Contra Costa Health put out an advisory Tuesday night for areas of downtown Martinez near the Amtrak station, where a mercury spill occurred on Monday.
Officials found “minor” mercury contamination in the street from Marina Vista Avenue, to Alhambra Avenue, to Buckley Street, to Berrellesa Street, they said at 8:20 p.m.
Authorities are advising that If residents must be in the area, to please stay on the sidewalk.
The mercury spill that closed the Amtrak station in Martinez on Monday was bigger than initially thought and may have spread to the platform, inside the train station, and into the street, officials from Contra Costa Health (CCH) said.
The station remained closed as of Tuesday and Amtrak is using the old train station a few blocks away at Ferry Street and Marina Vista Avenue.
CCH deputy director Matt Kaufmann said the county is bringing in a contractor later Tuesday to help with the cleanup. County officials initially estimate there was a pound to 1.5 pounds of mercury spilled.
“We have not confirmed that (amount),” Kaufmann told the Contra Costa Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. “What we can say is we are able to monitor for mercury in the air, which is really the primary concern. What we have found is about 1,000 times less than it would be to be considered immediately dangerous to life and health.”
Kaufman said CCH was advised of the spill by the Contra Costa County Fire Protection District around 3 p.m. Monday. The station was then closed.
Kaufmann said CCH is working with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board to further assess the situation and do more monitoring.
There’s no timetable to reopen the station and the origin of the mercury isn’t yet known.
Kaufmann said anyone who was in the area Monday should check shoes and clothing. Anyone who thinks they may have tracked through the mercury should double-bag clothes and shoes, put them outside, and call the county hazardous materials team at (925) 655-3200.
He said people should not attempt to wash their clothes or put them in a washing machine, as that could spread contamination.
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From the City of Martinez
“Spread of Mercury Contamination First Identified at Martinez Amtrak Station Wider than Initially Believed
Media Release from Contra Costa Health
Further investigation by county health officials shows traces of mercury was inadvertently spread by a garbage truck while traveling on its route after picking up contaminated trash from a waste receptacle at the Amtrak station in downtown Martinez on Monday.
To reduce the potential risk of exposure to mercury, Contra Costa Health (CCH) asks the public to avoid walking on the streets in affected parts of downtown Martinez and use the sidewalks until the residue of a spill is removed, so people or pets do not track the material indoors.
A health advisory has been issued: Health Advisory
The contamination is limited to the street and has not been detected in amounts great enough to create an immediate risk to health.
“From a health standpoint, our primary concern is that people don’t step in the mercury on the street and bring it inside their homes where indoor vapors may pose a health hazard,” said Dr. Ori Tzvieli, the County’s health officer.
Dr. Tzvieli added that while the health risk posed by exposure to mercury from this release is low, it’s important for the community to be informed of any potential health risks and take appropriate actions. CCH issued a health advisory to the community earlier this evening.
Initially, the mercury release was thought to be contained to the area immediately outside the train station. But after examining the five-block route taken by the city of Martinez garbage truck today, Contra Costa Health’s hazmat team and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency identified small amounts of mercury in the roadway, primarily on Marina Vista and Alhambra avenues and Berrellesa Street.
Sections of these streets will be temporarily closed over the next several days while cleanup takes place:
Marina Vista Avenue between the station and Alhambra Avenue; Alhambra from Marina Vista to Buckley Street; Buckley from Alhambra to Berrellesa Street; Berrellesa from Buckley north to the Martinez City Public Works yard.
The train station has been closed since mid-afternoon on Monday after ambulance paramedics from Confire at the site, who were there for another matter, saw mercury on the ground. Mercury has also been detected inside the train station itself.
Anyone at the Amtrak station Monday or anyone who walked along the affected streets that thinks they may have stepped in mercury should take precautions to avoid contact with it.
Shoes or clothes that have touched mercury should be double bagged and sealed shut and placed outside. Call our Hazmat Program at 925-655- 3200 during regular business hoursfor further handling instructions. Shoes or clothes that have touched mercury should not be brought inside if it can be avoided. Never attempt to wash an article that may be contaminated with mercury, by hand or with a washing machine. This can increase the risk of the mercury being vaporized.
