you suspect is a meth lab, do not move, touch or smell any container or its contents. Contact law enforcement. The Kentucky State Police hotline is 1-800-222-5555.
