U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

HTTPS

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Oglethorpe County High School Mercury Spill

All POL/SITREP's for this site Oglethorpe County High School Mercury Spill
Lexington, GA - EPA Region IV
POLREP #3 		Printer Friendly  |   PDF
 
U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
POLLUTION/SITUATION REPORT
Oglethorpe County High School Mercury Spill - Removal Polrep

EPA Emergency Response

UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
Region IV
Subject: POLREP #3
Oglethorpe County High School Mercury Spill
B451
Lexington, GA
Latitude: 33.8845294 Longitude: -83.1249189

To:
From: Randy Nattis, On-Scene Coordinator
Date: 12/15/2009
Reporting Period: December 15, 2009

1. Introduction
  1.1 Background
   
Site Number: B451    Contract Number:  
D.O. Number:      Action Memo Date:  
Response Authority: CERCLA    Response Type: Emergency
Response Lead: PRP    Incident Category: Removal Action
NPL Status: Non NPL    Operable Unit:
Mobilization Date: 12/11/2009    Start Date: 12/11/2009
Demob Date:      Completion Date:  
CERCLIS ID:    RCRIS ID:
ERNS No.:    State Notification:
FPN#:    Reimbursable Account #:

1.1.1 Incident Category

Other - High School

1.1.2 Site Description

1.1.2.1 Location

Oglethorpe County High School is located in Lexington, Oglethorpe County, Georgia, approximately 20 miles east of Athens, GA (33.889 longitude, -83.138 latitude).  The school services the entire county, with approximately 700 students.  Oglethorpe County Middle School is attached to the high school.  It is located in a rural area, with some commercial enterprises in the vicinity.

    1.1.2.2 Description of Threat

On December 10, 2009, a student reportedly brought a copenhagen container full of elemental mercury to school.  The material was spilled in a computer classroom.  Elemental mercury is a naturally occurring metal which is a liquid at room temperature.  Mercury is not readily absorbed into the human body by ingestion or touch, but it produces vapors at room temperature which can be harmful to human health if inhaled.  Exposure to high levels of mercury vapor can cause damage to the brain, kidneys and lungs, and may cause severe damage to a developing fetus.

1.1.3 Preliminary Removal Assessment/Removal Site Inspection Results

Not applicable due to emergency response.
2. Current Activities
  2.1 Operations Section
   

School Removal Activities

Room 419:  USES has collected all visible Mercury and began removing floor tiles.  USES identified some cracks within the sub flooring with Mercury vapor readings above the EPA cleanup level.  USES will use a sealant to encase the unreachable Mercury in place prior to final clearing of the room

Room 421:  USES wiped down all of the tables with CS102 solution, then removed the tables from the room and staged them on plastic sheeting in the parking lot outside.  The source room and Room 421 where the computer equipment is staged are currently being vented.

Room 510: USES has completed removal of affected floor tiles and contaminated debris and will use a sealant to encase any residual Mercury in place to begin clearance of room

Student Screening

No additional Student Screening took place during this reporting period

Residential Screening

A total of 13 homes have been screen to date (10 for this reporting period).  Three additional homes still need screening.  To date, 3 residents have denied access.  Additional items have been collected from screened homes for personal clean-up activities.

The source house was also screened during this reporting period by EPA and START.  Initial reading upon opening the front were 50,000+ ug/m3.  EPA and START back out and contacted EPA's phone duty officer to mobilize OSC Terry Stilman for additional support and to lead the assessment and potential clean-up activities at the house.

Community outreach

EPA, including the OSC, CIC and representatives from ATSDR and the Oglethorpe High School system held a press conference and an availability session from 6pm - 10pm for a question and answer session.  Approximately 20 parents, including students, attended.  

START will be setting up and running 3 air sampled tonight at the source house.  The samples take 8 hours and will be finished and processed in the morning. 
  2.2 Planning Section
   

2.2.1 Anticipated Activities

    2.2.1.1 Planned Response Activities

- Assess extent of migration of mercury;
- Ensure safety of response and facility personnel;
- Conduct oversight of removal activities; and,
- Support removal activities with air monitoring and technical assistance where needed.

USES will continue remedial activities in room 419 and room 510

START will continue residential screening and start clearing personal items collected during the student and residential screening.  START will also assist OSC Stilman in assessing and itemizing in the source house.  The source house will become a new emergency response and will no longer be updated on this site.  Website information for that site will be updated here when that information becomes available.

2.2.1.2 Next Steps

Potentially impacted houses will continue to be assessed for mercury vapor contamination.
The Environmental Clean-Up Contractor will continue to remediate the impacted areas.
  2.3 Logistics Section
    There are no logistical concerns for this response.
  2.4 Finance Section
    No information available at this time.
  2.5 Other Command Staff
    2.5.1 Safety Officer
EPA Removal Action Level for mercury vapors in schools is 3,000 ng/m3.  Any areas with peak values over 3,000 ng/m3 are being remediated.  Clearance will be conducted by monitoring selected locations with the Lumex for 6 consecutive hours.

EPA Removal Action Level for mercury vapors in private residences is 1,000 ng/m3.

EPA will conduct residential assessments if student's personal items are greater 4,000 ng/m3 or if the student came in contact with the Mercury, which was determined by the school nurse or during the interviews during the student screening.

All assessment activities were conducted in Level D PPE with booties and gloves.  Protocal was in place to elevate to Level C PPE in the event that vapors in the breathing zone area exceeded 25,000 ng/mg.  Any readings above 50,000 ng/m3 will require a back out and a PPE upgrade to Level B


2.6 Liaison Officer
The OSC is serving as the Liaison Officer in this response.  To date, coordination has been between school and GEMA officials.

2.7 Information Officer


2.7.1 Public Information Officer

The CIC is serving as the PIO for this response.  ATSDR fact sheets were provided to the school and potentially impacted families.  The OSC, CIC and the school superintendent are working together to ensure that accurate and appropriate information is adequately communicated with the public.

2.7.2 Community Involvement Coordinator

Community Involvement Coordinators, Sherryl Carbonaro 
3. Participating Entities
  3.1 Unified Command
At this time no Unified Command exists.  The school system hired a competent and able environmental contractor to perform the remediation.  EPA is serving in an oversight and technical support role.

3.2 Cooperating Agencies
Bob Safay and Rich Nickle from ATSDR mobilized to site this morning and provided on-site support during home assessments and during the availability session.
4. Personnel On Site
  EPA OSC (2)
EPA CIC (2)
ATSDR (2)
START Contractor TetraTech EMI, Inc. (6)
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.