Are you living in a P house?

By NADINE KELLY, Waiariki journalism student
Rotorua residents may be unwittingly living in homes contaminated by potentially fatal chemicals used in illegal drug operations.
There is currently no law or legislation which alerts tenants to the fact that rental properties have been used to make P or methamphetamine.
Chronic exposure to chemicals used to make P can lead to death.

Last year, 10 P labs were found in Rotorua.
The first P lab was found in Rotorua in 1997.
Each time a P lab is found, an Auckland-based team of police remove the dangerous chemicals and notify local authorities, regional councils and health officials.
The police also put a sticker on the house advising that dangerous chemicals have been found inside.
Once a lab is removed from a property, it is up to the property owner to have the dwelling commercially cleaned.
However, police say some property owners may bypass the cleaning because of the cost _ which averages $15,000 a house _ and continue letting homes that are still contaminated.
There is no law which automatically alerts home buyers P labs had been in the properties.
While some councils flag a P house on Information Memorandum (LIM) reports, the Rotorua District Council does not.
Council regulatory services manager Jim Nicklin said P labs were a comparatively new issue for the council and it would be looking at updating its procedure.
He said it was important for any intending purchaser or potential tenant to check with the council before committing to any sort of agreement.






Mr Nicklin said P labs were not seen as a major issue for the district because police had only reported three definite P houses in Rotorua.


Council principle environmental health officer Allan Culpan said there was no real appropriate legislation to force home owners to clean their properties.
``The aftermath for home owners substantiate to $1000 just to get testing done and after that you're talking big money.''



Rotorua Detective Scott Thompson, a member of the police P lab team, said he was surprised there was not something marked on the council's property file.
``But that's a [Rotorua District] council procedure, not a police one and police do what we need to do according to statutory requirements.
``If you have cops sitting on every house until it gets cleaned up, pretty soon you will not have any cops on the street.''

A Rotorua solo mother, who didn't want to be named, told the Daily Post she had no idea she was living in a P house in Glenholme.

``Every time I walked into the house I would get terrible migraines and it was unbearable,'' the woman said.''
The walls were stained with a thick brown substance and it would appear around warm places of the house.
``I washed the kitchen walls one day from top to bottom and a few days later the brown stuff came back.''


The Daily Post has confirmed the house was raided by police in December 2002 and a P lab was found.
The woman and her family have since left.