Mercury Spill Points to Importance of Reporting Quickly, Getting Help

A mercury spill at the Molecular Foundry on Aug. 16 points out the need to report spills and get help as soon as possible. The spill resulted in contamination of several floors, a stairway and an elevator, but immediate reporting and appropriate response could have limited the contamination to a single lab.

A vendor technician pressurized a new mercury porosity meter he had just installed at the Foundry. During the installation, he removed a valve, resulting in elemental mercury spilling and scattering in the room. The vendor technician, assisted by a Berkeley Lab technician at the scene, attempted to clean up the spill with an Erlenmeyer flask and tube vacuum device. After cleaning up the bulk of the spilled mercury, the vendor left.  Later that afternoon, the lab technician discovered additional mercury spilled on a nearby bench area and notified the lab’s lead scientist about the spill. A sign was posted in the affected area in the room to control access.

The lead scientist also tried to contact the Division Safety Coordinator (DSC) for further clean-up. Upon learning of the spill the next morning, the DSC contacted the EH&S Subject Matter Expert (SME), who surveyed the areas and determined that room 6208, its vicinity, and the 6th floor hallway had surface contamination above the Lab’s mercury release limits. These areas are now cordoned off, and access to the Foundry itself is restricted.  Fortunately, measurements for airborne mercury were negative, and no contamination was found in the office or the car of the Lab technician who had assisted in the clean-up. Testing of hands of 6th floor staff members did not detect any personal contamination.  But, the Lab faced a much more significant clean-up effort and disruption of research activities in the Foundry because mercury was tracked outside the room where the spill occurred.

This incident emphasizes the importance of reporting spills and getting help as soon as possible, especially in the case of hazardous materials like mercury.  Following the Lab’s Emergency Response Guide could have isolated the problem:

• STOP and THINK.  Stop working. Stop the spill.
• Warn others.  Call x6999 for immediate assistance or 7-911 for life-threatening situations.
• Isolate the area.
• Monitor yourself carefully and completely.
• Stay in or near the area until help arrives.