{Carnahan serves on the House Committee on Science and Technology, which has jurisdiction over all civilian research and development programs of the federal government, including those at NIST & EPA.

(Washington, DC): WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Russ Carnahan is helping communities across Missouri clean up methamphetamine labs and the toxic mess they leave behind.  Carnahan helped pass the Methamphetamine Remediation Act of 2007 during a meeting of the House Science and Technology Committee. The measure was passed in the House today.

The bill, H.R. 365, charges the Environmental Protection Agency with the development of health-based guidelines to assist state and local authorities in cleaning up former meth lab sites.

Based on data from 2005, Missouri leads the nation with reported 2,252 meth laboratory incidents.  Furthermore, Jefferson County, a region within Carnahan's district, is the county with the highest number of meth laboratory incidents in Missouri with 259 incidents in 2005.

While some states have already passed laws that require the clean-up of former meth labs, Missouri has not passed such a law, and there is no good health-based data to guide that process.

In addition to establishing those guidelines, the bill would also:
• Direct the National Institute of Standards and Technology to consult with EPA in developing technologies to detect meth labs, emphasizing in field test kits for law enforcement.
• Require the National Academy of Sciences to study the long-term health impacts of meth exposure on first-responders and on children taken from meth lab sites.

“As my district lies in the state leading the nation in meth incidents, I have seen firsthand the harmful and wide-reaching effects of the substance.  I am proud to be a part of this new Congress which is continuing the fight against meth; we cannot continue to allow our first responders and children to be exposed to dangerous conditions, particularly when we do not know all of the long term effects."                              -Russ Carnahan, MO-3}

(####)