Levels of mercury in student’s residence are hazardous. Levels of mercury in the Lead-Deadwood High School (High School) are elevated. Do not enter the residence or designated school areas without appropriate personal protective equipment.

A Lead-Deadwood School District Nurse contacted City of Lead Volunteer Fire Department (VFD) regarding a student who brought a bottle of mercury to the High School. The student had been playing with the mercury for three days and at least 16 students may have been in contact with the material. Lead VFD requested assistance from Rapid City Fire HazMat (HazMat) who responded to the residence of the student that brought the mercury to school. HazMat reported that an unknown amount of elemental mercury from three bottles had spilled in a bedroom. HazMat identified multiple beads of mercury ranging in size from "pinhead to dime.” The mercury came from the belongings of a relative of the student’s who worked at a mine.

The State of South Dakota requested assistance from EPA on December 13, 2022. On December 15, 2022, EPA's Response Team (Response Team) discovered detectable levels of mercury at the High School. The Response Team also monitored and determined that mercury levels at the student’s residence were hazardous to human health. The family voluntarily agreed to leave their home. The Response Team helped secure alternate lodging for the family during a blizzard and assisted with moving them out of their home.

The Lead-Deadwood School District Nurse spoke with the parents of the other 16 students and extended EPA’s recommendation that they contact the On-Scene Coordinator and have their homes screened. Six (6) additional homes are currently scheduled to be screened.

• Safety of the public and response personnel is top priority.
• Stabilize source areas to prevent the spread of mercury.
• Minimize or, if possible, eliminate threats to human health posed by the mercury.
• Provide timely and accurate communication of response information to the public and affected stakeholders.

The objective of this Operations Period was to:

1. Conduct initial entries and reconnaissance of the High School and private residence.

EPA’s Response Team entered the High School with a School District representative at 0700 on December 15, 2022. Beads of mercury were discovered in the Art Room and Chemistry Lab and EPA’s air monitoring equipment identified mercury vapor in other hallways, rooms and the principal’s office.

The Response Team entered the private residence at 0930 on December 15, 2022. The Team monitored readings of mercury vapor in the breathing zone that consistently exceeded 20,000 nanograms per cubic meter. Readings of some household items exceeded 100,000 nanograms per cubic meter. EPA assisted the family of 2 adults, 3 juveniles and a sweet dog in finding alternate lodging.

EPA’s Response Team will be coordinating with the School District and Property Owner on December 16, 2022, to establish an Operations Plan to minimize or, if possible, eliminate the threats posed by the mercury to human health. Response Operations will be initiated on December 16 depending on the blizzard and arrival of critical equipment and response personnel.

The objectives of this Operations Period were to:

1. Conduct secondary entry and reconnaissance of the High School to develop a plan for removal and mitigation of mercury.

2. Visit the residence with additional members of the response team to identify possible staging areas and develop a plan for removal.

3. Shovel the homeowner’s car out of a snowbank.

EPA’s Response Team entered the High School with a School District representative at 0900 on December 16, 2022. The Response Team scouted the areas where mercury was known to have been spilled and tracked. The Team identified initial response activities and discussed its plans with the School District. The District signed a Consent for Access for EPA to conduct emergency response actions.

The Response Team visited the residence at 1100 on December 16, 2022. The Team assessed the property and adjacent areas to determine areas for staging equipment and resources to conduct response actions. The Response Team assisted the family by recovering the homeowner’s vehicle from a snow bank and EPA’s On-Scene Coordinator discussed the scope of EPA’s anticipated response activities in the home.

The objective of this Operations Period was to:

1. Begin decontamination efforts at the High School.

2. Continue planning response operations at the resident.

3. Expand scope to include screening of additional residences

EPA’s Response Team is using a mercury vacuum to remove tiny but visible beads elemental mercury. Hard surfaces are being treated with a solution to chemically react with the mercury and create a non-hazardous product. Rooms are then heated and vented before additional screening is performed.

The family in the residence has granted EPA access to their home to perform a removal action. The home remains snowed in. EPA’s Response Team has scheduled screening visits to 3 additional homes on Dec 18 and one on Dec 19.

The objective of this Operations Period was to:

1. Continue decontamination efforts at the High School.
2. Continue planning response operations at the student’s residence.
3. Screen additional residences.

At the High School, EPA’s Response Team is using a mercury vacuum to remove tiny, but visible, beads of elemental mercury. Hard surfaces are being treated with a solution to chemically react with the mercury and create a non-hazardous product. After this treatment, rooms are heated and vented before additional screening is completed.

The student’s family has granted EPA access to their residence to perform a removal action.

Three (3) additional homes were screened.

The High School will be closed on December 19^th to allow EPA’s Response Team to continue decontamination procedures. Response activities will begin at the student’s residence where the mercury was found. Screening of additional properties will continue.