On March 7, 2015, a property owner was carrying a box of bottles from a storage shed when he tripped and dropped the box. A bottle containing an unknown volume of mercury broke and spilled its contents onto the gravel/soil carport floor. The property owner who also fell into the spilled mercury, washed himself in a bathroom sink and then drove his truck to his sister's house to call for assistance. A report of the incident was made to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (ODEQ) who then requested assistance from the EPA to conduct an emergency assessment and cleanup.
EPA and START and ERRS contractors began work on Tuesday, March 8. Upon arrival, the presence of mercury was confirmed. Affected areas included the carport; the bathroom in the residence; the property owner's clothing and truck; and the sister's house. EPA contractors used a mercury vacuum to remove visible mercury beads and excavated contaminated soil in the carport; fixtures in the contaminated bathroom sink were removed and replaced; and the contaminated clothing was disposed of as debris. Cycles of heating and ventilation were used to reduce the low levels of mercury contamination in the truck and sister's house to below 1,000 ng/m3.
While on site, additional containers of mercury, acids, and poisons were discovered and disposed, with permission from the property owner. Additionally, EPA contractors consolidated the contents of approximately 25 rusted, damaged, and leaking drums/buckets of automotive fluids into 2 new over pack drums. ODEQ will arrange for transportation and disposal of the automotive fluids through their household hazardous waste program.
EPA and contractors demobilized all personnel and equipment by Saturday, March 12.
