MERCURY SPILL: Spills of the potent neurotoxic metal still happen, according to a new report.
Image: ©ISTOCKPHOTO.COM/ANDRAZ CERAR
-
The Best Science Writing Online 2012
Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...
Read More »
One night in February, high school principal Matthew Smith got a frightening wake-up call.
The local fire department alerted him that the home of a student at Agua Fria High School was contaminated with liquid mercury that apparently had been taken from a science classroom. The next day, emergency crews descended on the school in haz-mat suits, discovering a toxic trail of mercury vapors in classrooms, locker rooms, and buses.
The high school, in Avondale, Ariz., was shut down for a week so it could be decontaminated. The homes of six students were tainted with mercury, two so severely that the families had to be relocated for 11 days, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. The total cleanup is expected to reach hundreds of thousands of dollars.
The mercury mess in Arizona was only the latest in thousands of incidents where children are exposed to elemental mercury, a poison that can damage the brain, trigger respiratory failure and cause other serious health problems.
Power plants are typically cast as the usual suspects of mercury contamination, since they emit mercury into the air, where it spreads globally. But many children are exposed to toxic levels of mercury much closer to home. Mercury spills inside schools and houses, often unreported, can release vapors into the air for weeks, even years.
Elemental mercury, or quicksilver, is a shiny, silvery liquid metal found in thermometers, thermostats, light bulbs, barometers and LCD screens. Though mercury inside these items poses little risk, once broken, they release mercury that vaporizes as an invisible, odorless gas.
Children are most frequently exposed to mercury when it is mishandled or improperly cleaned up after a spill. Broken thermometers, filled with tiny blobs of mercury, are the most common culprits.
From 2002 to 2006, more than 37,000 calls were made to U.S. poison control centers about children exposed to mercury. Of those, 30,891 concerned broken thermometers and 6,396 were caused by other sources, such as old science laboratories and religious or cultural ceremonies, according to a new report by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, part of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The report, released in February, was prompted by a number of high-profile incidents of children exposed to mercury, in particular, a 2004 case involving as many as 100 children in a thermometer-factory-turned-daycare center in New Jersey. U.S. Rep. Frank J. LoBiondo (R-New Jersey) commissioned the report.
"Basically there was concern that other types of events such as the one in New Jersey might be occurring throughout the U.S., so Congress directed ATSDR to do a review to look for events of elemental mercury exposures," said Robin Lee, an epidemiologist with ATSDR's Division of Health Studies and co-chair of the study.
Many science labs at schools, especially older ones, unknowingly house long-forgotten toxic chemicals such as mercury, chlorine gas and formaldehyde.
These chemical stockpiles are just accidents waiting to happen, which administrators at Agua Fria High found out the hard way on February 12. According to a police investigation, the source of the spill was five pounds of mercury stored in a medical bottle that a student took from an unlocked shelf in a science classroom.
"It was our understanding that there was no mercury available on campus to students at all," said principal Smith. "It was a learning experience for us and now we are really dotting our 'i's and crossing our 't's to make sure that there are no unsafe chemicals on this campus."
Other schools also have been forced to evacuate and shut down for days, sometimes even weeks, while emergency crews conduct expensive cleanups to remove dangerous levels of mercury.
At Ballou High School in Washington, D.C., in 2003, a student took liquid mercury from a science laboratory and sold some to other students. Mercury was found in the classrooms, gymnasium and cafeteria, and the school had to be shut down for 35 days to clean it up.
See what we're tweeting about
18 Comments
Add CommentDoes the article provide any evidence to support the headline, i.e. that any of the school related incidents have hand longer term bad effects on the children involved?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDid you even read it?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this"Few people become immediately ill when liquid mercury is spilled. But health experts say it is a potent neurotoxin that can have lasting health effects. It is particularly dangerous to children's developing brains because it can cause learning problems. Health problems can be more immediate and extreme than exposure to the other common form of mercury, methylmercury, which comes mostly from eating fish."
