ERRS, START and EPA mobilized to the Site on 10/14/2023.
EPA and owner walked the site to assess the spill. The spill
appeared to be isolated to one room inside of the farmhouse.
START assessed the owner's trailer that the family was living
in, the area around the farmhouse, items removed from the farmhouse, and the
farmhouse where the mercury spill was discovered.
The trailer (4 - 6 ng/m3) and the area around the house were
cleared by the initial assessment. The mercury was contained to one room in the
farmhouse except for a few items removed from the room by the owner before discovering the mercury. The
readings from the few items removed were greater 23,000 ng/m3. These items will
be disposed of by ERRS. Mercury vapor concentrations in the first three
rooms of the main house ranged from 133 to 155 ng/m3 and in the side house
ranged from 6 to 8 ng/m3.
ERRS cleared debris from the area and used a mercury vacuum to
remove visible mercury. More mercury was discovered as the debris was removed
from the contaminated farmhouse room. ERRS completed the removal of all visible
mercury from the spill site. Wood flooring was removed as screening showed
elevated readings for mercury (1,500 - 40,000 ng/m3).
The room was prepared for a clearance monitoring. Window
openings were closed, a propane heater was setup, and the temperature in the
room reached a maximum of 55 degrees Fahrenheit. START ran an 8-hour clearance
monitoring overnight.
The next morning, START reviewed the data from the clearance
monitoring. The readings from the clearance monitoring were within expectable
levels (max 149 ng/m3, avg 62 ng/m3). However, to get the readings as low as
possible, ERRS removed additional wood floor material. This dropped the
monitoring readings even more.
EPA decided that cleanup activities were complete and mercury
vapor concentrations stayed below 1,000 ng/m3.
On 10/14, EPA, START and ERRS demobilized from the Site.
