I remember, as a child, hearing stories from my grandfather about moon shiners and liquor stills and the revenue agents that chased them. He seemed to be very knowledgeable about this topic.

In fact, I never asked him how he knew so much because I was afraid of what the answer might be. Although we occasionally still here about someone walking up on a still in an isolated area, for the most part the days of the moon shiner is long gone.

But that void has been filled by something that is much more dangerous than moon shining ever was. Methamphetamine labs are popping up all over the country and particularly in the south, at an alarming rate. The potential harm that these labs pose goes well beyond the person making the drugs and the user who is glad to make the purchase. These clandestine labs can be found in homes, barns, campers, cars, motel rooms and about anywhere you can imagine. These labs also create potential harm to the environment, as well as, serious health hazzards to anyone who might stumble upon them.

Methamphetamine, the drug of choice for many, are synthetic amphetamines and are sold illegally in pill, capsule, powder or chunk form. Two types of methamphetamine are called crank and ice which produce a much more severe reaction to an individual than the common effects of cocaine or speed. While this drug (amphetamine) has had legitimate uses over the years, the common street product , which is a derivative, is considered highly dangerous and addictive. This drug can be smoked, injected intravenously, snorted, or ingested orally. The most common use appears to be injection.

Despite the obvious dangers that this drug may cause to the users, even more alarming is the potential for harm to those who are in close proximity to where the drug is manufactured. These "labs" are far from the pristine and sterile labs that we think of when we hear about legitimate lab work. The "cooking" of the drug takes place in the most unsterile environment imaginable. Furthermore, the chemicals that are used for this process are caustic or corrosive and may create noxious and harmful fumes. These chemicals are extracted from cleaning liquids, acetone, muriatic acid and diet pills. One of the most dangerous threats that a law enforcement officer faces is the chemical ramifications that they might confront on discovery of these sites. To make these locations more difficult to locate, mobile labs have become popular whereby the lab is actually found in a trunk of a car. The combination of these chemicals with gasoline makes this even more deadly to innocent bystanders.

While these would be "scientists" will not make their labs obvious, there are certain things to look for in your neighborhoods. The strong odor of a smell that is remindful of fingernail polish or large amounts of glass products being brought into the home are signs of potential methamphetamine manufacturing. Homes that have their windows blacked out in combination with large amounts of traffic should create enough suspicion to call your local police. Large purchases of cold medicines, for manufacturing extractions, should be an alert to pharmacist or locations where these products are sold.

The environmental danger comes from the after product being entered into our soil or water resources. High levels of these chemicals can make water resources toxic. Theses sites are so dangerous that hazardous material units from the fire department now respond routinely to these locations for clean up purposes. As with many problems that we face as a society, we have learned that the most valuable tool of prevention that we can exercise is self awareness.

However, if you or more importantly your children should encounter one of these labs, do not approach it but call the proper authorities so that they might investigate. In this case, a slight encounter could become a deadly encounter if not handled properly.