Hmmm...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhen I was a kid 30 years ago, we bought a jar of mercury (about 6 ounces) from a chemistry supply catalog.
We used to pour it into our hands and pass it back and forth and marvel at its weight.
No ill health effects yet that I know of.
As a child I have played with Hg. We did chemistry experiments with it, we had a barometer in school filled with Hg. I built my own my own mercury switch using a small glass vial a cork and two copper wires, my drawer lit up when it was opened, was I thriller. Mad as a hatter perhaps?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNo problems to date. My Mum loved and collected Hg, she had a pint bottle full of the stuff - her father was an engineer and worked in a lighthouse - the lamp floated on a Hg bath.
Its the mercury we add to the food chain that is the problem, it comes from burning coal and ends up in our seafood.
So is there a test kit for mercury, like there is for radon?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI remember back to the 1950s when mercury was played with and handled casually. I'm far away from the places I recall that happening, but of course I don't know what happened where I live now either.
There is a strange hysteria around the horrible idea that our little ones may ever be exposed to anything even slightly dangerous. For the entire twentieth century, school kids were educated with real chemistry, some of which involves hazardous materials. By learning about such materials, they became able to deal with real life scenarios, which are not necessarily "toned down" to imposed safety standards.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIs it a coincidence that colleges are seeing falling enrollments in hard sciences at the same time that practical school science education has been eviscerated through safety paranoia?
Hazardous materials are to be learned about and treated with respect. That way we can learn practical safety and real science.
Hmmm Voodoo doctors using mercury. Sounds like the American Medical Association and American Dental Association. They happily inject vaccines containing up to 50%Thimerosal (mercury) into infants and young children. Then they go into denial when formerly healthy children become autistic or have other problems. Silver mercury amalgams supply a steady release of mercury vapor to the brains of young children every time they chew their food. Autism is becoming epidemic in America. Attempts by parents to get answer or relief are stonewalled. They should take this article to their pediatrician and dentist.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thiswhen I was a child My grandfather who was an evil gold miner showed me a bottle of Hg. The Difference is, he told me to never play with it and explained it dangers, he did same with guns. to this day I have been harmed by neither because I was taught how to them, both the gun and the mercury. Like an earlier commenter I believe it would be better to have the mercury in the classroom and teach the children about it's dangers. Many of you will likely comment "then does that mean the schools should teach kids how to use a gun". I was using that as an example of things people need to learn about to use correctly if there going use it, by the way my local high school still has a shooting club so why not.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSeanFKennedy's response to polprof is to quote an unintentionally funny passage from the piece: "Few people become immediately ill when liquid mercury is spilled. But health experts say it is a potent neurotoxin that CAN have lasting health effects. It is particularly dangerous to children's developing brains because it CAN cause learning problems. Health problems CAN be more immediate and extreme..."
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNot "has been shown" or even "is linked to," accompanied by a citation or two -- just "can." Yes, well, since we are firmly in the realm of unfettered speculation allow me to postulate that winged pigs "can" fly. Of course, until we have some documented proof of a winged pig my thesis is difficult to prove or disprove. How can a purportedly scientific article even use language like that?
Apparently aware that their factual database is rather thin the authors do, however, cite a lengthy list of expensive cleanups to underscore the seriousness of the threat. Their principal argument seems to be this: the threat is obviously great because expensive cleanups are necessary, and expensive cleanups are obviously necessary because the threat is so great. Isn't that a tautology?
One could stop graying adults on any busy street and ask them if they had ever played with mercury as a kid; based on people of my acquaintance the number would be legion. If all of us managed to survive our (in my case extensive) exposure without ill effect, doesn't that represent something of statistical or epidemiological significance.? Nope, not when it doesn't fit your agenda. (We also grew up in houses painted with lead-based paints and chewed on toys thusly painted as well, but that is a separate -- although perhaps related by motive -- theme of today's scare industry.)
I'm certainly open to the idea that mercury is harmful and that cleanups are necessary, but in this article the case is so poorly argued that it has the opposite of the intended effect.
