was Re: Boy undergoing tests after finding mercury

[Guest guest]

After our spill 2 weeks ago, the rep for the school system said at

least 10 times, " well, now we know about mercury...it was a " new "

thing for us " SERIOUSLY!!! I have an appt. with the superintendant

next week to let him in on the story of mercury and how my son's

school should have been immediately evacuated instead of allowing a

school dance to go on in the gym where the up to 1 lb. of mercury was

spilled. And just to let you know...it DOES get worse. When my son's

clothes were first tested the registered a 6600, the cut off was

10,000 for them to be confiscated, so they would have sent the clothes

home with me if I would have taken them back. A week later they

called to tell me they had been trying to decontaminate them, but at

this point, they were too poisonous to give back and I will be

reimbursed. THEY GOT WORSE OVER TIME. People have had their washing

machines confiscated over this. And the EPA and the local services

still swear the school did the right thing. Oh, and another thing:

turning your clothes in, having your car and house scanned is OPTIONAL

and the head of the dept. of health said if your child is not

exhibiting headaches or respitory problems then you don't need to be

concerned. APPALLING

>

> Boy undergoing tests after finding mercury

> 19 others had contact with the toxic chemical the youth found in a

> garage in Clute

>

> A 12-year-old boy who found a jar of liquid mercury in his

> grandmother's garage is now undergoing testing for mercury poisoning,

> along with 19 other people in the Clute neighborhood who were exposed

> to the toxic chemical.

>

> Police say it was nearly two weeks ago when the boy, who was visiting

> his grandmother from out of town, found a mayonnaise jar, circa 1960,

> half-full of mercury. Along with a pill bottle he found, also

> half-full of the molten silvery element, it totaled four to six pounds

> of mercury.

>

> " He thought the consistency was pretty cool, " said Clute Police Chief

> and Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Wicker. " He snuck it into

> his room and played with it on the floor. "

>

> The boy scooped up the shiny blobs and brought them to a neighbor's

> house to show off. The neighbor kids played with the mercury some more

> and then brought it to show to friends at a third house, where an

> adult realized what they were doing and sent them away, Wicker said.

>

> By the time police learned about it, there was almost no mercury left

> in the jar or the bottle. " We think most of it spilled outside, "

> Wicker said.

>

> Haz-mat teams recovered two pounds of mercury from the soil in front

> of the 12-year-old's grandmother's house, he said.

>

> Now 20 people are awaiting the results of urine testing for mercury

> poisoning, Wicker said, although no one has showed symptoms of acute

> poisoning. Health officials are most concerned, he said, for some

> young girls who played with the beads, since mercury can lead to birth

> defects in high levels.

>

> All three homes have been evacuated, and health officials have found

> significantly high levels of mercury in the air where the boy first

> played with the substance, spilling some into the carpet.

>

> The other two homes have shown slightly elevated levels of mercury in

> the air, he said, but will be safe to occupy after a thorough

> cleaning. Meanwhile, the occupants are living in motels and with

> relatives.

>

[Guest guest]

In other words, the powers that be have nary a clue as to what involved in mercury poisoning! Some of us may have a major education campaign/endeavour ahead of us, seriously. Today, I came home and found one of those new curly bulbs lying on the kitchen counter, with no note of explanation from my husband and/or kids for why it was there. I assumed the worst and circumvented it, and ordered dinner from elsewhere. The bulb on the counter may not have been problemmatic, but I did not want to take any unnecessary chances, when no-one in the know was around to talk to us about it. These new light bulbs can become a problem if they break, and special precautions need to be followed, if the bulbs contain mercury, as most do. kimsense wrote: After our spill 2 weeks ago, the rep for the school system said atleast 10 times, "well, now we know about mercury...it was a "new"thing for us" SERIOUSLY!!! I have an appt. with the superintendantnext week to let him in on the story of mercury and how my son'sschool should have been immediately evacuated instead of allowing aschool dance to go on in the gym where the up to 1 lb. of mercury wasspilled. And just to let you know...it DOES get worse. When my son'sclothes were first tested the registered a 6600, the cut off was10,000 for them to be confiscated, so they would have sent the clotheshome with me if I would have taken them back. A week later theycalled to tell me they had

been trying to decontaminate them, but atthis point, they were too poisonous to give back and I will bereimbursed. THEY GOT WORSE OVER TIME. People have had their washingmachines confiscated over this. And the EPA and the local servicesstill swear the school did the right thing. Oh, and another thing: turning your clothes in, having your car and house scanned is OPTIONALand the head of the dept. of health said if your child is notexhibiting headaches or respitory problems then you don't need to beconcerned. APPALLING> > Boy undergoing tests after finding mercury> 19 others had contact

with the toxic chemical the youth found in a> garage in Clute> > A 12-year-old boy who found a jar of liquid mercury in his> grandmother's garage is now undergoing testing for mercury poisoning,> along with 19 other people in the Clute neighborhood who were exposed> to the toxic chemical.> > Police say it was nearly two weeks ago when the boy, who was visiting> his grandmother from out of town, found a mayonnaise jar, circa 1960,> half-full of mercury. Along with a pill bottle he found, also> half-full of the molten silvery element, it totaled four to six pounds> of mercury.> > "He thought the consistency was pretty cool," said Clute Police Chief> and Emergency Management Coordinator Mark Wicker. "He snuck it into> his room and played with it on the floor."> > The boy scooped up the shiny blobs and brought them to a neighbor's> house to

show off. The neighbor kids played with the mercury some more> and then brought it to show to friends at a third house, where an> adult realized what they were doing and sent them away, Wicker said.> > By the time police learned about it, there was almost no mercury left> in the jar or the bottle. "We think most of it spilled outside,"> Wicker said.> > Haz-mat teams recovered two pounds of mercury from the soil in front> of the 12-year-old's grandmother's house, he said.> > Now 20 people are awaiting the results of urine testing for mercury> poisoning, Wicker said, although no one has showed symptoms of acute> poisoning. Health officials are most concerned, he said, for some> young girls who played with the beads, since mercury can lead to birth> defects in high levels.> > All three homes have been evacuated, and health officials have

found> significantly high levels of mercury in the air where the boy first> played with the substance, spilling some into the carpet.> > The other two homes have shown slightly elevated levels of mercury in> the air, he said, but will be safe to occupy after a thorough> cleaning. Meanwhile, the occupants are living in motels and with> relatives.>