- Apr 23, 2001
- 10,572
- 0
- 71
http://washingtontimes.com/metro/20031008-095344-3027r.htm
Here's a follow up to the above link I got in an email:
The number of students or staff from the District's Ballou Senior High School whose clothes were found contaminated with mercury increased by 50 percent yesterday as city officials released additional test results.
Officials said they had identified elevated levels of the harmful metal on 123 sets of clothing -- 43 more than officials announced Tuesday -- as a result of mercury that was spread throughout the Southeast Washington school by students last week.
Health workers are using the tests on clothing to determine whose houses to inspect for mercury vapors, which can pose serious health risks if inhaled in high concentrations. Anyone whose clothing tested positive will have their house screened for mercury vapor, said Tony Bullock, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D).
While officials have found no cases of mercury poisoning, and while health officials said they doubted that the levels at Ballou would cause chronic disease, they say they want to conduct thorough testing and cleanup to prevent health problems.
Long-term exposure to mercury can damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetuses . Acute exposure can kill. Marcos Aquino, on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said yesterday that many people recall playing with mercury when they were children and that one-time, short exposure might not cause harm.
Last night, officials said they had tested 29 houses and identified a second one with unacceptable levels of mercury vapor. It will be decontaminated at government expense. On Tuesday, officials identified one contaminated house in Southeast and said it was the home of the student who initially spread the mercury. The residents were asked to leave until the cleanup is complete.
Other homes may need to be tested. While officials said they believe that there were slightly more than 1,000 students and staff at Ballou when the mercury was taken and spread last Thursday, only about 425 have brought in their clothes for testing as health officials requested, Bullock said. Officials continued to urge the remaining people who were at the school to bring their clothes to Ballou.
The effort to detect contamination has spread to public transportation. Metro quarantined five buses for testing, and by afternoon, a spokeswoman said three buses had been tested and were found to be free of contamination. If a bus is found to be contaminated, officials said, people who may have been exposed longer would be of concern, including the driver and, perhaps, maintenance workers.
One of the buses quarantined is believed to have carried a passenger who is a student at Ballou and who rode the bus carrying a small amount of mercury last Thursday. According to city and police officials, that student bought the mercury for $1 from a student who took a vial from an unlocked chemistry room.
The student boarded the bus at Malcolm X and South Martin Luther King Jr. avenues in Southeast about 3:30 p.m. Thursday and got off near East Capitol Street and Benning Road, according to Metro.
Officials would not identify the students, and could not say how long the decontamination of houses would take. "We hope it will only take days, but we can't really say," said Ronald Lewis, chief operating officer for the city's Department of Health.
Ballou students continued to attend classes at the old D.C. convention center downtown and Hart Middle School in Southeast. Officials said they did not know when students could return to Ballou.
School officials have said that the student who obtained the mercury took about 250 milliliters from an unlocked chemistry lab and did not know of its danger.
Cmdr. Winston Robinson of the 7th Police District said his officers were helping with an investigation but that there was not evidence of a crime.
A Ballou science teacher left the mercury on a counter in a lab, school officials have said. The teacher was moving it and other items into another lab and failed to lock up the mercury as required by school policy. That teacher, whom school officials refuse to identify citing privacy concerns and an ongoing investigation, has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Across the country and the Washington area, many school systems have phased out the use of mercury because of the health risks it poses if spilled.
In 2001, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law prohibiting schools -- aside from vocational schools -- from using mercury. Schools had until Oct. 1 to comply. Officials in several Northern Virginia school systems said they either no longer use mercury or keep it tightly controlled. (complete text)
Here's a follow up to the above link I got in an email:
The number of students or staff from the District's Ballou Senior High School whose clothes were found contaminated with mercury increased by 50 percent yesterday as city officials released additional test results.
Officials said they had identified elevated levels of the harmful metal on 123 sets of clothing -- 43 more than officials announced Tuesday -- as a result of mercury that was spread throughout the Southeast Washington school by students last week.
Health workers are using the tests on clothing to determine whose houses to inspect for mercury vapors, which can pose serious health risks if inhaled in high concentrations. Anyone whose clothing tested positive will have their house screened for mercury vapor, said Tony Bullock, a spokesman for Mayor Anthony A. Williams (D).
While officials have found no cases of mercury poisoning, and while health officials said they doubted that the levels at Ballou would cause chronic disease, they say they want to conduct thorough testing and cleanup to prevent health problems.
Long-term exposure to mercury can damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetuses . Acute exposure can kill. Marcos Aquino, on-scene coordinator for the Environmental Protection Agency, said yesterday that many people recall playing with mercury when they were children and that one-time, short exposure might not cause harm.
Last night, officials said they had tested 29 houses and identified a second one with unacceptable levels of mercury vapor. It will be decontaminated at government expense. On Tuesday, officials identified one contaminated house in Southeast and said it was the home of the student who initially spread the mercury. The residents were asked to leave until the cleanup is complete.
Other homes may need to be tested. While officials said they believe that there were slightly more than 1,000 students and staff at Ballou when the mercury was taken and spread last Thursday, only about 425 have brought in their clothes for testing as health officials requested, Bullock said. Officials continued to urge the remaining people who were at the school to bring their clothes to Ballou.
The effort to detect contamination has spread to public transportation. Metro quarantined five buses for testing, and by afternoon, a spokeswoman said three buses had been tested and were found to be free of contamination. If a bus is found to be contaminated, officials said, people who may have been exposed longer would be of concern, including the driver and, perhaps, maintenance workers.
One of the buses quarantined is believed to have carried a passenger who is a student at Ballou and who rode the bus carrying a small amount of mercury last Thursday. According to city and police officials, that student bought the mercury for $1 from a student who took a vial from an unlocked chemistry room.
The student boarded the bus at Malcolm X and South Martin Luther King Jr. avenues in Southeast about 3:30 p.m. Thursday and got off near East Capitol Street and Benning Road, according to Metro.
Officials would not identify the students, and could not say how long the decontamination of houses would take. "We hope it will only take days, but we can't really say," said Ronald Lewis, chief operating officer for the city's Department of Health.
Ballou students continued to attend classes at the old D.C. convention center downtown and Hart Middle School in Southeast. Officials said they did not know when students could return to Ballou.
School officials have said that the student who obtained the mercury took about 250 milliliters from an unlocked chemistry lab and did not know of its danger.
Cmdr. Winston Robinson of the 7th Police District said his officers were helping with an investigation but that there was not evidence of a crime.
A Ballou science teacher left the mercury on a counter in a lab, school officials have said. The teacher was moving it and other items into another lab and failed to lock up the mercury as required by school policy. That teacher, whom school officials refuse to identify citing privacy concerns and an ongoing investigation, has been placed on administrative leave with pay.
Across the country and the Washington area, many school systems have phased out the use of mercury because of the health risks it poses if spilled.
In 2001, the Maryland General Assembly passed a law prohibiting schools -- aside from vocational schools -- from using mercury. Schools had until Oct. 1 to comply. Officials in several Northern Virginia school systems said they either no longer use mercury or keep it tightly controlled. (complete text)
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