Mercury spills at Nevada public schools not unusual

CARSON CITY — Mercury spills at Nevada public schools are not unusual, with several incidents being reported around the state over the past decade:

* January 2004: A student at Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School in Gardnerville brought a vial of mercury to school that he had found in his grandfather’s garage. The student shared the mercury with children on the bus and in the locker room. Liquid mercury was visible on the gym floor and in several classrooms, exposing 61 students. The school was shut down for four days and the decontamination cost more than $100,000.

* September 2005: A broken blood pressure machine was blamed for a spill that shut down Carson High School for a day and a half. No one was harmed in that incident, which cost $25,000 to clean up.

* November 2005: A mercury spill at Reed High School in Sparks cost $20,000 to clean up. Two students were disciplined and nine students were forced to undergo decontamination in the spill, which caused the school to be shut down for more than a day.

* February 2008: A small mercury spill occurred at Churchill County High School in Fallon. About 500 students, 71 teachers and 25 others were held for several hours before it was determined that no one was contaminated. School officials said a student apparently brought at least one thermometer to school and inadvertently broke it in a boys bathroom in the math building.

* September, 2008: Mercury was found spilled in a science classroom at Carson High School. The source of the mercury was not identified. About 20 students and a teacher were isolated at the school to be checked out by the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection. The clothing of some students was confiscated for decontamination.

* February 2015: Winnemucca Junior High School students were decontaminated after a student brought a salt shaker filled with mercury to the school and it was passed around by some of the students. The student who took the mercury to school and the 10 to 15 students who may have had contact with it were transported to Humboldt General Hospital as a precaution. All of the students were decontaminated and all of their shoes were destroyed.

* Sept. 7, Las Vegas: Upward of a quarter-cup of mercury was discovered at Johnson Junior High, prompting a campus lockdown and more than 1,200 students and faculty members to be screened for contamination. Dozens of students were found contaminated and had to be cleaned that night. EPA officials later expanded testing to more than 60 homes throughout the community; one family was forced to temporarily relocate. The school was cleared to reopen six days later. The incident continues to be investigated.

Contact Sean Whaley at swhaley@reviewjournal.com or 775-461-3820. Follow @seanw801 on Twitter.