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Gazette.Net
Mercury spill at Prince George’s high school
By
Alexander Krughoff
Staff Writer
Washington DC (November 22, 2003) - At least 14 students and school workers have been contaminated and about 90 more students are being tested following a mercury spill at Forestville High School.
The contamination had school and fire officials scrambling over the weekend to clean up the hazardous material.
The drama began when a ninth-grade male student brought a thermometer to school from home. The thermometer broke accidentally while the student was in a math class, said Howard Burnett, director of human resources for Prince George’s County Public Schools.
Students failed to inform a teacher. Later in the day, the contaminated students boarded a school bus and told a school bus driver about the spill. The driver informed the administration at about 6 p.m., Burnett said.
On Friday evening, the school system brought in a private contractor to test the building for contamination. Fire and school officials said the contractor found a pea-sized ball of organic mercury, and that the contamination was confined to that single classroom.
At least 12 students were contaminated. The teacher and the bus driver also tested positive for contamination, fire officials sad. On Saturday, testing began on about 90 other students because they had class in the same room where the spill occurred on Friday, said Burnett.
Parents concerned about possible contamination can bring their children’s clothes and shoes worn on Friday to the high school until 5 p.m. Saturday and on Monday between 9 a.m. and noon. The clothes and shoes should be in a sealed trash or plastic bag.
Cleanup is expected to be complete by Monday.
No criminal charges were expected against the student who brought the thermometer to school.
Prior to the spill, the school was scheduled for closure next week for teacher training days and the Thanksgiving holiday.
The spill comes on the heels of a similar incident in the District last month. A mercury spill at Ballou High School in Southeast caused that school building to be shut for more than a month. Several homes and a Metrobus were also contaminated.
In the Ballou incident, a 16-year-old student was charged with theft in connection with mercury taken from the science lab at the high school on Oct. 2.