Friday, August 21, 2015

Hazmat team cleans up mercury spill when a large mercury thermometer broke at Bourne school in Massachusetts




Firefighters and a state hazardous materials response team were called to Bourne High School Wednesday afternoon when a large mercury thermometer broke in a storage closet, according to Bourne Fire Deputy Chief David Pelonzi.








By Haven Orecchio-Egresitz
horecchio@capecodonline.com
Posted Aug. 19, 2015 at 8:34 PM
Updated Aug 19, 2015 at 8:52 PM


BOURNE, MA —


Firefighters and a state hazardous materials response team were called to Bourne High School Wednesday afternoon when a large mercury thermometer broke in a storage closet, according to Bourne Fire Deputy Chief David Pelonzi.

Just before 3 p.m., a staff member preparing for the upcoming school year heard a crash coming from a closet and discovered that a 4-foot mercury thermometer had broken and the chemical had spilled, Pelonzi said.

Bourne firefighters responded to the scene and secured the area before calling the hazmat team, which cleaned up about three quarters of a cup of mercury from the closet, he said.

Members of the state Department of Environmental Protection team may return tomorrow with a cleanup team to remove any remaining mercury, Pelonzi said.

Nobody was exposed to the mercury and no students were at the school Wednesday, according to Pelonzi.