Oregon Schools Go Mercury-Free

In November, Oregon's State Board of Education adopted rules removing mercury from schools, in accordance with a 2001 state law. School and local officials and environmentalists cited many concerns justifying the move, including mercury's toxicity, children's susceptibility to mercury poisoning, and high mercury clean-up costs. In addition, reasonably-priced alternatives exist for all instructional uses of mercury and mercury-containing equipment. Mark Taratoot of the Corvallis Public Works Department described the importance of the rule: "Although schools do not constitute one of the largest sources of mercury to the environment, they are places where mercury and children may come together, leading to dangerous and often expensive situations."