Methamphetamine and Meth Labs
What is a meth lab?

On this page:
What is a meth lab?
What are the potential health effects from exposure to a meth lab?
How do I recognize a meth lab?
What do I do if I find a meth lab?
More information

What is a meth lab?

Meth can be manufactured in a clandestine drug lab (meth lab) in a variety of indoor and outdoor locations, including houses, apartment buildings, motels, vehicles, wooded areas or fields.  Meth is manufactured (or “cooked”) by applying common, readily available materials to one of several basic recipes.

Meth "recipes" can be easily obtained through the Internet or by associating with other cooks.  There are hundreds of chemical products and substances that are used interchangeably to produce meth.  The substitution of one chemical for another in meth recipes may cause the process to be more hazardous (resulting in fire or explosion) or may result in a tainted, final product with unwanted or dangerous effects.

Many dangerous chemical ingredients are used to make meth.  The cooking process causes chemical residues and meth to be deposited on surfaces and household belongings.  Also, chemical by-products such as toxic phosphine gas may be formed during meth manufacture.  This may occur through planned chemical interaction, or by processing errors, such as increasing cooking temperatures too rapidly.

Every meth "recipe" starts with over-the-counter medications that include pseudoephedrine or ephedrine in their contents.  The pills are crushed and mixed with other chemicals in the process of cooking meth.  Various meth recipes include combinations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), acids, bases, metals, solvents and salts.  Making meth with these chemicals can result in explosions, chemical fires, and the release of toxic gases.

Meth cooking also produces solid and liquid wastes that can contaminate a building and its contents, or the groundwater or soil where they are dumped.

Go to > top.

What are the potential health effects from exposure to a meth lab?

Health effects caused by exposure to meth lab chemicals depend on: (1) the lab process and chemicals used; (2) the amount of chemical and length of exposure; and (3) the age and health of the person exposed. Chemicals may enter the body by being breathed, eaten, or absorbed through the skin.

An acute exposure is one that occurs over a relatively short period of time. Acute exposure to meth lab chemicals can cause shortness of breath, cough, chest pain, dizziness, lack of coordination, chemical irritation, or burns to skin, eyes, nose and mouth. Death could result when exposure is to a particularly toxic chemical or the person exposed is particularly vulnerable. Acute exposures can occur in non-drug users during or immediately after ‘cooking’.

Less severe exposures can result in symptoms such as headache, nausea, dizziness, and fatigue or lethargy. These symptoms have been known to occur in people exposed to active labs, but also in people ---particularly law enforcement personnel and other first responders --- who have entered a drug lab before the site has been cleaned or ventilated. These less-severe symptoms usually go away after several hours of exposure to fresh air.

Exposures to lab chemicals or byproducts over a long period of time - called chronic exposures - may cause both long-term and short-term health effects. Long-term exposures to VOCs may result in liver and kidney damage, neurological problems, and increased risk of cancer. Even at low levels, exposures for long periods by people living in a former lab site could result in serious health effects.

How do I recognize a meth lab?

Clues that may indicate illegal production or sales of drugs, including meth, are:

• Frequent visitors at all times of the day or night,
• Occupants appear unemployed, yet make cash purchases and payments,
• Occupants are unfriendly, appear secretive about activities, or lie and display odd or paranoid behavior,
• Covering or blacking-out of windows,
• Other security measures, such as signs posted around the property, fences and cameras or baby monitors outside of buildings,
• Burn pits, stained soil or dead vegetation indicating dumping of chemicals or waste,
• Strong chemical odors, including sweet, bitter, ammonia or solvent smells at various and random times during the day and/or night,
• Waste in trash, pits or piles, such as:
• Packaging from over-the-counter ephedrine or pseudoephedrine cold, diet or allergy pills
• Empty containers from: antifreeze, white gas, ether, starting fluids, Freon, lye or drain openers, paint thinner, acetone, or alcohol
• Compressed gas cylinders, or camp stove (Coleman) fuel containers
• Packaging from epsom salts or rock salt
• Anhydrous ammonia tanks; propane tanks or coolers containing anhydrous ammonia
• Pyrex/glass/Corning containers, with dried chemical deposits remaining
• Bottles or containers connected with rubber hosing and duct tape
• Coolers, thermos bottles, or other cold storage containers
• Respiratory masks and filters or dust masks
• Funnels, hosing and clamps
• Coffee filters, pillow cases or bed sheets stained red (used to filter red phosphorous), or containing a white powdery residue

Go to > top.

What to do if you find a meth lab

An individual who believes he or she has discovered an illegal drug lab or the site of an abandoned lab should immediately notify local law enforcement (Dial 911) and should not enter the area of the suspected lab.  Anyone who inadvertently enters a lab should back out immediately without disturbing the cooking process, chemicals or equipment.

Local law enforcement are encouraged to notify the Minnesota Duty Officer (1-800-422-0798) and the local city or county public health agency.  Depending on the severity of contamination, the type of site and the individuals involved, one or more of the following agencies may need to be involved in investigation, evaluation, sampling or remediation of the site:

Officers responding to a drug lab call may also decide to notify one or more of the following:

• Local: fire department, bomb squads, hazardous materials (Hazmat) teams, city/county attorney, county agriculture, city/county health and licensing authorities, animal control, household hazardous waste, child protection, or other human service agency
• State: Minnesota Duty Officer (1-800-422-0798), Highway Patrol, Pollution Control Agency, Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Departments of Agriculture, Health, Natural Resources or Transportation, or the Attorney General
• Federal: Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Private: environmental cleanup company, poison control center, hospital or clinic

Go to > top.

More information about meth labs

Clandestine Drug Labs, by Michael S. Scott
Problem Oriented Guides for Police Series, No. 16, March 2002
U.S. Department of Justice
Contains summary information about clandestine drug labs for law enforcement officials.

Chemical Exposures Associated with Clandestine Methamphetamine Laboratories (PDF: 1780KB/44 pages)
Martyny, J.W.(1), Arbuckle, S.L. (1), McCammon, C.S. (2), Esswein, E.J.(3), Erb, N.(1),
1) National Jewish Medical and Research Center; 2) Tri-County Health Department; 3) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
Results of research on toxic chemicals emitted from meth labs.

Go to > top.

For more information about this page, please contact us at: health.meth@state.mn.us. Specific contact information can be found on our Contact Us Web page.