School officials in Rockford, Ill., learned that vacuuming mercury, while fast, isn't healthy.
District school officials said they plan to meet with county health officials to review what happened when after a middle school teacher found mercury leaking from an old thermometer in a closet, the Rockford (Ill.) Register-Star said. School personnel vacuumed a carpet where some of the potentially toxic metal was found, possibly putting mercury vapor in the air.
The leak was discovered Tuesday when teachers reported, but students did not, the Register-Star said. A school district environmental specialist was not available, the newspaper said, but school personnel cleaned the area properly.
When more mercury was found on a hallway carpet and vacuumed Wednesday, the district environmentalist was involved and the school contacted the Environmental Protection Agency and county health officials, the newspaper said.
The school on Wednesday evacuated about 750 students, who left their shoes behind for testing. School was back in session Thursday, after officials determined air quality was normal and students' shoes tested negative for mercury contamination.
About a tablespoon of liquid mercury leaked, officials said.
Copyright 2006 by United Press International
Related stories:
India rushes doctors, medicine to flood victims
(AP) -- Indian authorities rushed doctors and medical equipment to flood-devastated northern India on Monday to ward off outbreaks of disease among the hundreds of thousands of victims crowding relief camps, officials said.
Children tested in Belgium after radioactive leak
Hundreds of Belgian children underwent thyroid gland tests on their first day back at school after a radioactive leak in the vicinity of Charleroi city a week ago, the government said Monday.
Suicide risks studied in drugs for physical ills
(AP) -- Cody Miller was a high school football player who was allergic to ragweed. Douglas Briggs was a doctor coping with pain from an old back injury. Both are now dead, hanging victims driven to suicide, their families believe, when drugs prescribed to relieve physical symptoms upset their mental and emotional balance. Federal drug regulators are investigating to see if the families could be right.
Soft economy speeds newspaper decline, job cuts
(AP) -- The newspaper industry's downward spiral is accelerating as the weak U.S. economy depresses already-tumbling advertising revenue and forces more rounds of job cuts and other trims.
Study outcome won't sway company on eye drug
(AP) -- What does a company do when there's anecdotal evidence that two of its drugs are equally effective in treating a leading cause of blindness in the elderly, one costing patients $60 per treatment and the other $2,000? In the case of Genentech Inc., nothing.
Researchers find high levels of toxic metals in herbal medicine products sold online
Boston, MA--Researchers at Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have found that one fifth of both U.S.-manufactured and Indian-manufactured Ayurvedic medicines purchased via the Internet contain lead, mercury or arsenic. These findings appear in the August 27th issue of the
Journal of the American Medical Association (
JAMA).
More Can Be Done to Combat Childhood Obesity
School officials and parents concerned about childhood obesity should look to national guidelines that recommend 60 minutes of exercise per day, according to public health officials. A new report issued this week showed that adult obesity rates rose in 37 states, and all states except Colorado now report obesity rates higher than 20 percent.
Study suggests sports stadiums serve alcohol to minors and intoxicated fans
In a novel study looking at the propensity of illegal alcohol sales at sports stadiums, researchers reported that nearly one in five people posing as underage drinkers, and three out of four seemingly intoxicated "fans" were able to buy alcohol at professional sporting events. They also found that location mattered: sales were more likely if the attempt took place in the stadium stands rather than at a concession booth.