More Mercury Found at Cardozo
Officials Ponder Options for Making Up Class Time as School Remains Closed
By Henri E. Cauvin and Donna St. George
Washington Post Staff Writers
Monday, March 7, 2005; Page B01
Cardozo Senior High School will be closed again today after D.C. firefighters found mercury contamination on the Northwest campus yesterday -- the third time in 11 days. School officials were scrambling last night to come up with a plan for students to make up missed class time.
The surprise discovery of an additional 12 to 15 potentially dangerous mercury droplets in the school's basement came just a day after the school was declared safe to reopen for classes today. On Saturday, the D.C. Health Department said students could return to Cardozo, following tests conducted by officials from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Alan Etter, a spokesman for the D.C. fire department, said a custodial crew commissioned by the school system had been wrapping up its work yesterday when it encountered the "BB-sized" pellets of mercury.
"It's a mystery why the product would be found here," said Etter, who noted that the building has been closed for days. He said that "given the fact that access is very restricted . . . it's likely leftover material." He also said firefighters had tested the basement previously and not found any traces of mercury.
Council member Jim Graham, whose Ward 1 district includes Cardozo, in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, said he was fielding calls from worried parents last night -- and grappling with his own disbelief. "This is either gross incompetence or the most willful criminal behavior," he said. "This is surreal. Either we're not really cleaning up the building, or someone is out to get us here."
The custodial crew of 17 people -- which was deep-cleaning the school before its planned reopening today -- called in the fire department about 3:30 p.m. A hazardous materials unit responded to the school and detected "modest levels of mercury vapor" in the basement.
Mercury droplets were found in a basement classroom and a hallway, and the school's entire basement has been declared a hot zone and is off-limits, Etter said.
All of the school workers involved in the custodial effort that led to yesterday's discovery were examined, and no health problems were found. One man's shoes showed traces of mercury and were confiscated.
D.C. police and EPA officials were investigating how the mercury ended up in the school and how it could have been overlooked in the two cleanups that had been conducted since Feb. 23. Long-term exposure to even small amounts of mercury can pose health hazards, but District health officials have said Cardozo families should not be worried about the effects of the recent spate of discoveries.
School Superintendent Clifford B. Janey is "deeply disappointed by today's discovery," said spokeswoman Roxanne Evans. "He was given full assurances that the school was free of mercury. This new discovery means our students are going to miss another important day of instruction."
Evans said it was "premature" to guess how long Cardozo's 830 students would be shut out of the building. Possible plans for making up lost time include holding classes at an alternate site or lengthening the school day for a period of time, she said.
"We have to consider all of our options," Evans said. As of Friday, Cardozo students had missed 21 instructional hours because of the mercury problem.
School security personnel are working with District police and the EPA, Evans said. She added: "We don't have any answers at this point about how there came to be another mercury discovery at the school. It's pretty puzzling to all of us."
Last week, mercury contamination was found on the shoes or clothing of 88 students or staff members. Screenings were done of those in the building, and no health problems were detected. Classes were canceled to allow time for cleanup.
Previously, seven people at Cardozo were affected. In connection with that contamination last month, two male students, ages 15 and 16, were charged, and a $150,000 cleanup was conducted, officials said.
According to officials, the older student -- charged with dumping a hazardous material, conspiracy to commit dumping, cruelty to children, theft and receiving stolen property -- said he found the mercury at school. But officials had said all mercury was removed from D.C. schools in 2003 after a more serious spill forced a lengthy closing at Ballou Senior High School
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A...anguage=printer
Full Version: More Mercury Found at Cardozo
Common Ground Common Sense > Issues that Affect Our Lives > Energy Independence, Environment, Science and Technology > Energy, Environment, Science and Technology Issues Archive
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/...lluting_region/
Higher levels of mercury seen polluting region
By Beth Daley, Globe Staff | March 8, 2005
Mercury contamination is more pervasive in New England than researchers previously believed, according to a study being released today that indicates the toxic substance appears to be polluting the environment in ways that scientists previously did not think possible.
The four-year study in Northeastern United States and eastern Canada also indicates significant levels of mercury in forest songbirds and other animals that researchers did not suspect were ingesting mercury.
The study, comprising 21 papers being published in the journal Ecotoxicology, also identifies nine hot spots in the region, including in the lower Merrimack River area in Massachusetts and New Hampshire where mercury levels in animals such as brook trout, loons, mink, and eagles are alarmingly high. In some locations, the levels appear to be interfering with some species' reproduction.
