Last year it was reported as many as 300 homes in Canberra had tested positive for large traces of methamphetamine.
Access to water and a power source are all criminals need to manufacture the drug best known as ice, the scourge of society today. Unfortunately, many of the criminals operate from residential rental homes.
Next week in Canberra, property managers at an industry conference will learn how to identify potential contamination in rental homes from manufacturing methylamphetamines – also known as meth, ice, crystal meth and ‘P’ – and from smoking meth in residential properties.
Last year, it was reported as many as 300 homes in Canberra had tested positive for large traces of methamphetamine but had not been fully decontaminated due to the clean-up cost involved.
The criminal “cooks” synthesise methylamphetamine from ingredients containing pseudoephedrine. Many of the chemicals are highly corrosive and dangerous. The cooking process of solids, liquids or vapours is absorbed into carpets, gyprock walls, drains and ducting. It gets into furniture, even cooking appliances.
Property managers are urged to attend the Grassroots Conference on 5 March to hear about the fallout of the ice epidemic already involving thousands of properties. Smoking and cooking ice ruins houses and managers may find themselves managing one. Experts will discuss what’s involved for managers and their landlord if meth smoking or meth lab activity is happening in their properties.
Grassroots will feature a presentation from MethScreen Australia Managing Director Ryan Matthews who says property managers will discover how to manage testing and decontamination and communication with the property owner and law enforcement.
“Contaminated properties can be a real health hazard, particularly to children and women who are pregnant,” Mr Matthews says. “Property managers are in the front line when it comes to identifying meth use or manufacturing activity in rental properties, and it’s important they understand the implications for their property owners,” he says.
Health effects from exposure to the drug and chemicals used in its manufacture can include asthma-like symptoms, coughs, eye irritation, difficulty sleeping, headaches, rashes and behavioural changes in children. Interstate police are campaigning for national laws to protect residents from the toxic side effects of clandestine drug laboratories.
This cannot happen soon enough for Veronica Rawlinson, a Nowra woman renting a home who broke out in a skin rash on her shoulder and arm. Testing confirmed the place had been used as a meth lab.
Ms Rawlinson told ABC Radio: ”Everything changed after that, I left the property with two cats and a handbag because all of my belongings were contaminated and now have to be triple-wrapped in plastic and buried in the ground at the tip.”
The IndustryPro Grassroots Conference will also feature sessions on communicating with property owners and tenants, successful induction processes for new tenants, and will feature a pop-up stall by conference sponsor Lorna Jane.
IndustryPro’s Grassroots conference is an opportunity for property managers to learn best practice management techniques and keep abreast of the hot topics in the industry. Grassroots registrations are open until 4 March. Tickets are available at the Conference website, www.grassrootscbr.com.au.
This is a sponsored article, though all opinions are the author’s own. For more information on paid content, see our sponsored content policy.
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