MAY 15, 2015
VENTURA COUNTY, CALIFORNIA
Several days after 3 pounds of mercury was
found on a Cochran Street driveway, directly exposing 10 people to the
hazardous liquid metal and prompting a partial street closure, authorities are
still not sure what caused the spill in the first place.
With the investigation still underway, the closure of Cochran
Street between Tapo Street and Tapo Canyon Road remained in place as of press
time Thursday. Officials were hopeful residents of the neighborhood would be
able to return home by Saturday afternoon, City Manager Eric Levitt told the Simi
Valley Acorn.
Levitt said the colder temperatures and forecasted rain has
been an issue for repaving the contaminated areas.
“Right now the plan is we’re hoping to have the (repaving)
completed both in the street as well as the private drive,” he said. “If that
works as planned, then the streets should be reopened by end of day Saturday.”
Six homes on a private cul-de-sac in the 4100 block of Cochran
Street were evacuated around 3 p.m. Monday after the Ventura County Fire
Department and the Simi Valley Police Department received reports of a spilled
substance.
The half-mile stretch of Cochran Street was closed to the
public Monday while hazmat officials collected samples and tested the
contaminated area. It was determined about 3 pounds of the substance had
spilled onto a residential driveway and side street, according to Capt. Mike
Lindbery, VCFD spokesperson.
PROTECTIVE GEAR—Above, members of the Ventura County Fire
Department’s hazardous materials team check the road for spilled mercury Monday
as they cross Cochran Street toward a residential driveway where a few pounds
of the heavy, liquid metal was found.
Jeff Seabrook of the hazmat team
collects a sample of the substance. Several hours later, the substance was
confirmed as the liquid metal mercury.
A team from the California Environmental Protection Agency
(CALEPA) was called in to investigate the source of the spill and determine the
extent of contamination, Assistant City Manager Jim Purtee told the Acorn
earlier this week.
By Tuesday afternoon, the contaminated area was reduced to
about 100 feet on either side of the affected driveway. However, Cochran Street
remained closed so CALEPA could continue its investigation.
“There’s all these
rumors flying around about how long the spill has been here and what generated
it,” Purtee said. “I’d rather let the EPA get their investigation done . . .
but in the EPA’s experience, it looks like the spill hasn’t been around that
long, maybe a week or two.
Nahal Mogharabi, CALEPA spokesperson, said the team is using
Lumex mercury meters, which monitor the substance’s levels, to assess the
amount of contamination in the area. The EPA is now trying to determine how to
approach the cleanup.
“The source of the spill has yet to be determined, (and) the
EPA’s immediate concern is to assess and clean up the contaminated area,”
Mogharabi said. “Once that has been completed, the EPA’s investigation will
continue to identify the source.”
So far, the EPA has been granted permission to test four of
the six homes affected by the spill and is working to gain access to the
remaining two to make sure there’s no contamination.
“Mercury was found in one home with levels of concern for
re-occupancy,” Mogharabi said. “The EPA is conducting a more comprehensive
assessment of this home to determine appropriate cleanup actions.”
Exposure
Ten people, including three firefighters, were exposed to
the mercury Monday and have been advised to get tested.
Levitt said city officials and the EPA have been in constant
contact with those directly affected by the spill.
“What I can tell you is that any person we feel has been
impacted and needs medical testing has been directly contacted and is aware of
what they need to do,” the city manager said.
Dr. Robert Levin, Ventura County public health officer, said
in a statement that illness caused by mercury exposure is unlikely in this
incident because the “concentration of mercury has been diminishing” over time.
Exposure to mercury can cause symptoms that affect the
lungs, kidneys, central nervous system and the gastrointestinal tract, Levin
said. People who’ve come in direct contact with the heavy metal are at the
greatest risk of contracting symptoms.
Despite the spill’s proximity to Santa Susana Elementary
School and the Kids ’n Things preschool center, officials said there was no
danger to the public.
Source: http://www.simivalleyacorn.com