Inside the house it was primarily tile floors with throw rugs in the entryway, which we could just pick up and get rid of them. If it had been in the carpet of the truck or the house, it would have taken a long time to clean out, but it wasn't. The residents did not have to be evacuated, he said. Cleanup crews were done at the scene by 2 a.m. Cripps estimated that three to four tablespoons of mercury were recovered at the scene.
Elemental mercury is an odorless, silvery liquid metal.
It can cause burns to the skin and eyes and, if inhaled, could lead to problems such as pulmonary edema and neurological and kidney damage. The Honolulu Advertiser, a division of Gannett Co .