egarrard
12-28-2004, 12:34 PM
http://www.qctimes.com/internal.php?story_id=1042321&t=Local+News&c=2,1042321
Anyone thinking about stealing anhydrous ammonia from around this community may get a nasty pink surprise if they try to make methamphetamine with it.
Nichols Agriservice LLC, 1783 Davis Ave., became the first fertilizer dealership in Muscatine County to use GloTell, an anhydrous additive distributed nationally by Collinsville, Ill.- based Royster Clark Farmarket.
John Hester, the Nichols Agriservice owner, said he knows of only one other fertilizer dealer in northeast Iowa using GloTell at present. None in Scott County are known to be using the additive.
The chemical, introduced in September, was created after a two-year testing period to be a theft deterrent, leak detector and marking agent. GloTell is a burgundy-colored liquid that turns yellow when added to ammonia. However, when the mixture is exposed to the air, GloTell will turn the surface of whatever it comes in contact with a fluorescent pink.
“I’ve been told by law enforcement and GloTell that the pink color will show up on the skin of meth users whether they inject or smoke it,” Hester said. “It even shows up under ultraviolet light.”
According to GloTell’s Web site, the chemical quickly breaks down once applied in the field and has been tested safe for crops, humans, soil and water.
Hester also said that GloTell is inexpensive to use. Adding the chemical to a tank of ammonia would cost farmers about 90 cents per acre.
Sgt. Mark Kopf of the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Department said widespread use of GloTell could quickly become a deterrent to local meth manufacturers. Meth makers look for consistency in color and quality with the final product, he said. Anything that detracts from that consistency, such as the pink color of GloTell, often scares meth dealers from using or selling the product.
“From my experience, many dealers have a recipe for making meth that they get from others and it ends up being passed down the line, almost like your grandma’s pie recipe,” he said. “They don’t stray far from that recipe because meth’s so dangerous to make.”
Steve Fordyce, the manager of UAP Midwest, a fertilizer dealership in Atalissa, Iowa, said he is keeping an eye on GloTell and how Nichols Agriservice is using it in its anhydrous tanks.
“This is a good thing to have because it will cut down on theft,” he said. “As soon as it becomes more available, we’ll use it, too.”
Hester, who is chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Agricultural Retailers Association, said his dealership has been plagued by anhydrous thieves the past four years, often reporting thefts at least once a week.
He first heard of GloTell when company representatives demonstrated samples of the chemical before the association’s drug task force committee.
“Our organization works closely with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and Iowa drug task forces,” he said.
Anhydrous, if not handled properly, can cause severe chemical burns and death.
Hester said thieves often leave tank valves open in their haste to steal ammonia, creating a dangerous pollution hazard for themselves and any other persons in the area.
“They (the thieves) don’t need much ammonia in order to make meth,” Hester said. “But the big problem is that they’ll use plain work gloves and things like beer coolers to try to store it.
“Ammonia will eat right through gloves and plastic.”
http://www.glotell.com/
:clapping :thumb :Thumb :thumb :clapping
Anyone thinking about stealing anhydrous ammonia from around this community may get a nasty pink surprise if they try to make methamphetamine with it.
Nichols Agriservice LLC, 1783 Davis Ave., became the first fertilizer dealership in Muscatine County to use GloTell, an anhydrous additive distributed nationally by Collinsville, Ill.- based Royster Clark Farmarket.
John Hester, the Nichols Agriservice owner, said he knows of only one other fertilizer dealer in northeast Iowa using GloTell at present. None in Scott County are known to be using the additive.
The chemical, introduced in September, was created after a two-year testing period to be a theft deterrent, leak detector and marking agent. GloTell is a burgundy-colored liquid that turns yellow when added to ammonia. However, when the mixture is exposed to the air, GloTell will turn the surface of whatever it comes in contact with a fluorescent pink.
“I’ve been told by law enforcement and GloTell that the pink color will show up on the skin of meth users whether they inject or smoke it,” Hester said. “It even shows up under ultraviolet light.”
According to GloTell’s Web site, the chemical quickly breaks down once applied in the field and has been tested safe for crops, humans, soil and water.
Hester also said that GloTell is inexpensive to use. Adding the chemical to a tank of ammonia would cost farmers about 90 cents per acre.
Sgt. Mark Kopf of the Muscatine County Sheriff’s Department said widespread use of GloTell could quickly become a deterrent to local meth manufacturers. Meth makers look for consistency in color and quality with the final product, he said. Anything that detracts from that consistency, such as the pink color of GloTell, often scares meth dealers from using or selling the product.
“From my experience, many dealers have a recipe for making meth that they get from others and it ends up being passed down the line, almost like your grandma’s pie recipe,” he said. “They don’t stray far from that recipe because meth’s so dangerous to make.”
Steve Fordyce, the manager of UAP Midwest, a fertilizer dealership in Atalissa, Iowa, said he is keeping an eye on GloTell and how Nichols Agriservice is using it in its anhydrous tanks.
“This is a good thing to have because it will cut down on theft,” he said. “As soon as it becomes more available, we’ll use it, too.”
Hester, who is chairman of the Washington, D.C.-based Agricultural Retailers Association, said his dealership has been plagued by anhydrous thieves the past four years, often reporting thefts at least once a week.
He first heard of GloTell when company representatives demonstrated samples of the chemical before the association’s drug task force committee.
“Our organization works closely with the DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) and Iowa drug task forces,” he said.
Anhydrous, if not handled properly, can cause severe chemical burns and death.
Hester said thieves often leave tank valves open in their haste to steal ammonia, creating a dangerous pollution hazard for themselves and any other persons in the area.
“They (the thieves) don’t need much ammonia in order to make meth,” Hester said. “But the big problem is that they’ll use plain work gloves and things like beer coolers to try to store it.
“Ammonia will eat right through gloves and plastic.”
http://www.glotell.com/
:clapping :thumb :Thumb :thumb :clapping