Mercury spill in IM

By LISA M. HOFFMANN, Staff Writer

IRON MOUNTAIN - A hazardous materials team from Veolia ES Industrial Services Inc., along with the Iron Mountain Fire Department, continues to investigate a mercury spill in Iron Mountain.

"There was a mercury spill at the home on 800 Carpenter Ave. in one of the apartments," said Iron Mountain Fire Chief and Incident Commander Dan Johnson. "We can indeed confirm there are mercury levels."

Johnson said the mercury spill was reported to Great American Disposal at 11:50 a.m. Monday by a citizen. The Iron Mountain Police and Fire departments were then notified.

Police and fire were first sent to 915 River Ave. to take possession of the container of mercury that was transported there by a mother of one of the children that spent the night at the Carpenter Avenue residence.

Officials do not know where the 20 to 50 pounds of liquid mercury came from.

"It was found in a crawl space in the basement by some children. I do not know what the status of the structure is going to be," Johnson said. "The Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality have been notified."

Veolia ES Industrial Services Inc. was notified and responded to the scene Monday.

Johnson said the van in which the mercury was transported to the River Avenue address will have to be checked to make sure the liquid did not spill. He added shoes have been checked and do not show signs of contamination.

"The fire department believes at this time we have the spill isolated and confined to the house at this time," Johnson said.

Since a patrol man entered his squad car with the boots he was wearing when the mercury was discovered, Veolia Services is confirming that that Iron Mountain Police vehicle is clean. Johnson said those boots have been isolated.

"We have identified and recovered shoes from the potential people in contact with mercury. At this point, that is where we are at," Johnson said.

The Salvation Army has provided temporary shelter for the residents at 800 Carpenter Ave. Johnson said up to eight people could have been exposed. They were all advised to seek medical attention.

"The other location (River Avenue) is not off limits yet. We will check it to be sure," Johnson said.

The Dickinson-Iron District Health Department, in cooperation with the Iron Mountain Fire and Police Departments, reported there are many environmental and health issues with exposure to mercury.

When liquid mercury spills, the sliver puddles that form scatter into tiny beads and droplets. Breathing the invisible vapor from the mercury can cause health problems, such as learning and behavioral disorders, mood changes, seizures and kidney damage.

Johnson said mercury is a dangerous product.

"It is very poisonous and can give off toxic vapors. It can especially contaminate the environment," he said. "It is a nasty chemical with good known qualities."

This was apparently the first mercury spill Iron Mountain Fire has responded to in the past 20 years.

A Kingsford Public Safety officer said occasionally people find an old mason jar of mercury in the garage and it is then turned over to the proper officials.

If a mercury spill occurs inside, the Michigan Department of Community Health advises people to do the following: don't stay in a place where mercury has been heated, vacuumed or swept, do not leave a contaminated area wearing contaminated clothing, do not wear jewelry near spilled mercury, do not heat or burn items with mercury in them, do not pour it down a drain, do not wash mercury-contaminated clothing or other items in a washing machine, do not use household cleaning products containing ammonia or chlorine to clean up mercury.

Lisa M. Hoffmann's e-mail address is lhoffmann@ironmountaindailynews.com.