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If you wish to report a suspected clandestine drug laboratory or P lab you should contact the Police directly.

Properties contaminated by methamphetamine

When a clandestine drug laboratory has been notified by the Police or when Council receives valid methamphetamine testing results, Council must ensure that the information is available to people viewing a property's file or applying for a land information memorandum or LIM report.

All information related to any such notification will be noted on the property file including any subsequent test reports, decontamination reports, or clearance reports.

It is important for preventing danger to the health of occupants that further testing is conducted (such as a detailed assessment) to assess the extent and magnitude of the methamphetamine contamination and to inform the design of any decontamination works and waste disposal plan (if required).

All testing and decontamination should be undertaken in accordance with the requirements of NZS 8510:2017 (Testing and decontamination of methamphetamine contaminated properties).

Safe levels of methamphetamine contamination in residential settings

The property owner has an obligation to make sure the dwelling is not contaminated at levels that present a danger to health to people occupying the property currently or in the future.

Until such time as regulations are developed setting safe levels of methamphetamine residue in dwellings, Council will review information on a case-by-case basis by using a mix of standards set under:

• NZS 8510:2017 (Testing and decontamination of methamphetamine contaminated properties), and
• The Sir Peter Gluckman Report (Office of the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor) Methamphetamine contamination in residential properties: Exposures, risk levels and  interpretation of standards.

For residential properties where there is reason to believe that methamphetamine manufacture may have taken place, the levels set out in the NZ standard will be used:

• a level of 1.5 µg/100 cm² in high use areas
• a level of 3.8 µg/100 cm² in limited use areas

For residential properties where there is no reason to believe that methamphetamine manufacture may have taken place, the level set in the Gluckman report will be used:

• a level of 15 µg/100 cm²

Testing, reporting and decontamination evidence will still need to comply with the NZ Standard.

For further information on methamphetamine contamination in residential settings please contact Council's environmental health officer.

Further information on methamphetamine and the law