Public Health Instructions for School Officials
Regarding Mercury Spills
Instructions
for School Officials regarding possible mercury spills:
·
Isolate/quarantine – isolate those students that might have been
exposed to the mercury. This is best done in a location outside of the school
building (in fresh air) weather permitting. If the students are quarantined
inside the school building, do so in a Non-carpeted
room. Carpets are easily contaminated by
the student’s shoes and difficult to decontaminate.
·
Seal off the contaminated area – this will stop or reduce any expansion
of the contaminated population.
o
For large events, shut off HVAC systems (heating and air-conditioning)
to minimize the spread of the mercury vapor.
o
For smaller events, open windows in the affected room to increase
ventilation to the outside, and closing those in mercury free rooms.
·
Stop Foot Traffic – mercury contamination is most commonly spread
throughout the school on the shoes of the students (and teachers!). Once
contaminated, students’ shoes may track the mercury to other previously
uncontaminated parts of the school, worsening the situation. A plastic sheet
isle runner either through a clean area for the contaminated shoes to traverse,
or over a contaminated walkway to prevent adding more shoes to spread the
problem. Remember, shorter time and less contaminated material make exposure
less dangerous (and the clean up cheaper).
·
Remove Contaminated Clothing- Known contaminated clothing should be
removed and replaced with clean clothing/shoes.
Parents may need to be contacted to provide a change of clothes for
students. Contaminated clothing can be double bagged and stored for emergency
responders to provide further guidance.
·
Contact local officials - including
o
State Environmental Response Spill Reporting Hotline at 1-800-928-2380
(Immediate notification to the State
Environmental Response Spill Hotline is required for spill events).
o
1) Local Health Department at (____________________________________),
for public health information.
o
2) Local Emergency Management at (_________________________________),
for clean up management.
o
3)
o
State Emergency Management Office in
o
State Department for Public Health at 1-888-9 REPORT, or 973-7678
after-hours/weekends, or daytime, the Division of Public Health Protection and
Safety at (502) 564-7398.
·
Do NOT attempt to vacuum mercury –Mercury evaporates, and the gas is
toxic. Vacuuming mercury will volatilize the mercury and spread the fumes
faster and farther. And will permanently contaminate the vacuum.
·
Do NOT attempt to mop up mercury. This will spread the mercury to a
wider location, making it more difficult to clean/remove later.
·
Do NOT attempt to sweep up mercury – this may further break up and
spread the mercury.
Although
mercury is dangerous for many reasons, the primary risk from a mercury
spill is from the fumes as the mercury evaporates (volatilizes). Mercury fumes are invisible, odorless,
tasteless and are more dangerous in more enclosed spaces.
Prompt
action and isolation of the mercury and persons who may have come in contact
with it, may make the difference between low exposure and simply isolating a
room and a few individuals, or widespread exposure and the need for you to
possibly close the entire school.
There
may be different levels of contamination that occurs, ranging from a broken
thermometer or blood pressure cuff, to a larger volume of mercury potentially
from school laboratories or brought in by a student. The recommendations above
will apply in most events.
As
with any type of emergency, you should take the following proactive steps:
1. Identify – What do you have;
confirm
2. Isolate – Exposed site and
exposed individuals
3. Treat – Emergency medical
actions that can be taken
4. Communicate –
a. Internal Notification
b. Emergency Agency
Notification
c. Your Leadership Team
d. Parent/Public Communications
when/if appropriate
5. Mitigate –
a. What you can do while
waiting for the responders
b. What they will do when they
arrive
6. Recovery – Understand the process of getting the “all clear”, before students return to the site (for assistance identifying contractors operating in the state that perform clean up of spills, contact the State Environmental Response spill reporting hotline at 1-800-928-2380). The EPA, Department for Environmental Protection, Emergency Management and State and Local Health Department will advise regarding individual recovery processes.
Provided by a collaborative effort of the following agencies:
Kentucky
Department for Education
Kentucky
Department for Environmental Protection
Kentucky
Department for Military Affairs-Emergency Management
Lincoln
Trail District Health Department
Northern
Kentucky District Health Department
Marshall
County Health Department