State officials: Ohio spent hundreds of thousands of dollars cleaning up meth labs in 2011

AKRON, Ohio - It cost hundreds of thousands of state and local tax dollars to clean up methamphetamine labs in 2011, according to Ohio officials.

There have been more than 300 meth lab busts in Ohio during 2011, said Eve Mueller, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Attorney General's office.

Mueller said it costs about $1,800 per lab to dispose of the chemicals used to make methamphetamine.

Meth is a synthetic stimulant made using household chemicals that can become toxic and explosive when combined together.

2011 is the first year state and local officials have had to cover the cost of cleanups. The Drug Enforcement Agency stopped paying for cleanups in February. State officials said the state quickly spent $80,000 to $100,000 that was set aside for the cleanups, leaving Ohio towns and cities responsible for the bills.

The need for a cheaper solution led Lee Surgener to start a business this summer.

"We've gotten slammed," he said. 

Surgener said his company, the Ohio Clan Lab Neutralization Technicians, charges significantly less to clean-up meth labs because his staff uses a technique that disposes of chemicals at the site of the lab instead of transporting the chemicals to another location.

"With us, they're able to get three busts for the price of one," he said.

Surgener is also helping members of the Akron police department learn to clean up meth labs.

Lt. Brian Simcox said city officials spent more than $40,000 this year to clean up chemicals found in meth labs.