State begins collecting mercury

Lynn Doan

Tuesday, June 22, 2004 | 11:03 a.m.

In January, after two highly publicized incidents of children being exposed to mercury, state officials announced a program to collect the liquid metal that Nevadans may have in their homes.

Six months later, the program has just begun, and in its first three weeks state officials have been working to take care of a backlog of calls that built up after the initial announcement.

So far 20 pounds of the potentially fatal element -- enough of the liquid metal to fill not quite three soda cans -- have been collected from 17 residents who called the state Division of Environmental Protection, environmental officials said.

Most calls received so far are from former mining hobbyists who used the mercury to look for gold and would now like to dispose of it, Jolene Johnson, one of the division's deputy administrators, said. State officials have also received many calls about mercury in broken thermometers and barometers.

The delay in starting the program was because the division needed to hire a local contractor that would recycle the collected mercury, the division's administrator, Allen Biaggi, said.

H2O Environmental, a Sparks-based recycling company, received the initial contract of $2,000, that runs until June 2005. A long-term contract has yet to be negotiated, Johnson said.

The mercury collection program was created in response to two separate January incidents. A Las Vegas teenager was hospitalized with mercury poisoning after finding a jar of the metal that a family member had stored and playing with it over several months. His family and dog, Snowball, were moved out of the house for weeks while it was decontaminated.

In the other incident, dozens of middle school students in rural Gardnerville were exposed to mercury after one of them brought a quarter-cup of mercury to school. The school was closed for more than a week while hazardous materials crews cleaned up the mercury, but none of the students was hospitalized.

Mercury, a silver-colored metal that is naturally occurring, is found in small amounts in soil and water. But exposure or ingestion of high concentrations of mercury can be deadly. Long-term exposure to mercury can also damage the brain, kidneys and developing fetuses.

Jim Trent, one of the division's environmental scientists, said the program has already received about 30 calls from residents who would like mercury to be picked up from their homes.

The state sends collected mercury to H2O Environmental, where it is divided into categories: elemental mercury, manufactured items contaminated with mercury and mercury contaminated by other substances. The company disposes of the manufactured items and contaminated mercury, but elemental mercury is sent to a company in Phoenix, where it is recycled and resold, H2O Environmental general manager Greg Scyphers said.

Because mercury is used for mining, Johnson said, Nevada has a higher risk of mercury exposure than most other states.

Those who discover mercury in their homes should call the Division of Environmental Protection at (775) 687-9462.