News Releases - 2000

Nicor Mercury Disposal Investigation: Update 7

Springfield, Ill. -- Illinois Environmental Protection Agency investigators late today found potential mercury contamination in a boiler room at Madden Mental Health Center in Hines. Access to the room has been restricted by facility officials.

It was only the second site where mercury was detected so far in "verification" visits to 44 non-residential facilities that were among about 240 sites where Nicor crews making visual inspections found no evidence of mercury contamination.

Illinois EPA will ask Nicor to do a cleanup at Madden and then agency investigators will re-inspect it. The highest air meter reading in the room was .019 milligrams per cubic meter. The Illinois EPA clearance level is .01. No mercury was visible, however.

The checks this week are being done by four Illinois EPA teams, each equipped with air vapor meters that detect mercury. Illinois EPA also found mercury in a meter room at Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge on Saturday, Sept. 16.

Illinois EPA still has not "cleared" that facility, Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge, despite cleanups by Nicor contractors. In addition, re-inspections and meter checks at five of 10 other facilities, where cleanups occurred, continued to find readings above the clearance level.

Nicor has been asked to do further cleaning at those sites as well. They are: Good Samaritan Hospital (Downers Grove), Kimbel Glass (Chicago Heights), Kropp Forge (Cicero), Crosfield Co. (Joliet), and Dolton Aluminum Co. (Dolton).

All of them were previously identified by Nicor crews as containing possible mercury spillage from manometers (gas line pressure gauge devices). Generally, the contamination was found in secured or limited-access meter or utility rooms and do not pose any imminent health hazard.

Illinois EPA crews will continue to do more verification checks and re-inspections. Initially, agency investigators have been checking non-industrial facilities, such as schools, colleges, hospitals and nursing homes.