A self-storage facility in Addison contaminated by a mercury spill was quickly cordoned off and cleaned up Friday before any of the highly toxic liquid metal could spread elsewhere.
‘It’s a very positive outcome for something that could have been pretty bad,? said Addison Fire Chief George Spencer.
Firefighters were called to Stor Your Stuf (557 Rochester Road, just north of 32 Mile Road) at approximately 11:20 a.m. after one of the renters, who also works as the facility’s snow plow operator, found what appeared to be mercury on the ground.
Fire personnel located the reported mercury and much, much more ? approximately a half-liter (or half of a quart) to be exact.
‘We found mercury spread out in very small amounts, but still visible to the human eye, pretty much all over the place, spread out throughout the site,? Spencer said.
‘We don’t know exactly how it got spread,? said Oakland County Sheriff’s Sgt. Pete Burkett, commander of the Addison substation. ‘Our assumption is at one point somehow it was spilled on the ground (and) was probably spread around by the snow plow when it came through to plow the lot. But that’s not verified. We’re not positive.?
Mercury exposure at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs and immune system.
The storage facility’s owner contracted with the Flint-based Young’s Environmental Cleanup, Inc. to assist with the cleanup.
Not only was mercury, also called quicksilver, found in spots all over the quarter-mile asphalt lot, it was also discovered in the a storm drain catch basin.
With assistance from the Oakland County Health Division and Oakland County Drain Commissioner’s Office, it was tentatively determined that the mercury was contained to the incident site and did not enter the storm sewer system beyond the site or the ground water.
‘It got into the storm sewer system, but it was contained on site,? Spencer said. ‘No mercury as far as we can tell right now got off the site.?
At this time, it also does not appear that there’s any risk to ground water or the aquifer.
Portions of the North Oakland County Hazardous Materials team were activated to assist in checking all 259 storage units and the surrounding area for further contamination.
On Friday, Spencer said they opened up and checked the 200 units they had keys to. On Saturday, they went back, cut the locks off the 59 units they didn’t have keys to and checked them.
Representatives from the county Health Division went through all the units with a Lumex meter, an ‘extremely sensitive device? which measures the concentration of mercury vapor in the air.
Liquid mercury evaporates just like water except at a much slower rate.
‘If you’ve got mercury, this meter’s going to find it,? Spencer said.
One storage unit registered a ‘small hit? on the meter while another resulted in a ‘significantly high hit.?
Sgt. Burkett confirmed the storage unit with the higher hit was determined to be the source.
A large plastic container holding an additional 16 to 20 fluid ounces of mercury was found inside the unit in question.
That’s in addition to the half-liter found on the ground and in the catch basin.
‘Young’s Environmental recovered just in the gross cleanup almost a quart of this material,? Burkett noted. ‘You’re talking about almost 32 ounces.?
With all the clean up work done, the investigation was turned over to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) on Saturday.
Any time one pound or more of mercury is released into the environment, it is mandatory to contact the National Response Center (NRC), according to the EPA website. Local authorities called both the NRC and EPA, Spencer said.
Because mercury is heavy, only two tablespoons weigh about one pound.
The EPA will do a complete investigation, including taking soil samples, to ‘absolutely 100 percent determine that it did not get off site.?
In the meantime, Spencer reiterated that residents need not be concerned or afraid because it was agreed by local authorities and the private assistance used ‘we caught it before it got off site.?
The EPA and Oakland County Sheriff’s Dept. are working together to investigate how the contamination occurred and who was responsible.
‘We know which locker it came from, so obviously we know who rented that locker,? Burkett said.
Burkett could not comment as to the identity of the the renter. ‘At this point, we can’t divulge any of that,? he said.
‘Right now, we’re trying to figure out what crime if any was actually committed,? the sergeant explained. ‘If this was an intentional act, obviously we are going to have a serious crime. If it wasn’t an intentional act, the crime’s not going to be that serious.?
‘There’s always the possibility there may not be any criminal charges that come out of this,? Burkett noted. ‘It could become a civil matter.?
There’s nothing criminal about owning or possessing mercury.