Earlier today, crews working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) closed a one-block section of SE 86th Avenue from SE Stark Street to SE Washington Street in an effort to contain a mercury spill. A representative for the EPA indicated that a person deposited the hazardous substance on a vehicle in an act of vandalism. The car is parked along the west side of SE 86th Avenue and is currently surrounded by plastic containment tarps to prevent the mercury from spilling onto the ground.
Cleanup efforts will continue tomorrow and may last several days. Mercury is a silvery-white metal that remains liquid at room temperature. Mercury spills have the potential to cause damage to the human nervous system if a person suffers prolonged exposure or encounters high levels of the element. Cleanup crews are monitoring the site for signs of mercury vapor, which forms from droplets that evaporate. It is an odorless, colorless vapor that is invisible to the eye. People should be safe from the ill effects of mercury vapor if they stay outside the closed-off area.
People should avoid the area while cleanup is underway and not touch any mercury droplets if they encounter them. This is a developing story; we will update it with more information when it becomes available.
Update (August 27th, 2023): NWFF Environmental crews working with the US EPA and Oregon DEQ have returned to the site today. They anticipate another full day of cleanup followed by more testing. The results of those tests will determine if they need to return. The intentional mercury spill occurred in the early morning of August 24th. It took the car’s owner several days and many attempts to escalate the incident to the right agency.
The initial examination found mercury droplets on the vehicle and mercury vapor inside the car’s engine compartment. EPA and DEQ officials on-site noted the dangerous “hot spot” for mercury is relatively confined. Crews have focused on the three curbside parking spaces around the vehicle and the planting strip next to them. Officials created a wider perimeter around the street and sidewalk to keep people from getting too close to the work zone.