Mercury Exposure at Fairland Middle School
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Updated: 8:01 PM Apr 16, 2009
Mercury Exposure at Fairland Middle School
A student brought mercury pellets to school, prompting an EPA investigation.
Posted: 3:24 PM Apr 16, 2009
Reporter: Steve Eschleman
Email Address: steve.eschleman@wsaz.com
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PROCTORVILLE, Ohio (WSAZ) -- Several Fairland Middle School students were exposed to mercury at the end of the school day Wednesday.

The middle school principal tells WSAZ.com a student brought a prescription bottle of mercury pellets and showed them to some fellow students. That exposure has prompted the EPA to investigate the level of exposure at the school. Those tests will be run later today (Thursday).

Heat and air conditioning systems in the room where the mercury was kept and across the school were turned off.

According to the website elcosh.org, sudden, high exposure to mercury vapor can cause lung damage, coughing, chest pains and diarhea. Other symptoms appear at higher or prolonged exposures.

Latest Comments

Posted by: david on May 5, 2009 at 08:49 AM

I am a fairland middle school student and I was one of the people that touched the bottle and everybody thought it was a big deal...not really. i am perfectly fine and everybody else is fine also. everybody is freaking out over nothing and it really bugs me =(
Posted by: Jen246 on Apr 27, 2009 at 09:53 PM

Mercury CAN BE dangerous. I did research on it and still find that in this quantity the CDC & DOT recommend cleaning the pellets up with duct tape and washing the area down with soap & water. I understand using the special vaccum to get the material out of the carpet which will break up into smaller units & could become vaporous in the vaccum. Digging up driveways & removing furniture? I have hazardous materials training to the IC level. I understand mitigating large amounts of the material in such a way. I too played with mercury in chemistry. I have cleaned up broken termometers & know about mercury poisioning from food & other products. I also understand the school officials following through with instructions from the EPA. If they don't follow through they could loose state funding. I am a FHS alum. I had 2 kids in school. My son was threatened with ANDIS for tardies too. Sometimes a little counseling would go farther than military punishment but hey, I'm just a mom.
Posted by: 6th grader with an opion on Apr 26, 2009 at 02:25 AM

This wouldnt have happened if the parents watched wat the kid did but its not all their fault...the teachers that get paid 2 teach,watch the kids should've been watching .
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