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Statement Of Laurence Fuortes
Environmental Protection Agency
Aging Initiative Public Listening Session
Iowa City, Iowa
April 15, 2003
Laurence Fuortes, MD
Professor
University of Iowa College of Public Health
Professor
University of Iowa College of Public Health
PUBLIC HEALTH RISK SECONDARY TO RESIDENTIAL MERCURY SPILLS FROM GAS REGULATORS IN IOWA?
IS THE SITUATION HERE ANY DIFFERENT FROM THAT IN ILLINOIS?
IS THE SITUATION HERE ANY DIFFERENT FROM THAT IN ILLINOIS?
Prior to large scale gas pipelines, cities throughout the Midwest relied upon local coal gasification facilities. In such communities in home gas low-pressure regulators containing mercury were commonplace. As gas distribution systems modernized, gas meters were moved outdoors and these mercury containing regulators were removed from affected older homes. In the handling of these mercury regulators several incidences of significant spills and contamination have been well documented, especially in Illinois. In Illinois there has been a comprehensive, high visibility response to this issue dating back to July 2000, (Appendix A).
I believe that there is a reasonable likelihood that events similar to those which resulted in mercury contamination in Illinois homes has occurred in Iowa homes [PDF, 279 KB] as well. I believe that the EPA and utilities companies of Iowa, have a responsibility to evaluate the extent of the risk through a systematic survey of high risk older homes, to convey this to the community at large and if relevant to institute a screening and remediation program similar to that instituted in Illinois.
Sincerely,
I believe that there is a reasonable likelihood that events similar to those which resulted in mercury contamination in Illinois homes has occurred in Iowa homes [PDF, 279 KB] as well. I believe that the EPA and utilities companies of Iowa, have a responsibility to evaluate the extent of the risk through a systematic survey of high risk older homes, to convey this to the community at large and if relevant to institute a screening and remediation program similar to that instituted in Illinois.
Sincerely,
Laurence Fuortes, MD
Professor, College of Public Health
University of Iowa
S 2941 Steindler Bldg
Iowa City, IA 52242
TEL: 319 335 9819
FAX: 319 353 5649
APPENDIX A
HEALTH CONSULTATION
HEALTH CONSULTATION
RESIDENTIAL MERCURY SPILLS FROM
GAS REGULATORS IN ILLINOIS
(a/k/a NICOR)
MT. PROSPECT, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
GAS REGULATORS IN ILLINOIS
(a/k/a NICOR)
MT. PROSPECT, LAKE COUNTY, ILLINOIS
March 6, 2001
Prepared by:
Prepared by:
Illinois Department of Public Health
Under Cooperative Agreement with the
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
BACKGROUND AND STATEMENT OF ISSUES
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH), the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Region 5, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) have worked together to respond to the problem of elemental mercury contamination in residential homes in northern Illinois throughout the Nicor Gas (Nicor) and Peoples Energy service areas.
Before 1961, many homes in northern Illinois were equipped with gas meters using mercury-containing regulators. On average, these regulators contained about 135 grams (two teaspoons) of liquid mercury in a small cup. The purpose of the regulator was to allow an appropriate flow of gas to the household. The mercury in the regulator acted as a seal to the relief vent in the event of a pressure surge. As technology progressed, other regulators were developed that do not contain mercury.
Over the past 40 years, Nicor has been replacing mercury-containing regulators located inside homes with other regulators when they moved the meters outside. Some homes still have meters inside with mercury-containing regulators. Elemental mercury was discovered in the basements of some homes where Nicor or their subcontractors were replacing older gas meters. Mercury from inside the regulator attached to the meter spilled on the floors of some homes.
On July 22, 2000, IDPH and ATSDR were contacted by a resident of a home in Mt. Prospect where a mercury spill occurred at the home during the moving of their older gas meter and regulator by a Nicor contractor. IDPH contacted Nicor and found that they were investigating this spill and three others in neighboring homes. IDPH and ATSDR also contacted USEPA. Subsequent investigation found that for the past several months a Nicor subcontractor, Henkels and McCoy, Inc. (HMI), had been moving gas meters with mercury-containing regulators from residential basements to the outside of the homes in several Chicago suburbs.
During the removal of the regulators, mercury was spilled in different ways. The contractor might remove the container containing the mercury from the regulator and leave it on the basement floor after completing the work. The container was occasionally knocked over during the removal, spilling mercury onto the floor. Another way mercury was spilled was that, during the removal, an overspill container was not used to prevent spilling mercury onto the floor.
