The District's Cardozo Senior High School was thrown into turmoil again yesterday after authorities discovered droplets of mercury in a stairwell, the second time in a week that the potentially dangerous substance was found in the building.
This time, mercury contamination was found on the shoes or clothing of 88 students and staff members. Last week, the number was seven.
Students emerge from Cardozo after being screened for contact with mercury. It took hours to screen the hundreds of students and teachers, and some were found to have traces of mercury on their clothing.
(Nikki Kahn -- The Washington Post)
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Authorities said that no adverse health effects were found for any of those whose clothing or shoes were seized. The 88 people were asked to see their physicians if they have any problems.
Yesterday's detection of mercury at the school triggered an eerie repeat of last week's episode. Once again, firefighters in white biohazard suits descended on the 830-student Northwest Washington school and scoured its classrooms and hallways with high-tech monitoring devices. Students and teachers were kept inside the building and given mercury screenings that stretched into the night. And school officials once again announced that classes at Cardozo -- which had resumed Tuesday after the Feb. 23 mercury spill -- would be canceled to allow time for cleanup.
Authorities said several drops of mercury were discovered about 10:30 a.m. in the corner of a landing in a third-floor stairwell.
This time, the spill occurred in a more confined area, but in a spot that was heavily used. That, according to one city official, explained why so many more students showed signs of contamination.
Officials strongly recommended that two students who are pregnant consult their physicians.
Last week, mercury was found in two stairwell areas and two corridors. Two students -- boys ages 15 and 16 -- have been charged in connection with last week's incident. Police said they identified the youths from digital surveillance cameras.
Officials said they did not know where yesterday's mercury came from. D.C. fire department spokesman Alan Etter said it was unlikely that workers with the Environmental Protection Agency, which conducted a four-day, $150,000 cleanup of the school last week, had overlooked it. But school and EPA officials did not rule out that possibility.
Wendy Jastremski, community involvement coordinator for the EPA's Superfund program, said gas masks worn by cleanup contractors might have restricted their view. But, she said, detectors should have shown any remaining mercury.
"It could have been something was missed," she said. "It's a big building, lots of nooks and crannies."
Long-term exposure to even small amounts of mercury, a metallic element used in some thermometers, can pose a health risk.
To prevent the inadvertent spread of the substance yesterday, officials kept students and teachers in their classrooms. Some students hung a banner from a window reading, "We need food."
Authorities went room to room to test each student and teacher for exposure. By 10 p.m., everyone had been screened and allowed to leave.
