As part of a renovation project, a construction contractor was cutting sanitary sewer pipe. As the pipe was being disconnected from the ceiling, beads of waste were released from the pipe and fell to the floor. The workers were unaware that the waste was mercury and proceeded to cut the pipe and place it in a dumpster located outside the building. This caused the mercury beads to contaminate many areas at the facility. The mercury embedded in the terrazzo floor, contaminated other construction debris that was already in the dumpster, and contaminated the grass and cement area outside the dumpster. Once it was discovered that the waste was mercury, North Shore Environmental Construction, Inc. (NSEC) was contacted to cleanup this spill.
NSEC specializes in cleaning up mercury. When mercury is spilled, it shatters into tiny beads and spreads in many directions. Mercury emits toxic, odorless vapors, which can be very dangerous when inhaled by people or pets. The cleanup process included using a Lumex Mercury Analyzer to monitor the mercury vapors in the air. A mercury vacuum removed the mercury from the floor, around electrical panels and in the grass around the dumpster. The mercury contaminated steel and construction debris was removed from the dumpster and placed into cubic yard boxes for disposal.
Whenever you detect or spill mercury, contact an environmental contractor like NSEC to assist you with the cleanup.
