Matt Villicana Project Manager March 6, 2017 Mrs. Kathy Halbur On-Scene Coordinator U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 2984 Shawano Avenue Green Bay, Wisconsin 54313 Subject: Final Letter Report for Emergency Response at Lincoln Elementary Mercury Spill EPA Contract No. EP-S5-13-01 Technical Direction Document No. S05-0001-1612-008 Document Tracking No. 1382 Dear Mrs. Halbur: Under Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) Contract No. EP-S5-13- 01, Technical Direction Document (TDD) No. S05-0001-1612-008, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tasked Tetra Tech, Inc. (Tetra Tech) to provide support during emergency response (ER) activities at the Lincoln Elementary Mercury Spill site located in Green Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin. As part of ER activities, Tetra Tech completed a health and safety plan, performed air monitoring, identified mercury-impacted items and areas, and documented site activities. The following sections of this letter report discuss the site location, site history, emergency response activities, and confirmation air monitoring survey results. This final letter report addresses your comments on the draft letter report that Tetra Tech submitted on February 21, 2017. Appendix A provides the figures for this letter report. Appendix B provides START Field Notes and Mercury Screening Results for Lincoln Elementary. Appendix C provides representative photographs of site conditions and response activities conducted at the site. Appendix D provides the Lumex RA-915M datalog download from the confirmation air monitoring survey conducted at the Shawano Avenue residence. Appendix E provides the environmentally preferred practices performed as a part of this TDD.
Transcript
Matt Villicana Project Manager
March 6, 2017
Mrs. Kathy Halbur
On-Scene Coordinator
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
2984 Shawano Avenue
Green Bay, Wisconsin 54313
Subject: Final Letter Report for Emergency Response
at Lincoln Elementary Mercury Spill
EPA Contract No. EP-S5-13-01
Technical Direction Document No. S05-0001-1612-008
Document Tracking No. 1382
Dear Mrs. Halbur:
Under Superfund Technical Assessment and Response Team (START) Contract No. EP-S5-13-
01, Technical Direction Document (TDD) No. S05-0001-1612-008, the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) tasked Tetra Tech, Inc. (Tetra Tech) to provide support during
emergency response (ER) activities at the Lincoln Elementary Mercury Spill site located in Green
Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin.
As part of ER activities, Tetra Tech completed a health and safety plan, performed air monitoring,
identified mercury-impacted items and areas, and documented site activities.
The following sections of this letter report discuss the site location, site history, emergency
response activities, and confirmation air monitoring survey results. This final letter report
addresses your comments on the draft letter report that Tetra Tech submitted on February 21, 2017.
Appendix A provides the figures for this letter report. Appendix B provides START Field Notes
and Mercury Screening Results for Lincoln Elementary. Appendix C provides representative
photographs of site conditions and response activities conducted at the site. Appendix D provides
the Lumex RA-915M datalog download from the confirmation air monitoring survey conducted
at the Shawano Avenue residence. Appendix E provides the environmentally preferred
practices performed as a part of this TDD.
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 2 of 8
SITE LOCATION
The initial site, Lincoln Elementary School, is located at 105 S. Buchanan Street, Green Bay,
Wisconsin (Figure 1). Following completion of the cleanup activities at Lincoln Elementary
School, a residence where the elemental mercury originated, Shawano Avenue, Green Bay,
Wisconsin, was also cleaned due to mercury contamination. The Lincoln Elementary School site
consists of a two-story elementary school (Figure 2). The Lincoln Elementary School site is
bordered by Shawano Avenue and residential properties to the north, residential properties to the
east, Caroline Street and residential properties to the south, and S. Buchanan Street and residential
properties to the west. Franklin Middle School is located at 1233 Lore Lane, Green Bay,
Wisconsin. The Franklin Middle School site consists of a two-story middle school. The Franklin
Middle School site is bordered by W. Mason Street and commercial properties to the south,
Maryhill Drive and Notre Dame Academy to the west, Lore Lane and residential properties to the
north, and S. Oneida Street and commercial properties to the east. The residential property at
Shawano Avenue is bordered by Shawano Avenue and residential properties to the north,
residential properties to the east and south, and Cleveland Street and residential properties to the
west.
