Mercury Exposure in Your Home

Human exposure to mercury is primarily caused by consuming fish that contains methylmercury. Another common cause of exposure is contact with elemental mercury, a silver colored metal that is liquid at room temperature. Exposure to a small amount of elemental mercury over time can cause serious health effects, especially in children and fetuses. Mercury is present in thermometers, barometers, thermostats, blood pressure instruments, and compact fluorescent (newer energy saving) light bulbs. The most common cause of mercury contamination in homes is from broken fever thermometers. Humans are exposed to the mercury by inhalation of mercury vapors or by absorbing the mercury through the skin.

Health effects from long-term exposure to a small amount of elemental mercury:

· Personality changes, including mood swings and irritability

· Tremors

· Muscle weakness or twitching

· Insomnia

· Headaches

· Reduced cognitive function

Children and fetuses are extremely sensitive to mercury contamination, so pregnant women and women of child bearing age should avoid exposure.

What to do with mercury thermometers:

The easiest way to avoid exposure to mercury is to remove anything in your home that contains mercury. Replace old mercury thermometers by taking them to the Grand Portage hazardous waste collection or to your local hazardous waste collection. The Grand Portage Clinic will replace a mercury thermometer with a new one, so call the Clinic for more information.

Image courtesy of projectmindwake.blogspot.com/2011/02/end-of-mercury-thermometers-is-near-due.html

What if I already spilled mercury in my home?

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is willing to come to Grand Portage to test homes for mercury spills. If you have spilled mercury, they can test to ensure that all mercury has been removed. It is extremely important to remove all mercury, especially if there are children or you expect there to be children in your home. Call Yvette at Trust Lands to set up an appointment.

How to clean up a small amount of mercury (from the Minnesota Department of Health):

1. Isolate the spill. Open all windows and exterior doors in the room where the spill occurred. Close all interior doors and air ducts and turn off air handlers or heaters to ensure that mercury vapor does not travel through the house.
2. Keep everyone away from the spill, and children and pregnant women should leave the house.
3. Only clean the spill yourself if it a small amount, such as the amount in a fever thermometer. Otherwise, call professionals.
4. Remove any clothes or shoes that may be contaminated with mercury and place them in a sealed plastic bag. Take a shower to remove mercury from your skin.
5. Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the mercury because the mercury will be broken into smaller drops and will evaporate quicker.
6. Wear gloves to clean up the spill. If the mercury spilled on a hard surface, push the beads of mercury together using a piece of cardboard and place it into a container that can be sealed. Use a flashlight to look for any additional mercury. The drops of mercury can spread far and can drop into cracks and crevices.
7. If the spill occurred on a carpet, cut the contaminated area of the carpet and pad, and fold the carpet piece so that the mercury is trapped inside. Place into a plastic bag. If you refuse to cut out the carpet, use wet paper towels or an eyedropper to pick up the drops of mercury.
8. Place the mercury and anything that has been contaminated by mercury into a plastic bag, label the bag Mercury: Hazardous, and dispose of at your local Hazardous Waste Collection.

Importance of the Clean Air Act

Remembering Donora, Pa., on the Anniversary of its Deadly Smog Incident

Why we need the Clean Air Act.

October 30, 2011 at 8:49AM by Jim DiPeso

The incident took place on Halloween weekend, 63 years ago.

Over time, we learned from the incident. Congress passed laws, the laws were enforced, business practices changed dramatically, and the chances of such an incident ever happening again in the U.S. became minuscule.

Still, it's worth retelling the story, especially now, when the laws that resulted from the incident are under ideological attack from political figures who might not know about the incident or, worse, might believe there is no role for government in making sure something like it never happens again.

The incident happened in Donora, Pa., a mill town on the Monongahela River south of Pittsburgh. Donora's economy ran on coal. Donora made its living from a steel mill that burned coal to fire coke ovens, melt iron ore in blast furnaces, and produce finished steel in open hearths. Donora men also worked at a zinc plant that burned coal to smelt ore and produce zinc used for creating strong steel alloys. Day and night, the mills ran.

In those days, mill emissions were unregulated and uncontrolled. Smoky, smelly air that killed the grass and ruined the paint was thought to be an unavoidable part of living with industries that employed thousands of local men and put food on the tables of their families. Coal did more than fuel the local economy. Coal heated homes that Donora's men returned to after their work shifts. Coal powered the trains that chugged through town.

