On August 13, 2007, a representative from Country Home Health Inc. contacted the McAlester Fire Department to report seeing mercury in the home of an elderly patient in McAlester, Oklahoma. The Fire Chief contacted the National Response Center (#845467) to make a formal report after visiting the residence and observing free mercury on the floor inside the house.
As of August 26, 2007, the EPA and its contractors have removed the free Mercury from within the room where the spill took place. It was also discovered that the Mercury had seeped through the wood flooring and onto the ground within the crawlspace of the house.
The flooring at the spill location was removed and replaced and sealed. The flooring in he bathroom was also replaced and sealed. Additionally, holes in the kitchen floor were sealed and the floors in the pantry, dining, living, and 2nd bedroom were sealed with epoxy paint. The crawlspace and attic are be vented daily to help reduce the levels in the house to below 1 ug/m3.
On August 20, 2007, the EPA responded to the site to initiate the cleanup. The EPA responded with an EPA OSC, 6 ERRS Contractors, and 2 START Contractors.
On August 14,2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mobilized to investigate the reported release of mercury in the residence. The EPA verified this release and found that the levels were significantly above health based cleanup standards of 1 ug/m3. The results were as high as 80 ug/m3.
The EPA plans are to remove the mercury from the home in an attempt to achieve a less than or equal to 1 ug/m3 air level.
The interior activities within the house are substantially complete. We will screen the additional belongings on August 27 to determine if they should be disposed.
We will be placing a permanent crawlspace (radon) fan underneath the house to provide continuous evacuation of Mercury vapors so they will not continue to enter the residence.
Complete the final touchups within the house, screen and determine the fate of the remainder of the belongings, dispose of contaminated debris, dispose of collected free Mercury, install the crawlspace fan, and sample for final clearance.
On August 26, 2007, the renter identified certain items that we could dispose of that he no longer wanted (1 sofa, 2 lounge chairs, 1 foot stool, book shelf, 1 desk, 1 dresser, 2 washers, 1 mattress, 1 television). Additionally, we provided the renter with clothes, and some orthopedic shoes that came back less than 10 ug/m3.
It is not known at this time when the home will be available for rehabitation. It depends on the results of sampling that will be conducted sometime after the installation of the crawlspace fan.
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