Imagine moving your family into a home, only to find, you have to get out because your family's health is at risk. That's happening to families all across Utah whose home's are condemned because the previous residents used methamphetamine. In frustration, some decided to ‘Get Gephardt’.
It's not just houses. Meth contamination also exists in apartments, condominiums, and even hotel and motel rooms. But did you know there's a simple test to detect whether the previous residents may have used meth?
Tawyna Nichols never got to move into the American Fork home she purchased. After she closed, and started paying the mortgage, she found the house was contaminated with meth. 130 times more than what Utah's health department says is safe.
"A million things ran through my mind, what are we going to do, where are we going to live, how are we going to pay a mortgage." said Tawyna.
It’s the same story with Richard Poole. He's moving everything out of his West Jordan home. It too exceeded Utah's allowable levels for methamphetamine exposure.
"I'm really mad" said Richard. Justin Hellander discovered the problem after he and his son got sick.
"The rash on my son's face. Headaches. I'd been having diarrhea." said Justin.
Justin, Richard, and Tawyna all suspected the methamphetamine contamination when they got tips from neighbors and police.
All three victims could have found out for sure if their homes were contaminated with meth from a simple $45 test. It's put together by Data Chem Laboratories in Salt Lake.
To see how well the test works, we met with meth clean up specialist Kyle Adams at an Eagle Mountain home where residents were arrested for using methamphetamine.
Health department regulations require wearing hazardous materials suits wherever meth is suspected because of the dangers.
In the home we sampled two areas, on a dresser and end table. Wearing gloves, the instructions says simply pour the included alcohol solution on the gauze pad provided. Then, rub the gauze inside of a specific surface. The gauze then goes back in the sterile laboratory container.
Across the street, Heather and Brett Birkholm agreed we could also do the test in their home. They built the home, and have never used meth. So the test ought to show negative, or not detected.
Back at Data Chem Laboratories, chemists gather what is collected on the gauze.
The sample is placed in a sophisticated spectrometer. The machine is set up to detect the presence of methamphetamine.
Anything above one microgram detected from that square we wiped in the home would be considered unsafe, says the State Department of Health.
"Okay, so we definitely have methamphetamine in this sample." said a Chemist.
That sample along with the one other came from that home were police arrested a resident for meth use.
Remember that one microgram is the state limit for safety. Our samples from that home showed a contamination of 3.3 micrograms, and 1.5 micrograms.
What about that sample we took from across the street at the Birkholms? The results show "ND", or not detected.
"You could say its almost 99% accurate. It's like a fingerprint for a chemical." said a chemist. As for Tawyna, she faces the expense of moving everything out, and paying thousands to hire people like clean up specialist Kayle Adams to neutralize the health hazards of meth contamination. “Everything in the home is garbage. The carpeting, the padding, the fridge, the stove.” said Tawyna.
What can't be cleaned has to be simply thrown away. Tawyna wishes she tested before buying.
“We want people to know that they should get their home tested. No matter what. It's worth the money.” said Tawyna.
