By KEVIN WALKER
Michigan Correspondent
 
WATERLOO TWP., Mich. — For anyone who uses small propane cylinders and exchanges them at a propane dealer, it might be a good idea to keep a lookout for cylinders with valves that are corroded with a bluish-green tinge.

That is, according to the National Propane Gas Assoc. (NPGA) and Propane Gas Assoc. of Canada (PGAC). In a safety alert, the NPGA states that manufacturers of methamphetamine are using propane cylinders to store anhydrous ammonia, an essential ingredient in some recipes for the production of meth.

The PGAC’s alert states that while there are many ways of making methamphetamine, one method uses anhydrous ammonia in the reaction process. Anhydrous “is often stolen from farms and agricultural supply businesses and transported and stored in easily portable, 20- or 30-pound, cylinders.”

According to the NPGA’s alert, when a brass valve on a propane cylinder comes into contact with anhydrous ammonia, it will be damaged. The deterioration will lead to cracking of the valve body or its components and can result in an unexpected expulsion of the valve from the cylinder, causing personal injury or death.
“These cylinders have been found in many states at cylinder exchanges and refilling locations, as well as in hotel rooms and mobile laboratories, where the manufacturing of this illegal substance takes place,” the alert states.

The telltale sign that a cylinder has come into contact with anhydrous is a bluish-green tinge on the valve and fittings. But, the NPGA notes that Sherwood valves have a green-coated valve stem. Also, a green thread sealing compound is used on some valves. These shouldn’t be confused with corrosion.

While there seems to be no disagreement over whether these small propane cylinders are sometimes used to store anhydrous illegally, it’s not entirely clear there is a widespread problem with consumers coming into contact with the defective cylinders.
At www.snopes.com online, a website devoted to separating fact from rumor, one contributor questions whether consumers need to worry about propane cylinders that have been compromised by illegal storage of anhydrous ammonia.

“Criminals using portable propane tanks and bottles to transport and store anhydrous ammonia aren’t interested in obtaining propane refills for their canisters, so they wouldn’t be dropping off their empty units to the local Wal-Mart to swap for full ones,” wrote site researcher Barbara Mikkelson.

One propane dealer, Ben Puhr, would beg to differ. He is co-owner of Wilson’s Hardware in Waterloo Township, Mich. Puhr said he does sometimes get empty propane cylinders that have the bluish-green tinge.

“I throw them out right away,” he said.

Puhr said Waterloo Township has been a major area for meth production because “it’s a rural area and there’s so much state land. It’s easy for people to do their meth labs there.”

Waterloo Township Chief of Police Tom Cottrell agrees with Puhr.
“That is a real problem. Using propane tanks is a common way of transporting it once they’ve stolen it from a nurse tank somewhere,” he said. “They’ll pack up all their supplies and go out in the woods and do their thing. It’s just as bad now as ever.”

Cottrell said propane tanks aren’t meant to store anhydrous ammonia, and it creates a dangerous situation. He complained that meth manufacturers often leave their supplies behind once they are done, forcing someone else to clean up after them.

In its literature on meth use and manufacture, the Idaho State Police lists propane cylinders as among the equipment to look for at a suspected meth operation.

While most people who use small propane cylinders may never come across one with a bluish-green valve corroded by anhydrous ammonia, it never hurts to have more information about what it means, just in case.

To view the NPGA’s safety alert in its entirety, visit www.npga.org/i4a/pages/index.cfm?pageid=529