Local Walmart on List of Meth-Contaminated Sites
By: Lauren Trager, KARK 4 News
Updated: May 15, 2012
Monday, we told you about a master list of more than 700 addresses the state says are so dangerous, no one should be inside.
After the story aired, a viewer pointed out: a Walmart Superstore was on that list.
"That's crazy because I just bought some stuff in there and it makes me think about eating these Pop-tarts, maybe I shouldn't," said shopper Chris Bishop.
Shoppers at Sherwood's super Walmart on Highway 107 were shocked to learn the store was on a master list of meth-contaminated properties.
A spokesperson for the Department of Environmental Quality told us Monday, anyone inside these places could be charged with a crime. The contaminants inside could be dangerous or even deadly.
But don't worry: the Pop-Tarts and other goods inside here are safe.
The fact this address was on the list is all a big mistake.
"Kinda makes me wonder how that made that mistake in the first place," Bishop said.
We went to Sherwood Police Tuesday to find out.
While a syringe found on-site three years ago did-test positive for meth, officers did not discover a meth- lab. A reporting error only put it on the list.
After we started asking questions ADEQ officials told us they would fix the mistake.
Errors like this, they say, have happened before but not often.
The public, they say, can help them properly police the list.
"With that many properties on the list, we'd love to have the time go through all of them but we just don't have the staff to check each and every one," said Katherine Benenati with ADEQ.
Looking at the list, though, Bishop says it all still makes him uneasy.
"That's crazy, that's really just strange," Bishop said.
A similar mistake happened two years ago with a Walmart in Fayetteville.
State leaders say they don't track just how many errors they've discovered.
They encourage you to check out the list and see if it all checks out. You can do that, by clicking here.


