Mercury spill cleaned up

A mercury spill that resulted in Churchill County High School locking down more than 500 students until 7:30 p.m. Tuesday has been cleaned up while classes resumed on schedule Wednesday.

However, there are still areas in the school that were closed Wednesday after higher than normal levels of mercury were detected.

A male student brought two thermometers to school Tuesday and either inadvertently or purposely spilled the mercury from the thermometers or broke them. The mercury was spilled in the boys' bathroom of the math building and in a main school building, and students were locked down as they prepared to leave school for the day.

Churchill County School Superintendent Carolyn Ross said the boys' and girls' bathrooms in the math building have been closed. Ross said both rooms have been locked and taped off.

A HAZMAT team the school district hired from Universal Environmental came to CCHS after school hours to clean the bathrooms more thoroughly.

Mike Beachman, maintenance manager for the school district, said a HAZMAT team cleaned and aired out the boys' bathroom Tuesday night and Wednesday morning.

"It takes more than a single cleaning," Beachman said.

"We will be setting up and recleaning the bathroom," he said, adding the bathroom will be retested by the Nevada Department of Environmental Protection this morning to determine if it can be reopened.

Beachman said mercury was not detected in any other areas of the school, including the Minnie P. Blair Building, where mercury was reported to be spilt.

Dante Pistone, public information officer for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, said there was one minor detection of mercury in the boys' bathroom, but it is likely well below the standard of what could be harmful.

"It needs to be cleaned up," he said, adding that mercury is usually cleaned up with a vacuum-like piece of equipment.

Using this equipment sometimes disperses mercury fumes into the air, Pistone said, adding there are some minor mercury readings in the hallway just outside of the bathroom.

"There is no immediate danger. Readings are (there), and it does need to be cleaned up. We will go down there to take some more readings."