Mercury levels rise Some state Health Department workers who responded to a major mercury spill a year ago have shown elevated mercury levels in their blood during annual testing.
in cleanup workers
But the levels remain within
normal limits for those
responding to last year's spillBy Mary Adamski
madamski@starbulletin.comThe members of the Hazardous Evaluation and Emergency Response office were on the scene at Puuwai Momi housing complex for weeks after the spill was discovered last March 12.
"None of the staff has shown levels outside the normal range," said Health Director Bruce Anderson. "Normal levels of exposure vary widely depending on person's diet and other exposures. If someone were to show mercury outside the normal range, we would be looking at sources of exposure. These people are put in harm's way often and we want to make sure they weren't exposed in the workplace."
Anderson said the blood contamination readings showed up in the routine screening that is required of employees who respond to hazardous scenes. He said he did not know how many had elevated mercury levels.
Six people in the 30-person office are on the first-response team. "They are all trained on use of equipment. They wear moon suits and full protective gear. We err on the side of protection."
Children who found mercury in an abandoned former Navy pump house brought an undetermined amount of the substance to the Halawa public housing project. It was found in 71 apartments in the 260-unit complex, as well as embedded in sidewalks and common areas. By the time the cleanup was completed, tons of carpeting, furniture, clothing and other contaminated material were removed from the site.
The health chief said that of the 100 residents tested at the time, only a couple showed blood contamination outside the normal range. "There were no adverse health effects. From a practical standpoint, there is not much we can do except cease exposure."
Anderson, who did mercury exposure research in the 1980s, said adverse health effects would only be likely to involve newborn children and pregnant women. "There are concerns about effects on the developing nervous system, so there are recommendations about consuming seafood."
Anderson said he would expect his own blood readings to a show high level of mercury "because I eat tuna almost every day. If you stopped eating seafood, you'd see a reduced reading."
The actual clearing of the contamination sites was done by private contractors, with the state staff overseeing the effort. Cleanup crews took about 30 pounds of mercury from the pump house. Officials estimated the water meter there had contained about 54 pounds of mercury but there was no way to measure the amount that was scattered by children.
Anderson said the total cost was about $600,000 and it eventually came out of the budgets of the pump house landlords, the Department of Defense and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
"We have had a number of incidents where mercury exposure was a concern. Puuwai Momi was one of most significant releases in Hawaii history," Anderson said. "There is no evidence of anyone adversely affected. We were fortunate in that regard."
State of Hawaii