"The impacts of mercury go well beyond what anyone would have envisioned yesterday," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project in Vermont and cochairman of the state mercury committee, who was not involved in the study. "It doesn't look like there are any limits on mercury's reach."
The $300,000 study, financed by the US Department of Agriculture's Northeastern States Research Cooperative, enlisted 50 scientists to analyze existing data of mercury in animals, soil, rivers, lakes, and streams. It also looked for the first time at mercury levels in such species as salamanders and songbirds in the region.
Mercury can damage the developing brains of fetuses and children and can cause a host of physiological and behavioral problems in wildlife. The naturally occurring element is released into the air by coal-fired power plants and eventually falls to land. The Northeastern areas of the United States and Canada have signifi- cantly cut mercury emissions. But mercury continues to drift from elsewhere in the country, and amounts harmful to humans and wildlife persist in the environment.
For years, scientists and public policy makers have focused on mercury that is emitted from power plants and incinerators and falls into lakes and ponds, where it is easily converted into its toxic form when it interacts with bacteria in freshwater sediment. Across the region, pregnant woman and children have been warned not to eat many freshwater fish because the creatures can pass on the mercury concentrated in their flesh.
But today's report indicates that the same type of toxic conversion may be happening on mountaintops and forests, with mercury falling out of the sky onto tree leaves and then dropping onto the moist forest floor.
Tiny insects then take up the mercury, and as insects are eaten by larger creatures the mercury accumulates in greater concentrations up the food chain, said David C. Evers, executive director of the BioDiversity Research Institute who helped conceive the research idea with Tom Clair, of Environment Canada, that country's environmental protection agency.
"These terrestrial systems have been completely overlooked," said Evers, who wants far more monitoring of the environment. "It's a complicated story, and we don't have all the answers yet."
The scientists found elevated mercury levels in Bicknell's thrushes, a small, forest bird with a distinctive song. In one instance, a Northern waterthrush from the Sudbury River in Massachusetts was found to have mercury levels higher than each of 100 juvenile bald eagles tested. Eagles, at the top of the food chain, can have signi ficant mercury levels presumably because their diet includes fish. Thrushes like to eat insects.
High concentrations of mercury in salamanders were found in Acadia National Park.
Mink and otter in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which have historically been tested for mercury, continued to show levels in their fur that are known to harm their health, although the levels have declined in recent years.
Scientists are just now beginning to document mercury's impact on the songbirds and salamanders because those creatures have not been widely studied.
However, based on what they know about aquatic species such as loons, they say there could be ecological health effects. Loons in Maine and New Hampshire with high mercury levels have 40 percent fewer young than those with less mercury, according to previous research by Evers.
The hot spots in the Northeast include the Rangely Lakes Region, Upper Penobscot River watershed, and parts of midcoast and Down East Maine, all of which are home to otter, mink, brook trout, yellow perch, bald eagle, and the common loon whose mercury levels already exceed safe levels.
Hot spots were generally defined as areas with two or more species that had mercury levels above known thresholds for adverse health effects.
The study is being released as environmentalists press for federal mercury emission limits for coal, fire, and power plants. While the nine states, including Massachusetts, have or are attempting to put mercury controls in place, there are more than 100 new coal- fired power plants proposed in the United States, and environmentalists fear more mercury will be released into the environment.
"Wildlife is truly on the front line of the mercury contamination problem," said Felice Stadler, mercury policy specialist for the National Wildlife Federation. "This new research makes a compelling case for why we need to reduce mercury pollution today."
Higher levels of mercury seen polluting region
By Beth Daley, Globe Staff | March 8, 2005
Mercury contamination is more pervasive in New England than researchers previously believed, according to a study being released today that indicates the toxic substance appears to be polluting the environment in ways that scientists previously did not think possible.
The four-year study in Northeastern United States and eastern Canada also indicates significant levels of mercury in forest songbirds and other animals that researchers did not suspect were ingesting mercury.
The study, comprising 21 papers being published in the journal Ecotoxicology, also identifies nine hot spots in the region, including in the lower Merrimack River area in Massachusetts and New Hampshire where mercury levels in animals such as brook trout, loons, mink, and eagles are alarmingly high. In some locations, the levels appear to be interfering with some species' reproduction.
"The impacts of mercury go well beyond what anyone would have envisioned yesterday," said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project in Vermont and cochairman of the state mercury committee, who was not involved in the study. "It doesn't look like there are any limits on mercury's reach."
