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"Toxic waste from clandestine (methamphetamine) labs in the rural West is being dumped on the land and into streams, sewage systems and landfills," Snell writes. One third of the chemicals that can be used to "cook" meth are extremely toxic, and some "are also reactive, explosive, flammable, and corrosive." In Apache County, Arizona, the cleanup for one large meth lab took three days of work and $100,000. Smaller labs usually cost around $3,000 to $4,000 to clean up. Meth lab operators often move to the areas where neighbors and law enforcement won't notice the smell of the meth being cooked. These areas, like parts of national forests and lands operated by the Bureau of Land Management, are threatened by the toxic chemicals that meth lab operators often dump in them.

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