It is not known who dumped the mercury at the Amtrak station or why. Local law enforcement is investigating the matter”.
Has it been reported who was in possession of a pound and a half of mercury, why they had it and how it spilled? Seems there’s a lot of info missing here.
A quote from a press release from the Contra Costa County Health Department: “It is not known who dumped the mercury at the Amtrak station or why. Local law enforcement is investigating the matter”.
I googled how much mercury is a pound and found this info on the CDC website:
“Mercury is the only metal on earth that is liquid at room temperature. Liquid mercury is so slippery that it will fall your skin if you try to hold it. It is so heavy that 2 tablespoons of mercury weighs about one pound!”
So apparently the spill is estimated at about 3 tablespoons by that formula.
…”anyone who was in the area Monday should check shoes and clothing” – What I’m I looking for???
Looked under my shoe.. .and found… ewe..smells like….fido…. no mercury though.
A lawyer.
What we have here is obviously a T3 liquid metal terminator from the future was walking around the train station. Yes. AI has arrived and being tested. Arnold told us this would happen, the future is here and the AI machines will take over.
The T-1000 was in Terminator 2 but that movie has a relevant line from John Connor: “We’re not gonna make it, are we? People I mean.”
I suspect the mercury they are seeing today is ambient background levels for that part of Martinez. Martinez as the railroad tracks, refineries, and a fair amount of industry. How was this spill detected in the first place and how/why did it get spread around? Three to four tablespoons in a trash can is not likely to be noticed. You’d think it would have been contained within the plastic bag they use as the trash can liner. Authorities are claiming that a garbage truck spread the stuff throughout the area? Did it leak out of the trash can, through the floor of the garbage truck, and into the catalytic converter which vaporized the mercury? We are looking at a very unlikely chain of events plus it seems unlikely anyone would be testing the mercury levels unless the a test for an unrelated environmental report got a hit and they are now back-tracking the source of a spill that occurred months or years ago and simply guessing at the chain of events.
From the Contra Costa County Health Department
“Further investigation by county health officials shows traces of mercury was inadvertently spread by a garbage truck while traveling on its route after picking up contaminated trash from a waste receptacle at the Amtrak station in downtown Martinez on Monday.”
The spill was first discovered by ConFire during an aid call in the parking lot of the Train Station.
Thank you Janus. That lead me to https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/martinez-mercury-spill-mystery-18088970.php which says “Firefighters spotted a silvery puddle in the train station parking lot Monday afternoon and closed the station while the county’s hazmat team launched a cleanup.” That explains how/why the mercury was detected.
Some of you still have old light switches that use mercury. These can get broken by abuse and the mercury is released. If you or a contractor replaces them, make sure they don’t get tossed in the garbage and they get disposed of properly.
If you have silent or quiet light switches then I’d consider replacing them. Generally the switches are safe as the mercury is contained within a sealed glass tube. However, if a light fixture or bulb shorts out then the glass tube will instantly explode, spraying vaporized mercury into the area.
Older thermostats for heaters use a blob of mercury within a sealed glass tube. You won’t have the explosion risk you face with a light switch but should dispose of the thermostat at the hazmat site in Martinez.
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Will Newsom declare a state of emergency for Martinez as a potential SuperFund site?
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Whomever spilled the mercury needs to pay up, serve prison time, and give up their first born.
Newsom will only get involved if the Mercury breaches the Martinez BLM sidewalk graffiti. That would be bad, systemic, racist mercury. And that Mercury will be held to account……
If it is not one thing it is another. Seems like if you walked around with a little handheld vacuum cleaner you could suck it up.
Yeah but how will government employees justify their existence with only a dust buster in hand?
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Tyvek suits, N95 respirators, nitrile gloves, and Tyvek booties are the uniform of the day!
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Decontamination air locked tents with quadruple HEPA filtration and showers will be nearby.
ENOUGH WITH THE HELICOPTERS ALREADY.
You people act like this was a 100 car train derailment. ENOUGH!!!
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