NEAH BAY — Strangely enough, the safest chemical that can be found in a house doubling as an illegal drug lab is methamphetamine.

That highlights just how dangerous the acids and bases used to make the powerful and illegal stimulant are, said Fred Cowie, a hazardous materials and emergency management expert from Helena, Mont., who trains emergency responders and public health officials on how to deal with those whose lives have been scrambled by the drug.

Cowie spoke to a group of Makah tribal and Clallam County officials Thursday, detailing not just how volatile the legal chemicals that go into making the illegal substance, but how unstable methamphetamine cooks and users are and how it affects children.

But it’s not just methamphetamine makers that pose the threat, but users as well, he said.

“People that buy meth aren’t doing any better than people making meth,” Cowie said.

Additional risk

However, he noted that addicts who do not cook their own methamphetamine do have one thing going for them:

Those who manufacture methamphetamine have the added risk of burning down their houses and everybody inside.

In April, four suspected methamphetamine lab dump sites were located in Clallam and Jefferson, according to the state Department of Ecology.

Those findings were the first reported lab or dump sites of 2006.

Vincent Cooke, environmental division manager for the Makah Tribe, invited Cowie to talk about the labs and the other dangers addicts pose to the neighbors and law enforcement and public health officials.

“It’s an epidemic throughout Clallam County,” Cooke said.

“We need to start with education.”