Mercury in Tuscaloosa Update
by Nicole Wyatt
CBS 42 News
2008-09-25 15:38:02.0
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The discovery of mercury in a well-traveled portion of University Boulevard on Tuesday, brought crews from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management and the Environmental Protection Agency straight to Tuscaloosa to clean it up, and also figure out where it came from. "We believe we found the origin of the mercury which is on private property near the old abandoned Riverview plant that hasn't been in service for decades," says Tuscaloosa Mayor Walt Maddox.
Through their investigation, city officials found out teenagers were often coming to this private property to play paintball and hang out; which means if the mercury is definitely from this location, they may need to seek medical help.
"We're asking anyone that has come in contact with this plant recently, that they either go see a health care professional for evaluation, or they call 311 and be provided information as well, says Maddox." He adds that they're not expecting that anybody was exposed to extensive amounts of the hazardous material, but because of potential health risks, they want to err on the side of caution.
Tuscaloosa Police are questioning a person of interest in this case.
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