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Department of Ecology News Release - April 15, 2007
07-095
YAKIMA - Cleanup efforts are continuing today (Monday) at a south Sixth Street home where liquid mercury was found in the yard and sidewalk on Sunday.
A 16-year-old boy living at the home has been diagnosed with mercury poisoning and is being treated at a Seattle hospital.
Yakima Health District officials plan to canvass the neighborhood to help determine whether others have been exposed to the mercury. Meanwhile, cleanup operations are being coordinated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in conjunction with the Washington State Department of Ecology and Yakima City Fire Department.
Citizens who are concerned that they may have been exposed to mercury are encouraged to contact their personal physician or call the health district's help desk at 249-6508.
Residents are urged to dispose of mercury or mercury-containing products at the household hazardous waste facility at the Terrace Heights Landfill, 7151 Roza Hill Drive during regular operating hours.
Products containing mercury should be handled with care when transporting them to the collection site. Place small items in a sealed container and make sure bulbs and tubes are protected from breakage.
Mercury is toxic and builds up in human body tissue. In young children, exposure to mercury can lead to learning disabilities and damage to the nervous system. In adults, exposure may cause cardiovascular and central nervous system problems. To learn more about mercury and products containing mercury, visit Ecology's mercury website at http://www.ecy.wa.gov/mercury/.
Once in the environment, mercury can work its way up through the food chain. The most common way that humans can be exposed to mercury is by eating contaminated fish.
A special collection of mercury is scheduled for Friday and Saturday, April 20-21 at the county hazardous waste collection facility:
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contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610 or cell (509) 961-6277.
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
