# Presentation: 346634

## Molecular Foundry Mercury Spill

**MSD Staff Meeting**
**August 24, 2007**

## What Happened

**Vendor technician made a mistake during the installation of a mercury porosimeter in Foundry room 6208**
**Several pounds of mercury were expelled under 50 psig pressure**
**The vendor and a Foundry technician attempted to clean up the spill without seeking guidance **
**Mercury contamination was carried on shoes to:**
**6th floor hall**
**West stairs and elevator**
**Room 1201**

## Nobody Was Injured

**Nobody was injured during the release.**
**No mercury found on staff other than on bottom of shoes pant cuffs of technician involved in cleanup.**
**No airborne mercury detected in any room.**

## Cleanup Projections

_**Contaminated Area**__**	**__**	**__***Best Case***__** Access Date**_
**	****Room 1201****	****	****	****	****Complete**** **
**	****West Stairs****	****	****	****	****Tuesday, Aug 28**
**	****West Elevator****	****	****	****	****Wednesday, Aug 29**
**	****6th Floor Offices****	****	****	****Wednesday, Aug 29**
**	****Other 6th Floor labs*****	****	****	****Friday, August 31****	**
**	****Room 6208****	****	****	****	****Friday, Sept 7**
***    If no further contamination found inside 6th floor labs****	**

## Spill Response

**Lab staff may clean up a spill without asking for safety support **_**if**_**:**
**Nobody was contaminated or inhaled material**
**Feel comfortable doing the clean up**
**Appropriate spill equipment is available**
**No potential for personal or environmental damage**
**Clean up will take less than 2 person-hours**
**1 liter on campus**
**It does not involve mercury, highly acutely toxic materials or materials toxic via skin absorption (e.g. dichloromethane, phenol)**
**Small mercury spills can be cleaned up by lab personnel on campus**
**<100 ml of risk group 2 pathogen outside of BSC**
**Does not involve radioactive materials**

## Health Effects of Mercury And Exposure Information

**Peter Lichty, MD**

## Health Hazards Of Mercury

**Inhalation of mercury vapor can cause acute and chronic toxic effects**
**Acute toxicity with high exposures can include chest pain, nausea, fever, chills, confusion, pulmonary edema**
**Long term exposure to vapor may cause neurological symptoms including tremors, insomnia, memory loss, depression, emotional instability, e.g. “Mad as a hatter”**

## Floor Contamination Levels

**Mercury vapor level in hallway, stairs <0.003 mg/m****3**
**Safe exposure limit is 0.025 mg/m****3 ****averaged over day**
**Floor Screening technique: Wipe floor with Kimwipe and measure vapor evaporating from wipe**
**Measured range of 0.014 - 0.58 mg/m****3**** **
**If you swabbed the floor and took 50 breaths from the Kimwipe you would absorb an amount of mercury equivalent to eating 0.6-18 ounces of carnivorous fish (tuna, swordfish, shark)**

## Mistakes/Lessons

**Instrument purchased through campus and did not undergo safety review by LBNL EH&S**
***ACTION-Inform Rick Kelly if you bring items of equipment from campus to lab.  This will allow for identification of hazards and development of plans to deal with problems***
**Vendor work on instrument not reported to Rick Kelly**
***ACTION-Vendors must have written approval from Rick before working in MSD lab.  Vendor would have been reminded of Hg hazard and the need for caution*****. We have had several vendor-caused accidents recently.**
** **

**Vendor technician, Foundry technician and student failed to immediately report spill to supervisor but instead attempted to clean it up themselves in violation of LBNL policy. **
***ACTION-all non-trivial spills and accidents must be reported immediately to supervisor and to Rick Kelly or ESH and no non-emergency action may be taken until authorized. This would have reduced the exposure of the staff to mercury and the contamination of other areas of building.  It would also have allowed more rapid communication with DOE.***

**Above all:**
**Think about safety at every step in an experiment or procedure.**
**Plan a response to mistakes**
**Report problems immediately**
**Report near misses **

## Emergency           Life-Threatening; Substantial Loss

**Emergency Numbers & Contacts**

- Incident

- Non-Emergency    Not life-threatening

- Emergency           Life-Threatening; Substantial Loss

** ****7911    (On Site)**
**   ****911    (Off Site)**
**   ****911    (Cell Phone)**

**6999    (On Site)**

**Dial**

*Provide:*

-         Name, Location, Situation

*Inform**:*

- • Supervisor
- • Rick Kelly x4088
-  Health Services (7:30-3:30)–x6266
-  John Seabury x6547