SITE HISTORY
On December 6, 2016, a student brought a bottle of mercury to Lincoln Elementary School where
she played with it by pouring it into her hands. While playing with the mercury, some of the
mercury was dropped resulting in the release. The locations where the mercury was released were
the blacktop portion of the playground, the second-floor girl’s bathroom, a second-floor hallway,
the gymnasium, and a classroom, Room 202. The school’s janitor identified the mercury release
and immediately notified the principal. The release was then reported to the Brown County Health
Department, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Wisconsin Department of
Health Services (WDHS): Division of Public Health, and EPA.
Immediately following notification of the release, EPA On-Scene Coordinator (OSC) Kathy
Halbur mobilized to the site to confirm the release and provide support. Tetra Tech START
personnel were also mobilized from Chicago, Illinois.
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 3 of 8
EMERGENCY RESPONSE ACTIVITIES
This section summarizes START emergency response activities by date conducted at the Lincoln
Elementary Mercury Spill ER site. The response activities are broken down as follows: December
6, 2016 – Initial Response to Lincoln Elementary School and Franklin Middle School; December
7, 2016 – Decontamination of Lincoln Elementary School and Franklin Middle School and initial
assessment of Shawano Avenue residence; and December 8 through 10, 2016 –
Decontamination of Shawano Avenue residence.
December 6, 2016
START and OSC Halbur mobilized to the site. START and OSC Halbur immediately started
screening children and second-floor classrooms while Lincoln Elementary School’s contractor,
North Shore Environmental Construction (North Shore), screened the first-floor classrooms.
START personnel utilized a Lumex RA-915M mercury vapor analyzer to conduct the screening
while North Shore utilized a Lumex RA-915 Light. During the screening of the school, START
personnel identified mercury hot spots in Room 202, the second-floor girl’s bathroom, and in a
second-floor hallway. START observed visible beads of mercury on a desk in Room 202. North
Shore personnel identified additional visible beads of mercury in the gymnasium.
Following the initial screening of Lincoln Elementary School, START, EPA, Green Bay Area
Public School District, and North Shore personnel went to Franklin Middle School to screen the
classroom and locker of a student who had reportedly brought the bottle of mercury to school the
previous day. START and North Shore personnel identified hot spots in a sweeping debris pile in
a second-floor hallway as well as on the floor and on a countertop in a second-floor classroom.
Following the screening of Franklin Middle School, START, EPA, Brown County Health
Department, and WDHS: Division of Public Health personnel met at the WDNR Office, located
at 2984 Shawano Avenue, Green Bay, Wisconsin, to discuss further action regarding the response.
Personnel from the WDHS: Division of Public Health discussed how they used a Lumex RA-915+
to screen the residence of the students who brought the mercury to school and found the mercury
levels in the breathing zone above the instrument’s maximum detection limit of 50 microgram per
cubic meter (µg/m3). As a result, the family was immediately evacuated from the residence and
moved into a hotel until the residence could be decontaminated.
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 4 of 8
December 7, 2016
START, EPA, Brown County Department of Public Health, WDHS: Division of Public Health,
and WDNR personnel met at the Shawano Avenue residence to attempt to meet with the
homeowner and gain access to clean the residence. The Brown County Health Department placed
a placard on the residence stating that the house had been condemned as a human health hazard
due to the presence of mercury at dangerous levels. Because the property owner was out of state
at the time, all personnel went to Lincoln Elementary School to provide support to and oversee
North Shore personnel conducting decontamination activities at the school.
North Shore personnel started decontamination activities by using a mercury decontamination
solution and mercury vacuum to clean the floor of the gymnasium. Because mercury was also
observed on carpeted risers, the affected section of risers was cut and bagged for removal.
Following the decontamination of the gymnasium, North Shore personnel conducted
decontamination activities at the second-floor hallway, girl’s bathroom, and room 202.
While North Shore was conducting decontamination activities, START personnel conducted
oversight, air monitoring, and screening of classrooms, lockers, and mops to ensure all mercury
contamination was accounted for and decontaminated to levels deemed acceptable by the Brown
County Health Department (<1 µg/m3). Note: the cleanup level established by EPA and Agency
for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) for schools is <3 µg/m3. Following the
decontamination activities conducted by North Shore, START personnel conducted confirmation
air monitoring of the areas identified as being contaminated with mercury. The breathing zones in
the areas that had been identified as being contaminated with mercury were found to be at
acceptable limits, so the school was cleared for use.