Nicor hired a cleanup contractor and industrial hygiene firm to perform decontamination activities. USEPA determined that the cleanup activities being done by the contractors were adequate, but confirmation air sampling procedures and cleanup goals were inadequate. USEPA instructed Nicor on the proper confirmation procedures and asked Nicor to generate and adopt a formal air sampling plan to be reviewed and approved by a multi-agency task force. The task force consisted of representatives from IDPH, ATSDR, USEPA, the Illinois Attorney General, the Cook County Health Department, the Chicago Department of the Environment, the Illinois Commerce Commission, the Illinois Poison Control Center, and the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.
On July 31, 2000, the Illinois Attorney General's Office informed Nicor that further investigation and cleanup of potentially contaminated homes were required. On August 1, 2000, Nicor and HMI identified other homes in the Chicago suburban area that could have been contaminated. Some residents of the affected homes in the Lombard area were also relocated. Some of these homes may have been contaminated by neighbors and friends unknowingly tracking mercury from two homes where the spills took place.
On August 3, 2000, Nicor compiled a list of about eighty-five homes where HMI had performed a mercury regulator change within the last year. This expanded the area potentially affected to nine other suburban communities. Nicor later determined that the actual number of homes where the subcontractor might have worked within the last year was closer to 120. Of these 120 homes, approximately twenty homes were contaminated and required clean up.
Nicor established a hotline to identify homes where subcontractors other than HMI may have recently removed a regulator. Some customers calling into the hotline were requesting that Nicor test their homes. On August 25, 2000, Nicor tested a home where a Nicor technician replaced a mercury regulator in 1989. Elemental mercury was found in the basement near the location of the former meter. Nicor then decided to screen all homes where either subcontractors or Nicor employees may have removed a mercury regulator in the past. On August 26, 2000, Nicor announced that more than 200,000 homes would be inspected and screened. Nicor originally suggested a 90-day to 6-month period for this to be completed.
The task force worked with Nicor to develop a plan to inspect and screen the homes efficiently and effectively. The task force agreed that those homes where a mercury regulator was most recently removed (within the last five years) or homes of young children or pregnant women would be screened first. Homes with visible mercury present were given top priority.
Both ATSDR and IDPH have talked to hundreds of residents and their physicians to ensure that Nicor had made proper medical testing and monitoring available. IDPH also established a hotline to take health-related calls associated with mercury exposure. To date, IDPH has received more than 4,000 calls on the hotline regarding mercury concerns. In addition, IDPH staff have presented information about this public health response at ATSDR, Midwest Public Health Epidemiologists, and the Association of State and Territorial Health Officials (ASTHO) meetings. A mercury educational pamphlet and a fact sheet were made available on the IDPH web site and to interested persons.
ATSDR and IDPH established a cleanup clearance level of 1 microgram per cubic meter of air (ug/m3), and a relocation action level of 10 ug/m3. At mercury vapor levels greater than 10 ug/m3, Nicor offered to relocate residents until the cleanup was complete. Variables such as sample location, occupant ages, and whether a pregnant woman resided in the home were used to evaluate if the home is safe for reoccupancy. Confirmation air samples were collected using the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) method and analyzed at a certified laboratory. During the cleanup phase, Nicor has moved some residents to nearby hotels until the homes have been properly decontaminated and deemed safe for reoccupancy. To ensure accurate screening and cleanup, IDPH and USEPA have tested for mercury vapor in more than 200 homes. In addition, a small number of randomly selected homes will be retested in 2001.
In December 2000, ATSDR released suggested action levels for indoor mercury vapor in homes and businesses with indoor gas regulators.
Nicor has visually inspected more than 200,000 homes. More than 90,000 homes have been sampled with a mercury vapor analyzer, and mercury has been found in more than 1,000 homes. Several thousand homes remain to be inspected. IDPH has approved cleanups in about two-thirds of the contaminated homes found to date. At the current rate, we estimate that Nicor should identify all contaminated homes by April 2001, and contractors should clean contaminated homes by June 2001.
To date, IDPH has issued clearance letters to more than 800 homes where Nicor's cleanup resulted in mercury vapor levels less than 1 ug/m3. Confirmation air samples in decontaminated homes have averaged less than 0.3 ug/m3.
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