The $300,000 study, financed by the US Department of Agriculture's Northeastern States Research Cooperative, enlisted 50 scientists to analyze existing data of mercury in animals, soil, rivers, lakes, and streams. It also looked for the first time at mercury levels in such species as salamanders and songbirds in the region.
Mercury can damage the developing brains of fetuses and children and can cause a host of physiological and behavioral problems in wildlife. The naturally occurring element is released into the air by coal-fired power plants and eventually falls to land. The Northeastern areas of the United States and Canada have signifi- cantly cut mercury emissions. But mercury continues to drift from elsewhere in the country, and amounts harmful to humans and wildlife persist in the environment.
For years, scientists and public policy makers have focused on mercury that is emitted from power plants and incinerators and falls into lakes and ponds, where it is easily converted into its toxic form when it interacts with bacteria in freshwater sediment. Across the region, pregnant woman and children have been warned not to eat many freshwater fish because the creatures can pass on the mercury concentrated in their flesh.
But today's report indicates that the same type of toxic conversion may be happening on mountaintops and forests, with mercury falling out of the sky onto tree leaves and then dropping onto the moist forest floor.
Tiny insects then take up the mercury, and as insects are eaten by larger creatures the mercury accumulates in greater concentrations up the food chain, said David C. Evers, executive director of the BioDiversity Research Institute who helped conceive the research idea with Tom Clair, of Environment Canada, that country's environmental protection agency.
"These terrestrial systems have been completely overlooked," said Evers, who wants far more monitoring of the environment. "It's a complicated story, and we don't have all the answers yet."
The scientists found elevated mercury levels in Bicknell's thrushes, a small, forest bird with a distinctive song. In one instance, a Northern waterthrush from the Sudbury River in Massachusetts was found to have mercury levels higher than each of 100 juvenile bald eagles tested. Eagles, at the top of the food chain, can have signi ficant mercury levels presumably because their diet includes fish. Thrushes like to eat insects.
High concentrations of mercury in salamanders were found in Acadia National Park.
Mink and otter in Massachusetts and Connecticut, which have historically been tested for mercury, continued to show levels in their fur that are known to harm their health, although the levels have declined in recent years.
Scientists are just now beginning to document mercury's impact on the songbirds and salamanders because those creatures have not been widely studied.
However, based on what they know about aquatic species such as loons, they say there could be ecological health effects. Loons in Maine and New Hampshire with high mercury levels have 40 percent fewer young than those with less mercury, according to previous research by Evers.
The hot spots in the Northeast include the Rangely Lakes Region, Upper Penobscot River watershed, and parts of midcoast and Down East Maine, all of which are home to otter, mink, brook trout, yellow perch, bald eagle, and the common loon whose mercury levels already exceed safe levels.
Hot spots were generally defined as areas with two or more species that had mercury levels above known thresholds for adverse health effects.
The study is being released as environmentalists press for federal mercury emission limits for coal, fire, and power plants. While the nine states, including Massachusetts, have or are attempting to put mercury controls in place, there are more than 100 new coal- fired power plants proposed in the United States, and environmentalists fear more mercury will be released into the environment.
"Wildlife is truly on the front line of the mercury contamination problem," said Felice Stadler, mercury policy specialist for the National Wildlife Federation. "This new research makes a compelling case for why we need to reduce mercury pollution today."
http://www.boston.com/news/science/article..._problem_spots/
Mercury study identifies problem spots
March 8, 2005
GORHAM, Maine -- A four-year study in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada released on Tuesday identifies several so-called mercury "hot spots" and suggests contamination by the toxic metal is more pervasive than originally believed.
The nine hot spots -- four of them in Maine -- represent areas where high mercury levels have been recorded in fish, loons, eagles and animals.
"We expected mercury to be widespread, but we were surprised to discover just how high the mercury levels are in animals like mink," David Evers, executive director the Biodiversity Research Council, said in a statement.
The other hot spots are in New York's Adirondacks and the Merrimack River area in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as three in Canada.
More than 50 scientists participated in the $300,000 study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Northeastern States Research Cooperative.
For years, scientists and public policy makers have focused on mercury emitted from power plants and incinerators that falls into lakes and ponds, where it affects fish and waterfowl.
But the scientists found elevated mercury levels in Bicknell's thrushes, a small bird that lives in forests and has a distinctive song. That caused researchers to question whether mercury from the sky is wreaking havoc on forest ecosystems, as well.
