The Montana Department of Environmental Quality will investigate the circumstances that led to a drug burn sickening a dozen employees at an animal shelter in Billings .

On Sept. 10, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was apparently burning methamphetamine in an incinerator primarily used by the City of Billings Animal Control Operation to burn dead animals.

The City of Billings owns and operates the incinerator, which is in the same building as the Yellowstone Valley Animal Shelter, a private nonprofit that leases space. The shelter is not operated by the City of Billings, but it does have contracts with the city.

The Billings Police Department has long used the incinerator for burning drugs, according to a Sept. 11 statement by the department.

In an emailed comment Frida

See Full Page