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Councilman proposes online list of drug labs to aid home buyers
By Rick Armon
Beacon Journal staff writer
Published on Saturday, Feb 23, 2008
STOW.: A city councilman is pushing legislation to make it easier for home buyers to know whether they are purchasing a house that once served as a meth lab.
The proposal, which council's Roads & Safety Committee will begin debating Monday, would create a local online database of former meth labs in homes, hotels and apartments in the city. That record would be discovered in a title search during the buying process, thus alerting a potential new owner about the problem, according to the legislation.
Councilman Ron Alexander asked the city's legal department to develop a proposal after recent media reports about a Stow woman who says she unwittingly bought a house that once was used as a meth lab. She has filed a lawsuit against the seller.
Alexander, a local attorney, said he'd like to figure out a way to require the seller to disclose the information.
''That would be more effective,'' he said.
The legislation says a property would be removed from the meth lab database when the city received proof that it ''has been satisfactorily
cleared of methamphetamine residue.''
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration's National Clandestine Laboratory Register lists only one home in Stow — the one involved in the lawsuit.
Meth is a drug manufactured by cooking ingredients, including over-the-counter medications. The cooking process creates dangerous chemical residues that can seep into walls and carpeting.
Exposure to those chemicals can cause headaches, chest pain, nausea and dizziness and other problems, depending on the length and type of the exposure, according to health experts.
State Rep. Steve Dyer, D-Green, a former Beacon Journal reporter who wrote about disclosure problems related to meth labs, introduced a bill last year that would create a statewide database and allow counties to make note of meth labs in property titles.
But his bill has sat in committee, as some have raised questions about who would be responsible for funding the cleanup.
Dyer applauded the Stow proposal.
''People are recognizing that this is a serious problem and we need to do something about it so people aren't innocently moving into toxic waste dumps,'' he said. ''It makes all kinds of sense.''
Rick Armon can be reached at 330-996-3569 or rarmon@thebeaconjournal.com.
STOW.: A city councilman is pushing legislation to make it easier for home buyers to know whether they are purchasing a house that once served as a meth lab.
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