Evers, who wrote the report Mercury Connections, helped conceive the research with Tom Clair of Environment Canada. The scientists analyzed existing data on mercury in animals, soil, rivers, lakes and streams.
"Until now, we thought that mercury in its toxic form was primarily a concern in water environments," Evers said. "Our discovery of mercury in forest songbirds turns that conventional wisdom on its head."
The hot spots were generally defined as areas with two or more species that had mercury levels above known thresholds for adverse health effects.
In Maine, they included the Rangeley Lakes region, Upper Penobscot River area and two regions in Down East Maine.
The Canadian hotspots are the La Maurice Area of Quebec Province, Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia and central Nova Scotia, the report said.
The report was released a day after three northern New England senators called on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen a proposed rule intended to reduce mercury emissions from power plants. The agency is expected to issue the rule next week.
Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and James Jeffords, I-Vt., said two recent reports by internal government watchdogs that found flaws in EPA's analysis of the health effects of mercury on children.
"These two reports show that the administration ignored sound science and cut corners to justify the weaker mercury proposal that industry wanted," Leahy said in a statement Monday.
The Bush administration disputes a determination by the Clinton administration that mercury should be regulated as a hazardous substance and that about 450 power plants should be forced to buy the "maximum achievable control technology" to reduce it.
Instead, the EPA now favors an industry-backed proposal that would cap mercury pollution nationwide but let individual plants buy pollution rights from companies already in compliance.
The EPA said last month its proposal would cut mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants by 70 percent, from the current 48 tons a year to 15 tons a year, by 2018.
Mercury study identifies problem spots
March 8, 2005
GORHAM, Maine -- A four-year study in the northeastern United States and eastern Canada released on Tuesday identifies several so-called mercury "hot spots" and suggests contamination by the toxic metal is more pervasive than originally believed.
The nine hot spots -- four of them in Maine -- represent areas where high mercury levels have been recorded in fish, loons, eagles and animals.
"We expected mercury to be widespread, but we were surprised to discover just how high the mercury levels are in animals like mink," David Evers, executive director the Biodiversity Research Council, said in a statement.
The other hot spots are in New York's Adirondacks and the Merrimack River area in Massachusetts and New Hampshire, as well as three in Canada.
More than 50 scientists participated in the $300,000 study, which was funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Northeastern States Research Cooperative.
For years, scientists and public policy makers have focused on mercury emitted from power plants and incinerators that falls into lakes and ponds, where it affects fish and waterfowl.
But the scientists found elevated mercury levels in Bicknell's thrushes, a small bird that lives in forests and has a distinctive song. That caused researchers to question whether mercury from the sky is wreaking havoc on forest ecosystems, as well.
Evers, who wrote the report Mercury Connections, helped conceive the research with Tom Clair of Environment Canada. The scientists analyzed existing data on mercury in animals, soil, rivers, lakes and streams.
"Until now, we thought that mercury in its toxic form was primarily a concern in water environments," Evers said. "Our discovery of mercury in forest songbirds turns that conventional wisdom on its head."
The hot spots were generally defined as areas with two or more species that had mercury levels above known thresholds for adverse health effects.
In Maine, they included the Rangeley Lakes region, Upper Penobscot River area and two regions in Down East Maine.
The Canadian hotspots are the La Maurice Area of Quebec Province, Kejimkujik National Park in Nova Scotia and central Nova Scotia, the report said.
The report was released a day after three northern New England senators called on the Environmental Protection Agency to strengthen a proposed rule intended to reduce mercury emissions from power plants. The agency is expected to issue the rule next week.
Sens. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, Patrick Leahy, D-Vt. and James Jeffords, I-Vt., said two recent reports by internal government watchdogs that found flaws in EPA's analysis of the health effects of mercury on children.
"These two reports show that the administration ignored sound science and cut corners to justify the weaker mercury proposal that industry wanted," Leahy said in a statement Monday.
The Bush administration disputes a determination by the Clinton administration that mercury should be regulated as a hazardous substance and that about 450 power plants should be forced to buy the "maximum achievable control technology" to reduce it.
Instead, the EPA now favors an industry-backed proposal that would cap mercury pollution nationwide but let individual plants buy pollution rights from companies already in compliance.
The EPA said last month its proposal would cut mercury emissions from coal-burning power plants by 70 percent, from the current 48 tons a year to 15 tons a year, by 2018.
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