During the day, EPA was able to obtain access to the Shawano Avenue residence to assess
the extent of mercury contamination at the residence. Following clearance of Lincoln Elementary
School, START, EPA, and Emergency Rapid Response Services (ERRS) personnel mobilized to
the Shawano Avenue residence to conduct the assessment. During the assessment, START
and ERRS personnel observed the following readings in the residence (see Figures 3 and 4 for
room locations):
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 5 of 8
Location Reading
Kitchen 3 µg/m3
Front Room 5.2 µg/m3
Nursery 4.5 µg/m3
Living Room 6 µg/m3
Bedroom #1 4.5 µg/m3
Bedroom #2 4.9 µg/m3
Bedroom #3 6 µg/m3
Bathroom 10 µg/m3
Second Floor Hallway 12 µg/m3
Basement 3 µg/m3
Utility Room 4 µg/m3
Washer >50 µg/m3
Dryer 4.5 µg/m3
START and ERRS personnel also observed visible beads of elemental mercury in the second-floor
hallway, in a gap between the hallway flooring and bathroom tile, and on a rug in the second-floor
hallway. Following the assessment, EPA, START, and ERRS personnel planned on
decontaminating the residence once full access was granted.
Following the assessment at the Shawano Avenue residence, START and EPA joined school
district and North Shore personnel at Franklin Middle School to oversee the decontamination of
the second-floor hallway floor and second-floor classroom where mercury contamination was
observed. The hallway floor and classroom floor were both decontaminated to levels below 1
µg/m3, but after several decontamination attempts, hot spots that exceeded 3.5 µg/m3 were still
present on a counter top in the classroom. Because the room was utilized as a science lab, EPA
and the school district determined that 3.5 µg/m3 was an acceptable limit, so Franklin Middle
School was also cleared.
December 8 through 10, 2016
During the evening of December 7, 2016, EPA received full access to the Shawano Avenue
residence. As a result, EPA, START, and EPA ERRS personnel reported to the residence to
conduct decontamination activities on December 8, 2016. When the family was evacuated from
the Shawano Avenue residence, the heat was turned off. As a result, the interior temperature
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 6 of 8
was 55°F when the decontamination efforts were started. The lower temperature resulted in lower
mercury vapor readings by the Lumex RA-915M, so the heat was turned back on to 85°F to give
EPA, START, and ERRS a better idea of the mercury vapor levels in the residence. As the
temperature rose inside the residence, the mercury readings increased to approximately 25 µg/m3
throughout the building.
Because the highest mercury vapor readings and visible elemental mercury were observed on the
second floor, the decontamination process focused on the second floor. The decontamination
process started with removing porous items from the floor in the vicinity of the visible beads of
elemental mercury observed during the assessment conducted on December 7, 2016. The porous
items were bagged by ERRS personnel for headspace screening using the Lumex RA-915M. Bags
with headspace readings greater than 10 µg/m3 were disposed of, in accordance with the Action
Levels for Elemental Mercury Spills identified in the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease
Registry (ATSDR) Chemical Specific Health Consultation for Joint EPA/ATSDR National
Mercury Cleanup Policy Workgroup. For bags that had either sentimental items or headspace
readings less than 20 µg/m3, efforts were made to conduct heating and ventilation cycles on the
bagged items to attempt to bring the levels below 10 µg/m3.
ERRS personnel continued decontamination activities by using a mercury vacuum in areas where
visible beads of elemental mercury had been observed. While decontaminating the second-floor
hallway, visible beads of mercury were observed on the floor and on a dresser in Bedroom #2
(Figure 4). ERRS personnel proceeded to bag all porous items from the floor and dresser in
Bedroom #2 for mercury vapor headspace screening by START. Once all the porous items had
been removed from the floor and dresser, Bedroom #2 was also decontaminated using the mercury
vacuum. START and ERRS continued looking for more visible beads of elemental mercury and
hot spots using flashlights and the Lumex RA-915M. Additional hot spots were identified on the
floors of Bedrooms #1 and #3. As a result, porous items from the entire second floor were bagged
and removed for mercury vapor headspace screening by START. Once all the porous items had
been removed from the second floor, ERRS personnel used the mercury vacuum to vacuum the
entire second floor.
