According to the Maine Department
of Environmental Protection, reported mercury spills
in Maine decreased from 1999 to 2000, from 17 to 8.
The number and sources of mercury in reported incidents
between 1997 and 2000 are listed in Tables 3 and 4
respectively. Under Maine law, spills of less that
one pound of mercury do not need to be reported if
the facility where the spill occurred has filed a
spill prevention control and clean-up plan with the
Department and the plan covers mercury spills. Spills
of mercury used in household activity do not need
to be reported under any circumstances.
The amount of mercury spilled is
not available for all incidents. A few incidents of
particular note include: recovery of over three quarts
of mercury, two drums of mercury spill debris and
two drums of mercury-containing devices from the boiler
room of a vacant state mental hospital; recovery of
over 200 pounds of mercury that had been stockpiled
in a vacant warehouse and tracked around the neighborhood
by trespassing children; and the discharge of over
50,000 gallons of mercury-containing wastewater to
ground and surface water over several years at the
now-decommissioned HoltraChem chlor-alkali plant in
Orrington.
Table 3:
Number of Mercury Incidents Reported to Maine Department
Environmental Protection, 1997-2000
| Year |
Number of incidents |
| 2000 |
8 |
| 1999 |
17 |
| 1998 |
18 |
| 1997 |
21 |
Source: Maine
Department of Environmental Protection
Table 4: Sources of Reported
Mercury Incidents in Maine, 1997-2000
| Source
of Mercury |
Number
of Incidents |
| elemental mercury |
18 |
| fever thermometers |
10 |
| other thermometers |
7 |
| HoltraChem chlor-alkali |
5 |
| sphygmomanometers |
5 |
| barometers |
5 |
| switches -industrial
applications |
4 |
| clock pendulums |
2 |
| flow meters |
2 |
| chemistry lab |
1 |
| dairy manometer |
1 |
| other manometers |
1 |
| thermostat in stove |
1 |
Source: Maine
Department of Environmental Protection
UW-Extension