Mercury Spill Causes Scare at Farrington

KGMB TV news ^ | 03-09-2005 | KGMB reporter

[Txshep]

A mercury spill at Farrington High School sent students and a teacher to the health office.

It happened when a ninth-grader cracked a 12-inch thermometer during a science experiment.

Hazmat crews say about a teaspoon of mercury spilled onto the floor.

A handful of students were exposed before the teacher cleaned up the mess.

No one complained of itching skin or headaches -- effects of extended exposure to mercury.

But the teacher and eight students were taken to the health office as a precaution.

The classroom remained off-limits until an environmental firm did a thorough clean-up.

Farrington uses mercury thermometers in physics and science classes.

[Txshep]

HAZMAT called, yellow ribbon everywhere. Women and children worried to death about their health. Over what?

A damn 12" thermmometer that broke. These people are nuts.

[Ruth A.]

Funny, there was an earlier thread on the dangers of mercury.

[Cornpone]

You're absolutely right. Hell, my dad used to break thermometers all the time when I was little just to demonstrate the properties of mercury. We are sinking into madness.

[skip_intro]

The classroom remained off-limits until an environmental firm did a thorough clean-up.

Of a teaspoon of mercury that the teacher already cleaned up.

Are grief counselors next?

Simply unbelievable.

[clee1]

And the "victim mentality" proceeds apace.

[Publius6961]

I used to believe we were entering a new Dark Age.
Hell, we are clearly inside and stumbling around...

[ModelBreaker]

This is such nonsense. We used to play with the stuff in High School Physics class and it nevur dammagged meee . . .

[DixieOklahoma]

You obviously don't know how dangerouns mercury is. One time my teacher told me a story about a kid that cracked open a container with mercury in it and played with it in his hands and rolled it around. By the end of the night he was dead.

[clee1]

I've done the same thing many times, to no ill effect.

Mercury is highly toxic, but slight exposure for limited periods is NOT deadly.

[Fruitbat]

These people are nuts.

Yeah, to understate matters. LOL

Unbelieveable!

[TASMANIANRED]

One word, hyperbole.

[Fruitbat]

I wonder what happens if they find out that there's lead paint on the walls. What, call in the respiratatory therapists.

[Cementjungle]

You obviously don't know how dangerouns mercury is. One time my teacher told me a story about a kid that cracked open a container with mercury in it and played with it in his hands and rolled it around. By the end of the night he was dead.

I'll bet that 9 out of 10 people over age 40 had played with mercury at least once as a kid. I wouldn't drink the stuff, but it sure isn't *that* risky.

With all these recent mercury scare stories I wonder if someone's trying to drive the price of it down so they can corner the market or something!

[TASMANIANRED]

You could roll your naked body around in a vat of elemental mercury and have no ill effects.

Elemental mercury is toxic as a vapor only.

[tertiary01]

As a nurse I can't count how many times I broke thermometers, or how many were bitten in two by my patients. I'm alive and healthy and no patients died from ingesting it.

[skip_intro]

You obviously don't know how dangerouns mercury is. One time my teacher told me a story about a kid that cracked open a container with mercury in it and played with it in his hands and rolled it around. By the end of the night he was dead.

Yeah, I heard that story too. The kid was hit by a car, if I'm not mistaken.

[Ruth A.]

Yep. Here's what we said at:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1359658/posts

[Plutarch]

Geez, but it was fun to play with mercury as a kid. Damn neurotoxins.

[srm913]

Precisely.
The main risk is gradual exposure over time.
That's where the term "mad as a hatter" came from, actually. Hatmakers in the old days used mercury, and continual absorption caused mild to moderate dementia.

[BIGLOOK]

Kid's are clever.....they get out of school. Happens a lot here.

When I was a kid, we'd play with mercury in chemistry class until the teacher told us to stop.