BethAnne Mansur said she first realized there was a methamphetamine lab in her neighborhood two years ago when a house close by caught on fire from production of the drug.
A year later, when another meth lab was discovered in her neighborhood, she knew she had a problem.
Mansur is now leading a battle to drive meth labs out of Lawrence. Tuesday night, Mansur invited officials with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Lawrence law enforcement agents and Lawrence residents to the Lawrence Public Library for a discussion on meth labs.
Trevor Flynn, an environmental scientist with the KDHE's Meth Lab Cleanup Program, advised residents to proceed with caution when they suspect a meth lab is operating nearby. He encouraged people with such suspicions to immediately contact law enforcement agencies.
Flynn warned of the many hazards of methamphetamines, both to the users of the drugs and to those in proximity to a meth lab.
He said meth was highly explosive and could cause immediate death or long-term health problems with exposure to certain chemicals used in meth production.
Illegal methamphetamine production contaminates the soil, septic tanks, water wells and other places outside.
"These meth cooks will just dump the chemicals out in the yard and bury them, and kids can go and play in it," he said.
Flynn said Kansas is particularly prone to meth production. The state, which witnessed 900 seizures of labs in 2000, ranks as one of the top five producers worldwide.
Flynn said the number of lab raids in the state was rising every year. With the help of residents like Mansur, the trend could be changing, he said.
Interested residents asked Flynn what to look for to determine if their neighborhoods were the location for meth production. He said they should look for open windows but more importantly, smell for curious odors.
Mansur said her fight to end meth production in Lawrence has been a difficult one. She said she continued to run into many officials who simply didn't realize the seriousness and extent of meth production in Lawrence.
Douglas County Sheriff's Lt. Kenny Massey disagreed. He said four members of the city-county Drug Enforcement Unit had been trained to identify meth labs in the area.
He said the problem was finding the labs. "Labs are so small and so mobile, it's hard to catch them," Massey said. "Most labs are in a duffel bag these days."
Mansur said meth labs continue to operate in Lawrence.
"After fighting for two years, I found that a lot of people are just not informed," Mansur said. "The LPD, the city commission, the fire department, the health department, no one knew."
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