Thread: Durham has a mercury scare

http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/443284.html

Published: May 25, 2006 12:30 AM
Modified: May 25, 2006 03:11 AM

Durham has a mercury scare


DURHAM - Sixty or more schoolchildren might have been exposed to mercury in a series of incidents that led Wednesday to the closing of a Durham elementary school and the evacuation of a church and seven homes.

Oak Grove Elementary School on Wake Forest Road was closed early Wednesday, a day after four students brought unknown quantities of the hazardous substance there. A Durham man who police think gave them the mercury was arrested Wednesday.

Parents were notified early Wednesday that the school was closed. About 40 students who arrived at school were moved to a nearby high school, where parents picked them up.

The students will be taught today at alternate sites.

Mercury is a toxic, silver liquid most dangerous when inhaled. It is most commonly found in thermometers, fluorescent tube light bulbs, refrigeration equipment and blood pressure monitoring equipment. Short-term exposure to high concentrations may cause headaches, cough, chest pain, shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting.

As of Wednesday afternoon, one child showed symptoms and was being checked at a hospital, health officials said. Luanne Williams, a toxicologist with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said the incident is serious but could have been worse.

"The good thing about this is that it was brief exposure," she said. "That's what's on our side, and I wouldn't expect any lingering long-term effects here."

Health officials said they weren't sure how many students might have been exposed. They knew there were 38 students on one bus where elevated mercury levels were detected, and dozens more might have been exposed on another bus or in classrooms or hallways, said Brian Letourneau, Durham County's public health director.

Health officials widened their investigation to Neal Middle School after learning the bus with high mercury levels also ran a route to that school Wednesday morning, Williams said. One backpack and some clothing with traces of mercury were recovered there, she said.

State and county officials on Wednesday pieced together a sequence of events that they say they think began Friday night when Carlos Guerra, 21, who works for an air-conditioning company, went to an East Ramseur Street church and gave an unknown amount of mercury to four youngsters.

Garner police charged Guerra, of 311 LaSalle St., No. 3001H, with stealing the mercury from a Garner job site Friday.

"I don't think he knew what he was dealing with," said Lt. Don Paschall of the Durham County Sheriff's Office, which is investigating. "He was referring to it as 'magic water.' "

Health officials say Guerra gave the mercury in cups to four children at Iglesias De Restauracion, a storefront church east of downtown. On Tuesday, the officials say, the four children brought the mercury to school, wiped it on others and sprayed it from spray bottles on three school buses and in at least one classroom.

Officials said Wednesday that they didn't know whether the children knew mercury is dangerous.

The incident came to light late Tuesday, when a parent heard her child describe being sprayed with mercury and alerted authorities.

The homes of the four children were evacuated Wednesday, and each family relocated temporarily. The homes of two other children who had traces of mercury on them or their clothes also were evacuated, as was Guerra's. At Guerra's home, officials recovered some mercury in a small container, Letourneau said.

Letourneau said he wasn't sure how much mercury Guerra had.

The church was locked down Wednesday. A police officer in the driveway turned away onlookers.

Carlos Chavez, the music coordinator, said he did not know Guerra. Chavez said the church had been told to close until health officials could test for mercury.

After it was learned Wednesday morning that a custodian at UNC-Chapel Hill's Davis Library also worked at the Durham elementary school, the library closed for about two hours while officials searched for, but did not find, mercury in the building. Jesse McCrimmon of Pittsboro worked until 11:30 p.m. Tuesday at Oak Grove before heading to Davis Library, where he worked from midnight to 8 a.m. cleaning the seventh and eighth floors.

By midday Wednesday, he had been told to bag the clothes he wore and bring them back to the elementary school. He said he didn't recall handling any hazardous materials.

"I did a lot of mopping," he said. "I might have."

(Staff writers Michael Biesecker and Lisa Hoppenjans contributed to this report.)
Staff writer Eric Ferreri can be reached at 956-2415 or eferreri@newsobserver.com.
Staff writers Michael Biesecker and Lisa Hoppenjans contributed to this report.

http://www.herald-sun.com/durham/4-738330.html

Mercury scare in city, UNC

BY KELLY HINCHCLIFFE : The Herald-Sun
khinchcliffe@heraldsun.com; 419-6651
May 24, 2006 : 11:20 pm ET

DURHAM -- One child was taken to the emergency room and a man was arrested Wednesday in connection with a mercury contamination scare that caused a Durham school, a church, a UNC library and numerous homes to be evacuated.

