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Re: Hazardous Mercury-Containing Necklaces

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April 30, 2001Hazardous Mercury-Containing Necklaces From Mexico Showing Up

in Northwest Schools

>Portland, OR (http://www.safetyalerts.com/Default.htm " >SafetyAlerts) - Mercury-laden

necklaces from Mexico that are

showing up in Oregon are a potential health hazard, warn public health

officials at the Oregon State Department of Human Services.

The colorful necklaces are often on a beaded chain, cord or leather strand

with a glass pendant filled with liquid mercury, and they may also contain

brightly colored liquid. They come in various shapes such as hearts, bottles,

saber teeth and chili pepper. The pendants are fragile and can easily break,

spilling liquid mercury.

" Vapor from spilled mercury is highly toxic, " says Heumann,

environmental epidemiologist at the DHS Health Division. " We want the public

to understand this jewelry contains enough mercury to be dangerous to human

health. We're concerned because we have already received a report of one

necklace breaking in a classroom at a southern Oregon school. "

Heumann says that if a pendant breaks, the spilled mercury vaporizes quickly

at room temperature. When the vapors are breathed in, mercury enters the

bloodstream and may cause headache, cough, chest pain or tightness, and

difficulty in breathing. If there is a lot of mercury in the air or exposure

occurs over a long period of time, there can be nerve, brain and kidney

damage.

" Whether at school or home, mercury spills of any kind should be treated as a

hazardous spill, " Heumann says. To clean up a small amount liquid mercury,

such as from a broken necklace or thermometer, he advises the following:

Remove children from the spill area.

Turn the thermostat down and open windows for ventilation. Close the room off

from the rest of the house or building.

Avoid skin contact. Wear vinyl or neoprene gloves when cleaning up a spill.

Cleanup with a mercury spill kit is advisable. The kit contains material that

binds mercury droplets and prevents spreading. Kits are available at safety

supply stores (see yellow pages under " safety equipment " ).

Mercury beads can be picked up with sticky tape or an eye dropper, or use a

rigid sheet of paper to roll beads onto another piece of paper.

Carefully transfer mercury droplets into an unbreakable plastic container

with a tight-fitting lid and place into a secondary container, such as a

zip-lock bag. Use a flashlight to detect any missed mercury.

Never sweep with a broom or wipe with a cloth or paper towel, as this will

scatter the mercury droplets. Never use a vacuum, as this will spread mercury

vapors into the air and permanently contaminate the vacuum.

Never use household cleaning products. They may react violently with the

mercury and release toxic gases.

Take the container and contaminated clean-up materials to a hazardous waste

collection center that accepts mercury. The local county solid waste company

or the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 1-800-RECYCLE (732-9253),

can provide disposal information.

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