There were five mercury spills reported
to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection
(DEP) in 1999, and three in 2000. The reportable quantity
for mercury spills in Massachusetts is one pound released
into the environment in a 24-hour period. The majority
of these spills occurred in industrial or commercial
facilities (six incidents), with the remaining occurring
in municipal facilities and schools (two incidents).
Data on the amount of mercury released during the
spills is not available. Massachusetts DEP does not
generally track spills of quantities smaller than
the reportable quantity. This may be why the spill
reports for Massachusetts are lower than those for
the other large NE states.
UW-Extension