Carlos Guerra, 21, was arrested in Wake County Wednesday for allegedly giving mercury to four children at a church on Ramseur Street last Friday, according to Durham Sheriff's Lt. Don Paschall.

Guerra obtained the mercury while working for an air conditioning company in Garner, Paschall said. Guerra has been charged with misdemeanor larceny and bond was set at $2,000, according to the Wake County Sheriff's Office.

The Durham County Sheriff's Office is continuing its investigation and further charges might be brought, Paschall said.

National, state and local health agencies were called in Wednesday after four students brought the hazardous metal to Oak Grove Elementary Tuesday and sprayed it on other students' hands and passed it around.

The child taken to the emergency room, whose name was not released, was referred to the hospital after showing signs consistent with mercury poisoning, including coughing, diarrhea and trouble breathing, according to Heidi Swygard, a physician with the Public Health Regional Surveillance Team in Raleigh.

Yellow police tape surrounded the home of one of the boys who allegedly brought mercury to Oak Grove. The 11-year-old boy, along with several family members, had to stay behind the yellow tape and were not allowed to touch anyone in case they had been contaminated. Police stood watch and monitored the area.

Another family member, Gerardo Suavez, stood on the other side of the tape a safe distance from his family. He said mercury was found on the porch and in the bedroom of the house. Suavez said the boy didn't understand the danger of having mercury and got it from a man, who was later identified as Guerra.

Suavez said the boy told him the man dipped his finger in the mercury and then dipped it in water to show the children the effect.

As the media descended upon his house Wednesday, the boy hid behind a blanket and said he didn't want his picture taken.

"He got scared, because he don't know what's going on," Suavez said.

The boy's house and the homes of several other children will be inspected before family members can return.

During other inspections Wednesday, high levels of mercury contamination were found on bus 297 and on clothing of two Neal Middle School students who were riding the bus. Mercury levels above 3,000 nanograms per cubic meter of air are considered dangerous, according to Swygard. Bus 297 showed levels exceeding 50,000 nanograms, she said.

UNC-Chapel Hill officials shut down the Davis Library after learning that one of their employees also works at Oak Grove as a janitor and could have potentially come in contact with the mercury. Officials closed the building at about 10:45 a.m. Wednesday and reopened the library for normal use around noon after using a device to check the facility.

After Davis reopened, the university sent an Environment, Health and Safety Office team to Oak Grove to use UNC's mercury-detection equipment to help with efforts there.

Public health officials are conducting interviews with anyone who might have had contact with the mercury at Oak Grove or on a school bus. Parents are urged to talk with their children and ask if they came in contact with the silvery liquid metal. Those who believe they have been exposed should take any clothes and belongings they wore that day, put them in a plastic bag and leave it outside their home so health officials can test the items.

The Durham County Government has also set up a Joint Information Center for concerned parents to call for special health related questions regarding possible exposure to mercury. The number is 560-HELP.

People can be exposed to mercury through absorption, ingestion or inhalation. Short-term exposure can cause headaches, coughing, chest pains and tightness, difficulty breathing, soreness of the mouth, abdominal pain, nausea and diarrhea.

Durham County Public Health, the N.C. Division of Public Health and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency officials from Atlanta are in the initial stages of investigating the contamination, and officials are not sure how long the investigation could take.

Luanne Williams, a toxicologist with the N.C. Department of Health and Human Services, said the cost to clean mercury spills can be around $3,000 to $4,000 per room. While a high number of people were potentially exposed, the good news is that their contact with the chemical was relatively brief.

Children who attend Oak Grove will have school today and buses will run as normal, but students will be transported to alternate locations.

School, health department and law enforcement officials are expected to hold another briefing around noon today to update the public on the situation.

Staff writer Rob Shapard contributed to this article.

State and county officials on Wednesday pieced together a sequence of events that they say they think began Friday night when Carlos Guerra, 21, who works for an air-conditioning company, went to an East Ramseur Street church and gave an unknown amount of mercury to four youngsters.

If this giy works for an air conditioning company, you would think that he would KNOW how dangerous mercury is. Maybe he did know? This is horrible and I feel bad for the kids and their parents. I am furious, too, that some idiot would give children such a dangerous substance!