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« Photo: Upside-down rainbow over Union Street | Today | Update: Fire out at Brown University heating plant » December 18, 2007Update: Bay View mercury spill from home thermometerEAST PROVIDENCE -- No students at St. Mary Academy-Bay View were exposed to harmful levels of mercury after a thermometer, apparently brought in by a student, broke today. Students are not supposed to bring thermometers to school, said Sister Elizabeth McAuliffe, the school's president. She said she expected to send home a letter tomorrow reminding parents and students. Students in grades pre-kindergarten through eight had been evacuated to the school's athletic wellness center, then dismissed early. Responders checked the shoes of all students who walked on the second floor of St. Joseph Hall, where the spill occurred, said Stephanie Powell, a state Department of Environmental Management spokeswoman. "There was definitely no exposure to any type of hazardous levels," Powell said. The contamination detected, Powell said, was lower than the Occupational Safety & Health Administration's standard by a factor of thousands. McAuliffe said the spill was found in a corridor on the second floor of St. Joseph Hall outside the nurse's office. She had made it clear early that the mercury was not from the nurse's office. Grades nine through 12 at the school were unaffacted because they do not use St. Joseph Hall for classes and were not allowed into it today for dining hall purposes, McAuliffe said. The academy, a four-building campus on Pawtucket Avenue in the city's Riverside section, is a private, Catholic school for girls . -- projo.com staff writers Michael P. McKinney and Brandie M. Jefferson Parents were first notified, then updated, about the incident through the electronic alert system Connect-Ed. A second message to parents stated that the state Department of Environmental Management and Clean Harbors Environmental Services, which cleans up hazardous material spills, were on site. The students were dismissed early because they had not had lunch and were not able to reenter the building to get belongings and coats. Buses were on as scheduled, according to the second message, which was confirmed by the school. A second exam scheduled for today will be administered after the break, but exams will continue tomorrow as scheduled, the later message said. After-school care was canceled. Posted by Mike McKinney CommentsDan | December 18, 2007 9:50 PM link Post a commentPlease be civil. Vicious comments, personal attacks and profanity won't be published. Name and email are required; email address will not publish. |
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ProJo 9 to 5 News Blog
Oct 2005 - March 2006
I honestly thought that this was a joke. I understand that mercury is a toxic substance and that there are implications, albeit fallacious, of mercury's involvement in an alarmingly spreading in disorders characterized and generally diagnosed in early childhood. It's just that everything is going too far. Everyone is frightened of everything, like rabbits, and the local news terrorizes the public with tales of misfortune and tragedy.
Mercury was not a big issue in the late 80'- early 90's. Parents, including nurses and doctors saw no ill in the infrequent PLAYING with mercury spilled from broken thermometers. I'm sure there wasn't much fall out from this.
I only hope that people will find themselves and not being so frightened. Here's to the demise of knowledge and the celebration of fear!