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An elementary aged child came into contact with mercury located on a curb adjacent to the child's residence. The child kicked the mercury with his shoes, showed his Mom the mercury on the curbside and went on to school. Because this incident occured before the child went to school, the Local Officials were concerned that there may have been mercury contamination at the child's school. EPA OSC Adams responded to the site and worked with SOSC Campbell and the local fire department to assess the situation.
Assessment results indicate that mercury vapor concentrations at the school were non detect. The mercury levels in the residence while detectable, were below levels of concern (0.2 ug/m3). Unacceptable levels of mercury vapors were detected when the child's shoes and scooter were tested. A small amount (approximately 1-2 tablespoons) of mercury was found along the curb of the street in front of the residence. The mercury was removed and will be recycled. The local fire department took care of disposal of the shoes and scooter.
OSC Adams, SOSC Campbell worked with the local fire department to try to determine how the mercury ended up along the curb. It was thought that the mercury might have come from a City garbage truck, since the trash pickup service had run not long before the mercury was discovered. The City identified the truck that serviced that residence and it was assessed for mercury contamination. None was identified and the source of mercury was determined to be unknown.
The recovered mercury (approximately 1-2 tablespoons) will be recycled with Bowling Green State University (BGSU) in Ohio. BGSU has a program designed to remove mercury from the envirnoment.
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