Mercury Spill Responses — Five States, 2012–2015

Details

• Journal Article:
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
• Personal Author:
  Wozniak, Ryan J. ; Hirsch, Anne E. ; Bush, Christina R. ; Schmitz, Stuart ; Wenzel, Jeff
• Description:
  What is already known about this topic? Exposure to elemental mercury vapor can cause adverse health effects, especially in children and fetuses. Government agencies and other organizations have tried numerous ways to educate the public about the hazards of elemental mercury and encourage the safe disposal of mercury-containing products. What is added by this report? Despite measures to educate the public on the dangers of mercury, mercury spills continue to occur in homes, schools, health care facilities, and other settings, requiring costly cleanup to prevent human exposures to harmful levels of mercury vapor. State and local health departments routinely guide the cleanup of buildings where mercury spills have occurred to ensure that mercury vapor concentrations are reduced to safe levels. Illustrative cases of nonthermometer mercury spills in five states are presented, which highlight the extensive use of resources required for remediation, as well as the potential for severe adverse health effects. What are the implications for public health practice? To protect the public's health after a mercury spill, it is important that local, state, and federal agencies communicate and coordinate effectively to ensure a rapid response and minimize the spread of contamination. Increasing awareness of exchange programs for mercury-containing items and education of school and health care workers about appropriate disposal might reduce the number of mercury spills that occur in the United States. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Hazardous Substances Health Personnel Mercury Mercury Poisoning Occupational Health Public Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Mercury; Hazardous waste cleanup; Spill cleanup; Mercury vapors; Health care workers; Teaching; Information dissemination; Public health
• Source:
  MMWR 2017 Mar; 66(10):274-277
• Series:
  Weekly Report: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR)
• DOI:
  http://dx.doi.org/10.15585/mmwr.mm6610a3
• ISSN:
  0149-2195
• Pubmed ID:
  28301447
• Pubmed Central ID:
  PMC5657866
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Iowa ; Michigan ; Missouri ; North Carolina ; OSHA Region 4 ; OSHA Region 5 ; OSHA Region 7 ; Wisconsin
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  4 pdf pages
• Volume:
  66
• Issue:
  10
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20065943
• Email:
  ryan.wozniak@wi.gov
• CAS Registry Number:
  Mercury (CAS RN 7439-97-6)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2017
• Performing Organization:
  Iowa State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Collection(s):
  Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR) National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:4571b685ba5063f8221ac8bc7f6d440f8b67f91dd9620e15eb68ae581a19e979950791fa056f993bb2c2624923cb56128ec32143d1348fb69494cc9fa15a25c8
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/55737/cdc_55737_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 177.05 KB ]