Press Release

ARCURI VOTES TO FIGHT METHAMPHETAMINE LABS

Washington, DC -- Today, U.S. Representative Michael A. Arcuri voted for legislation (H.R. 365) to help local communities detect and clean up methamphetamine labs and protect innocent families and law enforcement officers.

“As a former District Attorney, I know first hand the scourge that meth has laid upon rural areas in Upstate New York,” said Arcuri, who spoke on the House floor in support of H.R. 365. “The poisonous effect meth labs have on our communities goes far beyond the dangerous drugs they manufacture. Meth production harms innocent people who live in households where production takes place and it presents a dangerous and harmful situation for local law enforcement.”

“I co-sponsored and am proud to have voted for this bill, which will have a real impact back in New York because it will assist communities in establishing safe, reliable methods for cleaning up meth labs in a way that minimizes environmental and public health risks, both to the community at-large and those who conduct the clean-up process,” Arcuri said.

The Methamphetamine Remediation Research Act of 2007 (H.R. 365) Would:

• Charge the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with the development of health-based voluntary guidelines to assist state and local authorities in cleaning up former meth lab sites

• Require the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) to support research to develop methamphetamine lab detection technologies with an emphasis on field test kits and site detection for local law enforcement

• Direct the EPA to work with the National Academy of Sciences to study the long-term health impact of exposure to meth labs on children and first responders and recommend an agenda for the EPA research program

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