Posted
Category
Safety Message
12/15/2022
00 Background
Levels of mercury in student’s
residence are hazardous. Levels of mercury in the Lead-Deadwood High School (High
School) are elevated. Do not enter the residence or designated school areas
without appropriate personal protective equipment.
Incident Overview
12/15/2022
00 Background
A Lead-Deadwood School District Nurse
contacted City of Lead Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) regarding a student who brought
a bottle of mercury to the High School. The student had been playing with the
mercury for three days and at least 16 students may have been in contact with
the material. Lead VFD requested assistance from Rapid City Fire HazMat (HazMat)
who responded to the residence of the student that brought the mercury to
school. HazMat reported that an unknown amount of elemental mercury from three
bottles had spilled in a bedroom. HazMat identified multiple beads of mercury
ranging in size from "pinhead to dime.” The mercury came from the
belongings of a relative of the student’s who worked at a mine.
The State of South Dakota
requested assistance from EPA on December 13, 2022. On December 15, 2022, EPA's
Response Team (Response Team) discovered detectable levels of mercury at the
High School. The Response Team also monitored and determined that mercury
levels at the student’s residence were hazardous to human health. The family
voluntarily agreed to leave their home. The Response Team helped secure
alternate lodging for the family during a blizzard and assisted with moving
them out of their home.
The Lead-Deadwood School
District Nurse spoke with the parents of the other 16 students and extended EPA’s
recommendation that they contact the On-Scene Coordinator and have their homes
screened. Six (6) additional homes are currently scheduled to be screened.
Response Objectives
12/15/2022
00 Background
Safety of the public and response personnel is top priority.
Stabilize source areas to prevent the spread of mercury.
Minimize or, if possible, eliminate threats to human health posed by the mercury.
Provide timely and accurate communication of response information to the public and affected stakeholders.
Period Objectives
12/15/2022
01 Dec 15, 2022
The objective of this Operations Period was to:
Conduct initial entries and reconnaissance of the High School and private residence.
Period Accomplishments
12/15/2022
01 Dec 15, 2022
EPA’s Response Team entered the High School
with a School District representative at 0700 on December 15, 2022. Beads of
mercury were discovered in the Art Room and Chemistry Lab and EPA’s air monitoring equipment
identified mercury vapor in other hallways, rooms and the principal’s
office.
The Response Team entered the private residence at 0930 on December 15, 2022. The Team monitored readings of mercury vapor in the breathing zone that consistently exceeded 20,000 nanograms per cubic meter. Readings of some household items exceeded 100,000 nanograms per cubic meter. EPA assisted the family of 2 adults, 3 juveniles and a sweet dog in finding alternate lodging.
Next Steps
12/15/2022
01 Dec 15, 2022
EPA’s Response Team
will be coordinating with the School District and Property Owner on December
16, 2022, to establish an Operations Plan to minimize or, if
possible, eliminate the threats posed by the mercury to human health. Response
Operations will be initiated on December 16 depending on the blizzard and arrival of critical
equipment and response personnel.
Period Objectives
12/17/2022
02 Dec 16, 2022
The objectives of this Operations Period were to:
1. Conduct secondary entry and reconnaissance of the High School to develop a plan for removal and mitigation of
mercury.
2. Visit the residence with additional members of the response team to identify possible staging areas and develop
a plan for removal.
3. Shovel the homeowner’s car out of a snowbank.
Period Accomplishments
12/17/2022
02 Dec 16, 2022
EPA’s Response Team entered the High School with a School District representative at 0900 on December 16, 2022.
The Response Team scouted the areas where mercury was known to have been spilled and tracked. The Team identified
initial response activities and discussed its plans with the School District. The District signed a Consent for Access for EPA
to conduct emergency response actions.
The Response Team visited the residence at 1100 on December 16, 2022. The Team assessed the property and
adjacent areas to determine areas for staging equipment and resources to conduct response actions. The Response
Team assisted the family by recovering the homeowner’s vehicle from a snow bank and EPA’s On-Scene Coordinator
discussed the scope of EPA’s anticipated response activities in the home.
Next Steps
12/17/2022
02 Dec 16, 2022
EPA’s Response Team will remove elemental mercury beads from the school and assessing contaminated items to
determine if they are salvageable. A mercury absorbing solution (Merc-X) solution will be applied to hard surfaces to
facilitate the removal of mercury. Containment and decontamination zones will be erected and clearly defined, to
prevent spreading of mercury during removal actions. The response team will be screening continuously during the
removal actions to assess the effectiveness of the removal actions, guide further operations and monitor worker safety.
Period Objectives
12/19/2022
03 Dec 17, 2022
The objective of this Operations
Period was to:
1. Begin decontamination efforts at the High School.
2. Continue planning response operations at the resident.
3. Expand scope to include screening of additional residences
Period Accomplishments
12/19/2022
03 Dec 17, 2022
EPA’s Response Team is using a mercury vacuum to remove tiny but visible beads elemental mercury. Hard surfaces are
being treated with a solution to chemically react with the mercury and create a non-hazardous product. Rooms are then
heated and vented before additional screening is performed.
The family in the residence has granted EPA access to their home to perform a removal action. The home remains
snowed in.
EPA’s Response Team has scheduled screening visits to 3 additional homes on Dec 18 and one on Dec 19.
Next Steps
12/19/2022
03 Dec 17, 2022
EPA’s Response Team will continue day-time operations at the school on Dec 18 (Sunday). Access to hazardous areas
will be restricted by the start of school on Dec 19 (Monday) and HazMat crews will begin night-operations when school
is closed. A Recon Team will be at the school collecting real-time data during school hours.
Response operations at the primary residence will begin Dec 19.
Period Objectives
12/19/2022
04 Dec 18, 2022
The objective of this Operations
Period was to:
Continue decontamination efforts
at the High School.
Continue planning response
operations at the student’s residence.
Screen additional residences.
Period Accomplishments
12/19/2022
04 Dec 18, 2022
At the High School, EPA’s
Response Team is using a mercury vacuum to remove tiny, but visible, beads of elemental
mercury. Hard surfaces are being treated with a solution to chemically react
with the mercury and create a non-hazardous product. After this treatment, rooms
are heated and vented before additional screening is completed.
The student’s family has granted
EPA access to their residence to perform a removal action.
Three (3) additional homes were
screened.
Next Steps
12/19/2022
04 Dec 18, 2022
The High School will be closed on December 19th
to allow EPA’s Response Team to continue decontamination procedures. Response activities will begin at the student’s
residence where the mercury was found. Screening of additional properties will
continue.