Following the vacuuming of the second floor, propane heaters were placed in second floor rooms
to conduct a heating and ventilation cycle. Heating consisted of using the heaters to bring the
interior temperature up to approximately 90 °F for approximately 1 hour to volatilize remaining
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 7 of 8
mercury. The heating was followed by opening all windows and doors and using fans to ventilate
the house, which would evacuate the mercury vapors that were volatilized during the heating cycle.
Following the heating and ventilation cycle, mercury vapor levels continued to exceed the 1 µg/m3
threshold. ERRS personnel then mopped the second floor with a mercury decontamination solution
to help neutralize any remaining elemental mercury. Once the solution had dried, the second floor
was vacuumed using the mercury vacuum.
ERRS continued to repeat decontamination with mercury decontamination solution, mercury
vacuuming, and heating and ventilation cycles until through Friday December 9. Before EPA,
START, and ERRS left the residence on December 9, START screened the first and second floors
using the Lumex RA-915M and found the readings below. At the time of the mercury screening,
the temperature inside the residence was 80 °F.
Location Reading
First Floor Average 2.5 µg/m3
Bedroom #1 3.1 µg/m3
Bedroom #2 2.85 µg/m3
Bedroom #3 2.8 µg/m3
Bathroom 2.9 µg/m3
Second Floor Hallway 2.9 µg/m3
The mercury vapor readings were used to determine a course of action for December 10, which
consisted of identifying hot spots on the first and second floors, mopping the hot spots with the
mercury decontamination solution, vacuuming the mercury decontamination solution from the hot
spots, and conducting multiple heating and ventilation cycles in the residence. Because minimal
mercury contamination was identified in the basement, with the exception of the washer, the plan
for the basement included ventilation, running several wash cycles with mercury decontamination
solution in the washer, and running several dryer cycles to decontaminate the washer and dryer.
The plan was executed, and in the evening on December 10, a confirmation air monitoring survey
was conducted within the residence.
Lincoln Elementary School Mercury Spill
Letter Report – Emergency Response
March 6, 2017
Tetra Tech, Inc.
TDD No. 0001/S05-0001-1612-008
Page 8 of 8
CONFIRMATION AIR MONITORING SURVEY RESULTS
In the evening of December 10, 2016, START conducted a confirmation air monitoring survey for
the Shawano Avenue residence. During the time the confirmation air monitoring was
conducted, the temperature in the residence was set to 67 °F to simulate typical living conditions.
Prior to conducting the survey, the functionality of the Lumex RA-915M was verified by
conducting a test of the instrument. Following the functionality test, the residence was surveyed
for a period of 10 minutes. The 10-minute period was broken down as follows: minutes one
through three were conducted on the first floor, minutes three through six were conducted on the
second floor, minutes six through nine were conducted in the basement, and minute nine through
ten was again conducted on the first floor. The survey was conducted by walking around the
various floors to get an overall representation of the mercury vapor concentrations on each floor.
The Lumex RA-915M datalog download for the survey can be viewed in Appendix D. OSC Halbur
presented the results of the confirmation air monitoring survey to parties from WDHS, WDNR,
and the Brown County Health Department, who determined the levels to be acceptable.
This letter report serves as the final deliverable for this TDD, and Tetra Tech anticipates no further
emergency response activities. If you have any questions or comments regarding this report,
please contact me at (312) 201-7430.
Sincerely,
Matt Villicana
Project Manager
Appendices:
A – Figures
B – Field Notes
C – Photographic Documentation Log
D – Confirmation Air Monitoring Survey Lumex RA-915M Datalog Download
E – Environmentally Preferred Practices
APPENDIX A
Figures
FIGURES 1 AND 2
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CONTAINS POTENTIAL PERSONALLY-IDENTIFYING
INFORMATION
Kitchen
Living Room
Front Room
Nursery/Mom'sBedroom
Foyer
Garage
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Date Saved: 2/13/2017
Lincoln Elementary Mercury SpillGreen Bay, Brown County, Wisconsin
