U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT Mercury - Lawrence Toilet Bowl - Removal Polrep Initial and Final Removal Polrep UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY Region VII
Subject:	POLREP #1 First and Final POLREP Mercury - Lawrence Toilet Bowl KSN000706027 Lawrence, KS Latitude: 38.9681000 Longitude: -95.2464000
To:
From:	Doug Ferguson, OSC
Date:	8/31/2009
Reporting Period:
1. Introduction   1.1 Background     Site Number:      Contract Number:   D.O. Number:      Action Memo Date:   Response Authority: CERCLA    Response Type: PRP Oversight Response Lead: PRP    Incident Category: Removal Action NPL Status: Non NPL    Operable Unit: Mobilization Date: 5/5/2009    Start Date: 5/5/2009 Demob Date: 8/18/2009    Completion Date: 8/18/2009 CERCLIS ID: KSN000706027    RCRIS ID: ERNS No.:    State Notification: FPN#:    Reimbursable Account #: 1.1.1 Incident Category PRP Removal 1.1.2 Site Description On May 4, 2009, EPA was contacted by the Lawrence Kansas Fire Department regarding a spill of mercury from a toilet bowl. The toilet bowl was located in a second floor bathroom of a residential rental home at 831 Alabama Street in Lawrence, Kansas.  It is not known how the mercury ended up in the toilet, but it was discovered when the property owner was replacing the wax ring that joins the toilet to the flange. 1.1.2.1 Location Lawrence, Kansas 1.1.2.2 Description of Threat Mercury spill in a residence. 1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results Initial concentrations of mercury in the home did not exceed 208 ng/cubic meter except for the bathroom at 15,000 ng/cubic meter (all measurements with the Lumex TM Mercury Vapor Analyzer).  The house had a separate apartment at 829 Alabama with no concentrations of mercury vapor above background. 2. Current Activities   2.1 Operations Section     2.1.1 Narrative 2.1.2 Response Actions to Date An estimated 1 pound of mercury was spilled onto the floor, most of which was recovered by physical means.  The toilet and various other smaller debris in the bathroom were contaminated with small amounts of mercury and were disposed of.  After removing the visible mercury and contaminated debris, air monitoring was performed and the bathroom had concentrations of mercury at 2200 ng/cubic meter.  The Kansas State Fire Marshall monitored the site on May 7, 2009, and determined the mercury vapor concentrations exceeded action levels (1,000 ng/cubic meter).  At that point, the subfloor of the bathroom was removed and additional visible mercury was discovered trapped between the floor and ceiling.  The visible mercury was removed and ceiling tiles were sealed with a polyurethane coating.  Additionally, the carpet on the first floor was removed as some mercury had made its way through the water damaged ceiling underneath the upstairs toilet, and leaked onto the first floor. OSC Ferguson screened the property on Friday, May 15, 2009, and determined mercury vapor concentrations were still above action levels.  At that time the apartment remained unoccupied, but the tenant's possessions prevented the property owner from further remediating the site until the tenants remove their belongings at the end of the lease period (July 31, 2009). OSC Ferguson screened the rental property on August 18, 2009, with a LumexTM Mercury Vapor Analyzer and determined mercury vapor concentrations in the residence were well below levels of concern for human health. 2.1.3 Enforcement Activities, Identity of Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) Initially, it was believed that the property owner's insurance company would cover cleanup costs, but the insurance company eventually denied coverage.  The PRP is the property owner. 2.1.4 Progress Metrics Waste Stream Medium Quantity Manifest # Treatment Disposal  Elemental Mercury  liquid  1 pound     Douglas County HHW 711 East 23rd Street Lawrence, KS 66044  Mercury contamianted debris  solid  1 cubic yard      landfill               2.2 Planning Section     2.2.1 Anticipated Activities No additional activities are planned. 2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities None 2.2.1.2 Next Steps None 2.2.2 Issues   2.3 Logistics Section     No information available at this time.   2.4 Finance Section     No information available at this time.   2.5 Other Command Staff     No information available at this time. 3. Participating Entities   3.1 Unified Command Tim Wilson, SOSC KDHE Doug Ferguson, FOSC USEPA Region 7 Dan Thompson, SOSC Kansas State Fire Marshall 3.2 Cooperating Agencies 4. Personnel On Site   Brett Watts, Property Owner 5. Definition of Terms   No information available at this time. 6. Additional sources of information   No information available at this time. 7. Situational Reference Materials   No information available at this time.