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Decade-Old Mercury spilled at Maine School06-12-07 | News

Decade-Old Mercury spilled at Maine School

The mercury spilled, was not found during previous safety inspections because it was not in an area that school officials knew had been used for storing chemicals.

In Ellsworth, Maine, a student inadvertently spilled mercury from a test-tube. The incident occurred in a classroom on the Friday before Memorial Day when one of several tubes that were thought to be empty, was removed from a closet.

Principal James Newett said there had been maybe “five drops” of the liquid in the test-tube.

The classroom where the spill occurred was kept locked and sealed until Maine Department of Environmental Protection officials could test the air quality the following Tuesday for occupancy.

“It has been there for at least 12 years,” Newett said of the mercury, which can be poisonous if ingested or absorbed through the skin. “This was not in a typical chemical storage area.”

According to Frank Hackett, Ellsworth schools superintendent, a few pupils were directly exposed to the mercury for only a brief time. Health officials and the pupil?EUR??,,????'?????<

It is believed the mercury was leftover from when the facility served as Ellsworth?EUR??,,????'?????<

Source: bangordailynews.com.