EPA is responding at the request of the Salem_Keizer School District and has partnered up with Oregon OSHA, and Oregon State Public Health to assess potential mercury exposure levels at several schools. The EPA will identify areas of anomalous mercury concentrations in suspected areas in schools, and identify areas of mercury concentrations exceeding site action levels (1 ug/m3).
EPA (1) and START (2) contractors initiated a Removal Site Evaluation on Wednesday Jan 25, 2006. The START-3 contractor conducted mercury screening with the Lumex 915+ Mercury Vapor Spectrometer (Lumex) and the Jerome 431-X Mercury Vapor Analyzer (Jerome) at seven elementary schools which included Cummings, Myers, Hayesville, Mary Eyre, Englewood, Scott, and Swegle Elementary Schools. At each school, the START-3 contractors conducted initial background screening at areas suspected of contamination, and then conducted screening for mercury in the gymnasium.
EPA's role is going to be limited to data collection and technical assistance. EPA's product will include data tables and Graphic representations. This information will be provided to the Oregon State Public Health for the purpose of drafting a final report.
