Home sweet meth contaminated home

There is an old saying “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” The rationale is that you won’t be harmed by something you are oblivious to. This is ill conceived, particularly if you and your family are exposed to methamphetamine.

The Longmont Times-call recently published an article reporting that the Longmont Housing Authority (Authority) is contemplating the placement of methamphetamine alarm detectors in housing units which are “newly constructed, reconstructed, or those that have been tested and/or cleaned and decontaminated by industrial hygienists that certify the units are clean of meth contamination.” The article focuses on the humongous financial burden incurred in decontaminating residential units. The humongous costs range from $8,000 to $130,000, up to a whopping $250,000. The toxic toll on health and safety attributable to human methamphetamine contamination imposes a clear and present danger beyond financial measure. The preemptive avoidance of exposure must be prioritized over post-hoc discovery and remediation.

The methamphetamine contamination concerns raised by the Authority are equally applicable to residential dwellings in the private sector. The city of Longmont (City) should exercise its police powers by enacting an ordinance to address the heightened exposure risks of methamphetamine infiltration between residential dwelling units physically linked, proximately situated, or interconnected by a HVAC system. This imperative is underscored by the number of high density residential units built to accommodate affordable housing.

1. Residential units which share a common wall, ceiling, floor, or which are interconnected by a HVAC system, are vulnerable to methamphetamine contamination. Methamphetamine permeates carpets, walls, porous surfaces, and subsurface areas. Without professional decontamination, health risks linger as a deeply embedded menace long after contamination has occurred.

2. Persistent exposure to methamphetamine can lead to chronic, possibly irreversible, health problems, including: a) neurodegenerative changes; b) cardiovascular damage; c) high blood pressure leading to heart attacks, strokes, and death; d) liver, kidney, and lung damage; e) anxiety, confusion, and insomnia; e) paranoia, hallucinations, mood disturbances, delusions, or violent behavior; f) severe dental problems. Methamphetamine exposure is exceptionally dangerous to children and those who suffer from a compromised medical condition.

3. Placing methamphetamine detection devices in new, reconstructed, or decontaminated dwelling units doesn’t address the risks to safety confronting existing residents. Repeated and prolonged exposure to methamphetamine is unavoidable in contaminated residential dwellings. In furtherance of the exercise of its municipal police powers, and pursuant to public hearings and input, the City should enact an ordinance to mitigate the risk of methamphetamine contamination in legally defined, interconnected residential dwellings both in the public and private sector. Such ordinance should implement preemptive methamphetamine control protocols to safeguard the health and safety of current as future residents.

4. Interconnected dwellings should be subject to random periodic onsite inspections by a noninvasive methamphetamine detection instrument. Inspections should be conducted by duly qualified City building inspectors. Unless special circumstances or concerns exist, inspections should be limited in frequency during a 12 month period, subject to a prior notification, and accommodate the resident’s convenience. If evidence of onsite contamination exists, an administrative inspection order may be sought from the Longmont Municipal Court (Court).

5. Unless otherwise authorized by court order, residents have the right to refuse an onsite inspection. Should a resident refuse to make the premises available for inspection, the City may seek a court order authorizing an inspection. The Authority may also treat inspection refusal, or contamination found, as a material breach of the lease, and pursue an eviction.

6. Administrative inspections must not be conducted by, or at the direction of, law enforcement officers. The enforcement of criminal laws requiring a search warrant supported by probable cause (barring exigent circumstances) shall be determined by applicable legal criteria.

7. In the event a dwelling unit under the aegis of the Authority is contaminated by methamphetamine emanating from a source other than that attributable to the tenant, the Authority shall on a priority basis offer the tenant with available alternative or interim housing.

8. Should a methamphetamine inspection test positive, residents of dwellings at an elevated risk of exposure shall be notified. The notice shall include an assessment of reasonably foreseeable health risks which are being, or may be, encountered. The City shall undertake appropriate measures to address legitimate concerns.