On Tuesday, October 26, 1948, an atmospheric inversion slammed a lid on Donora. Inversions prevent the air from mixing and dispersing pollution. The inversion that October week was unusually strong. All the airborne detritus from uncontrolled furnaces, ovens, stoves, and locomotives stayed put in the valley. The foul mixture–carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, metal dust, fluoride compounds–mixed with fog. The miasma built and thickened as the days passed.

Still, Donorans went about their business, even as the acrid gloom turned day into night. The town went ahead with its annual Halloween parade on Friday evening, October 29. The next day, Donorans filled the stands at Legion Field for high school football, as the hometown heroes, the Donora Dragons, went up against their big rivals, the Monongahela Wildcats, on a field clouded by the polluted air. The fans had a hard time seeing the action. The players had a hard time seeing the ball.

Back in town, a public health disaster was unfolding. In her 2002 book, When Smoke Ran Like Water, epidemiologist and Donora native Devra Davis spelled out the grim details:

"Doc Rongaus gave the same advice to anyone who would listen. Leave if you can. The firemen of Donora went from door to door delivering whiffs of oxygen from tanks to those who were stranded. One of the firemen, John Volk, remembered borrowing oxygen canisters from the Monongahela, Monesen, and Charleroi fire departments. 'There never was such a fog. You couldn't see your hand in front of your face, day or night. Hell, even inside the station, the air was blue. I drove on the left side of the street with my head out the window, steering by scraping the curb.'"

Years later, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette quoted a local fireman who recalled, "If you could chew (the air) hard enough, you could swallow it."

Block after block in Donora, townspeople fell sick. Shortness of breath. Headaches. Vomiting. Bloody sputum. Local hospitals ran out of beds. Doctors were run ragged. A local mortuary ran out of coffins. Pets and farm animals keeled over in their tracks. Word got out. Phone lines jammed as frantic out-of-towners tried to call their Donora relatives. Yet all day Saturday, as the sickness and misery spread, the mills kept running. No one in authority had any power to order them off line. On Sunday morning, Halloween, the zinc mill manager grudgingly shut the smelter down for a day under orders from the front office.

On Monday, Nov. 1, the inversion lifted. Rains came and scrubbed the filth from the skies. By the time blue skies returned, 20 Donorans had died. Nearly half the town of 14,000 had fallen sick.

Donora was a trigger, one of several, that spurred research, debate, hearings, and finally, legislation. Twenty-two years after the Donora smog, Congress passed the Clean Air Act by strong bipartisan majorities, and President Richard Nixon signed it into law. America's air is much cleaner as a result. Technologies that didn't exist in 1948 were invented to clean up motor vehicles, mills, and factories. An urgent need sparked innovation.

Today, you can visit the Donora Smog Museum and learn about the incident. The museum's slogan is: Clean Air Started Here. Those in office who think the U.S. could do without the Clean Air Act ought to pay a visit.

Article from http://www.thedailygreen.com/environmental-news/blogs/republican/donora-pa-smog-1011

Picture from http://www.eoearth.org/article/Donora,_Pennsylvania

Bed Bugs

Travel Tips to Remain Bed Bug Free

Bed bug infestations are increasing in the United States. You can take some simple steps when you travel to avoid bringing bed bugs back with you. First, know what they look like. Bed bugs are small, wingless insects that are oval, flattened, brown, and about 1/4 to 3/8 inches long. They like to find dark, confined places to hide, so be sure to check cracks, seams, and folds in all personal items. When staying in a hotel room, immediately check the mattress before bringing in your suitcase. You may want to set your suitcase on a luggage rack or even place it in the bathtub.

How to Check for Bed Bugs:

• Pull back the sheets and examine the folds in the mattress and box spring. Also be sure to look for bed bug droppings, which are small, dark spots.

• Check the bedside table and the wall next to the bed. You can also check the headboard and remove it if possible. A flashlight might be helpful.

• You may not be able to see the bed bugs if it is a small infestation, so it is a good idea to keep your suitcase closed and never leave clothes lying out.

If you find bed bugs in your hotel room, ask for another room and perform another bed bug inspection. If you find you have stayed in a room infested with bugs, clean all items before bringing them back into your home. Wash all clothes and hand wash all suitcases with hot, soapy water. Be sure to use a scrub brush to thoroughly clean the seams, and then inspect all items carefully.

Bed Bugs on a Mattress

Image courtesy of http://bugbusterzzz.com/bedbugs/