In high school chemistry class we were taught that if you spill liquid mercury you should cover it with powdered sulphur which would convert it to HgS which is non toxic
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIn high school chemistry class we were taught to sprinkel powdered sulfur on spilled liquid mercury This would convert it to HgS which is not toxic
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI was actually wondering about that. In my chemistry class we had a small mercury spill during an experiment. We simply marked the area off, called the cleaners, and were back to business as usual. The whole process didn't even take an hour. So what is with all of these 'expensive' and 'lengthy' cleanups? The biggest threat of spilled mercury, we were taught, was the potential of it seeping into the water table. Beyond that it's pretty basic.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnother place kids can get exposed to mercury is in old mines. There are old mercury mines and gold mines in the oddest places scattered around California.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisMarin County, Napa and Sonoma was were mercury was mined. These are now upscale areas with expensive homes. http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/2005/3014/
Different people respond to mercury with different symptoms. One of the most common symptoms is outbursts of anger, becoming a pretty nasty character. But many other symptoms can occur.
(Isaac Newton was mercury poisoned in his later life. He was a genius, but turned himself to bizarre religious tracts, and was made chancellor of the exchequer because he became so unpleasant. His compatriots decided to make use of the viciousness Sir Newton developed because of mercury poisoning to pursue criminals counterfeiting money.)
Here is a link to the US DHSS Agency for Toxic Substances & Disease Registry web page covering all the "weaknesses" cited in earlier comments. Check it out. It's peer-reviewed, thorough, and based on peer-reviewed studies.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp46.html
To some of the skeptics, would you suggest that just because Joe-Bob did not suffer (noticeable) effects, that there are none? Also, even if Joe-Bob doesn't notice any ill effects from exposure to a certain contaminated environment, doesn't mean he got the fullest exposure of anyone in that space, nor does it mean much to the sensitivity of others to similar exposure - everyone's response is DIFFERENT. Some are much more susceptible.
So on your harsh critique of scientific information, how about using a little less flawed logic yourself?
What troubles me is back in the early 70's our science teacher passed around liquid mercury to the students in our class several times.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI remember the old themometers were made of mercury and glass, and the nurses use to take oral temperatures with it. I think that was a dangerous method to do. Now, they check the body temperature with upgraded themometers that is made of metal and is covered with a plastic probe,
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf mecury is so dangerous, they should use precaution in school keep it under locks, and it should be taken seriously.How can school children take mercury home to play with it. I believe the students should be monitored closely.
LIke most, I played with Hg too; the problem here is that detecting very low levels of Hg is easy, if a thermometer broke 20 years ago and is still in the atmoshpere it speaks to the sensitivity of the detector. At what level is air-borne Hg vapos still a hazard, e. g. is eleminated and ingested at a fixed rate that is not a health hazard? I'll bet the detection level is several orders of magnitude lower.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo the best of my knowledge the hazard from skin contact with liquid elemental mercury is relatively low - it doesn't absorb through the skin much - the inhalation of the vapour over a long period is a serious concern, though. I wouldn't recommend playing with the stuff but you're unlikely to come to serious harm if you have done so. More of a problem would be if your surroundings were substantially contaminated and released mercury vapour into the air you were breathing over a period of months or years since absorption through the lungs IS significant. It is this scenario that dictates a lengthy and expensive cleanup.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDon't panic that your kid's school might have a jar of it somewhere - your kids shouldn't be stupid enough to poke around at old jars of stuff anyway, bleach or insecticide are both pretty nasty and you probably have those at home - it isn't likely that school laboratory levels of exposure are going to do much harm (unless someone decides to heat it up in an enclosed space or something).
What I say about minor exposure to elemental mercury not being the end of the world does not apply to mercury compounds. I work regularly with mercuric oxide which is genuinely nasty (teratogen, carcinogen, very toxic, causes burns etc) and my impression of the organo-mercury compounds is that they're even worse.