A warning from the Colorado Springs Police Department's Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence Unit.

They said methamphetamine cooks are using propane tanks to store anhydrous ammonia. A substance used in the production of the deadly drug.

Anhydrous Ammonia is a deadly chemical. It is commonly used on farms as a source of nitrogen fertilizer and can also be used as a refrigerant. Anhydrous must be handled and stored under high pressure in specially designed units. If mishandled, it can cause severe chemical burns and even death.

Officials said the anhydrous ammonia method of producing methamphetamine is common in rural areas and in towns surrounded by farm land because for cooks, anhydrous is easier to find since it is used as a fertilizer.

Even still, they said the production method is becoming more and more popular, and it's by-products are extremely dangerous.

"It is very corrosive to tissue, to your lung tissue, to your eyes, mucus membranes and things like that, in the right doses or with too high of a dose it will kill you very quickly," an Undercover Sergeant with Metro Vice, Narcotics and Intelligence said.

He said meth cooks store the deadly chemical inside propane tanks like the one found in your backyard.

"Mixing anhydrous ammonia with various other chemicals is just one of the ways these cooks produce or reduce ephedrine into methamphetamine," the Metro VNI Sergeant said.

He said you can easily tell when a propane tank has been used to store anhydrous because blueish-green corrosion forms around the valves.

"If you see a propane tank with a lot of heavy green corrosion on it, do not touch it, these things can be explosive, they are like bombs waiting to go off," the Metro VNI Sergeant said.

He said most tanks used by meth cooks are not returned to the distributor, but rather abandoned in houses, ditches and fields. He said that is when things become dangerous for everyone in the community.

"Just by picking it up, or shaking it, you can create enough pressure for the valve to blow out of the tank, striking you, killing you, or that tank will explode from the corrosion," the Metro VNI Sergeant said. "Call police, the fire department or hazmat and they will come take a look at it."

He said he has never heard of anyone accidentally taking home a propane tank from a dealer that was previously filled with anhydrous ammonia, but he said it could still happen.

Meth is currently the most prevalent drug in Colorado Springs