EXERCISE: On the morning of November 25th, 2009, a homeroom teacher discovered that one of their students was playing with elemental mercury in the back of the classroom (Room 115). Upon discovery, the teacher notified the principal and the school was promptly evacuated. State and County haz mat responders were on the scene and conducted preliminary air monitoring and sampling to determine potential extent of contamination. High levels of mercury were found in all of the rooms that were initially tested. At that time State officials contacted the Region 4 Emergency Response Branch and an OSC was deployed. To ensure prompt analysis, the state and county collected air samples were shipped to the ERT laboratory in Edison, NJ.
Upon interviewing the student, responders determined that he may have distributed mercury to other students in the days prior. Students clothing and shoes have been bagged to allow for contamination screening by the EPA. EXERCISE
