United States Environmental Protection Agency
Region IV
POLLUTION REPORT

Subject: 

On Mar. 4, 2005, EPA OSC Smith and the Region 4 Superfund Technical Assistance and Response Team (START) contractor went to the home of a student who brought mercury into a middle school in Northern Kentucky (see www.epaosc.net/turkeyfootmercury for additional information).  The purpose of the inspection was to perform a Removal Site Evaluation (RSE) of the residence, based on a suspicion that mercury may be present, and that it could pose a threat of a release to the environment.

Readings obtained with the Lumex mercury analyzer disclosed that mercury vapor concentrations exceeding 50 ug/m3 were present in certain areas of the house.  Notably, these levels were found in the blankets on a bed in a room where a 3 year old and a 7 year old reside.  By comparison, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) and EPA Region 4 consider that mercury concentrations in air which exceed 10 ug/m3 warrant isolation of the residents from the source until the threat is removed.  The RSE was completed at that point and EPA and START demobilized the site.

On Mar. 7, 2005, the EPA OSC met with the Northern Kentucky Independent Health District (NKIHD), Kenton County Emergency Management, ATSDR, and the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection (KYDEP) to discuss the public health implications of the incident.
NKIHD prepared a referral letter to the OSC, requesting EPA's assistance in mitigating the threats described at the residence.  The parties met later the same day with the owners of the site, and EPA provided an access agreement for signature.

On Mar. 8, the EPA OSC was contacted by the site owners, who signed the agreement, giving EPA permission to access the premises and perform a removal action.

An EPA Region 4 Community Involvement Coordinator (CIC) has mobilized to the site to assist the residents with temporary relocation issues for the extended family residing there (4 adults and 4 children).

Under his delegated emergency authorities, the EPA OSC issued a verbal Task Order to a Region 4 Emergency and Rapid Response Services Contractor (CMC, Inc.) and a verbal Technical Direction Document (TDD) to the Region 4 START contractor to support a time-critical removal action the site.  Activities initiated on Mar. 8 include screening of personal belongings in advance of the planned relocation, and video documentation of existing condtions inside the home.

- Screening of clothing and other porous items (e.g., linens, bedding, curtains, etc.)
- Establish a tracking database for documentation of the incident.
- Removal of items from the house which constitute a significant source of mercury contamiantion (carpets, furniture, etc.)
- Disposal of items which would cause exceedances of EPA Region 4 criteria for mercury vapors in a residential setting.

The Access agreement signed by the site owners stipulates that the property owners are responsible for replacement of household items deemed by EPA to warrant disposal due to mercury contamination.