Iowa

Iowa

Lead Mercury Reduction Agencies and Contacts

State Mercury Health Advisories

Case Studies

Mercury Spill Procedures - Environmental Health and Safety
School Health Services - News January, 2002
In June 1996, liquid mercury was taken from a middle school and played with by a group of teenagers both inside and outside of the school building. Approximately 200 children were tested for mercury exposure, one child was hospitalized, and another five underwent outpatient treatment. Twenty other children had mildly elevated mercury levels but not to levels that are known to affect health.
In May 2000, a student spilled liquid mercury at a high school forcing the closure of the school while workers decontaminated the building.
Approximately 50 students were evacuated from an Iowa college dormitory after someone dumped approximately a half-cup of liquid mercury outside a shower stall. This allowed vapors to form and the mercury was subsequently spread throughout the dormitory.
A student rolled a ball of liquid mercury down the aisle of a school bus, potentially exposing dozens of students. The student also shared the liquid mercury with three other students. The liquid mercury had been stolen from a science room. The ramifications of this act were thought to have lead to possible contamination of other schools, buses, vehicles, and homes.