The Site is located at the Chipeta Elementary School in Grand Junction, Colorado (Mesa County). The school is part of Mesa County Valley School District 51 and is comprised of roughly 450 students ranging from pre-Kindergarten to fifth grade. The school is located in a residential neighborhood and there is a middle school to the north of the facility.

On March 26, 2019, two students brought two vials of mercury to the Chipeta Elementary School.  School district official reported that approximately 20 milliliters (1.3 tablespoons) of mercury were spilled, and that eight classrooms and the cafeteria were likely contaminated. The school was closed down.

There are several residential properties that may also be contaminated.

On March 28, 2019, EPA's Emergency Response Unit received a request for assistance from both the State of Colorado and the School District. EPA then deployed a response team to conduct an assessment of the school. Verifying that the property was contaminated, the school district contracted a cleanup contractor to remove the mercury and decontaminate the School.

1. Assist the School District in performing the assessment and removal of mercury at the Chipeta Elementary School.

2. Perform the assessment and removal of mercury at potentially impacted residential properties.

March 28 - 31, 2019 - EPA's response team deployed to the site to assist the School District with planning and other actions necessary to clean up the elemental mercury and bring mercury vapor levels below action levels. The School District's cleanup contractor began remediation of effected classrooms and areas. The School remained closed.

April 1, 2019 -  EPA's response team returned to the Site to assess the cleanup contractor's efforts. EPA's START contractor analyzed mercury vapor levels in the remediated areas using specialized, real-time instrumentation and found that the mercury vapors in one room were still above recommended action levels.

April 2, 2019 - EPA deployed additional resources to assist the School District in completing the cleanup and reopening the school. The response team used heaters and specialized equipment to assess and remove the remaining mercury at the school. The team also began assessment of several residential properties.

EPA will continue to assess mercury vapor levels at the school and assist the School District with cleanup activities. EPA will also continue to assess residential properties for contamination and will begin cleanup activities at those residential properties with confirmed mercury contamination.