Mercury Spill Closes North Adams City Hall

Staff reports
iBerkshires
09:06PM / Wednesday, September 24, 2008

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NORTH ADAMS — City Hall was closed this afternoon after a minor mercury spill in two of its rooftop heating and air conditioning units.

A state hazardous-waste team outfitted in white hazmat suits and oxygen masks worked into the evening to clean up the spill. Mayor John Barrett III said the building would, hopefully, open Thursday morning.

Workers discovered the leaks in two mercury switches around 3 p.m. and notified the mayor, who contacted Building Inspector William Meranti.

Meranti said the Board of Health, Fire Department and the state Department of Environmental Protection were called and the state hazmat team notified "to do what they have to do."

The building was closed at 3:30 p.m., said the mayor. "We sent everybody home and they won't return until 9:30 tomorrow morning."

Fire Director Stephen Meranti, left, watches the hazmat team prepare for the cleanup.

Mercury is a toxin and exposure to high levels can affect the nervous and respiratory systems and the kidneys, among other organs. The first action in a mercury spill is to evacuate the area.

Meranti said the one of the glass switches was broken and the other was leaking. Barrett said there had been trouble with the heating in City Hall for a couple days and the units were being checked when the leaks were found. He believed the leaks occurred Wednesday.

The HVAC units are about 15 years old said Meranti. There are three other units that were expected to be checked.

Police blocked off the entrances to City Hall along Main Street and a city fire truck and  Technical Operations Module vehicle from the state Department of Fire Services was parked in the West Main Street parking lot. The North Adams Ambulance Service was also on the scene.
 
It was nearly 6 p.m. before the three-man team made its way up the building's stairwell to the roof to begin the cleanup.

Barrett said the building's air quality would be checked in the morning to ensure its safety. While the spills occurred on the rooftop there was concern mercury vapor could be in the vents.

A Connecticut firm has been hired to assess the air quality in the building Thursday morning.

"We're fairly sure it will be OK," said Barrett.

"It's not much," he said of the "miniscule" amount of mercury, "but it's not something you can take lightly."

Update: City Hall was up and running on Thursday, albeit slightly later than planned.

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