A
residential mercury spill occurred in January 2026 when a child found a
container of mercury in a neighbor’s belongings and brought it back to the
residence and began to play with it. The mercury was spilled in a bedroom of
the residence. After the residents discovered the spill, the residents
collected a portion of the mercury and disposed of it in the municipal garbage.
Several
weeks later, while moving furniture in the house, mercury beads were observed
on the carpet of the room. Residents once again attempted to clean up the spill
themselves and later called poison control with concerns or mercury poisoning.
The residents went to the hospital for assessment, and the local fire
department was called to assess the residence. When they entered the home,
mercury was observed on the carpet of the house and EPA was notified of the
incident.
EPA
and START mobilized on March 4, 2026, finding elevated ambient mercury
concentrations throughout the house and determined further clean up would be
necessary.
