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EDITORIAL
It's mercury, not anthrax
(Published October 20, 2003)

Why are officials exaggerating the health threat posed by contamination that resulted from mercury being stolen earlier this month from an unlocked science lab at Ballou Senior High School?

And what could possibly be taking so long that, more than two weeks after the metallic chemical element was discovered in classrooms and the cafeteria, Ballou still remains closed with the cleanup incomplete?

Judging from the response by local officials, you might think that students and staff at Ballou – as well as their families and other community members – are in imminent danger of dying from the casual contact with mercury that some have experienced as a result of the Oct. 2 incident at Ballou.

Nothing could be farther from the truth. It’s mercury, not anthrax. Continued, long-term exposure to high levels of mercury vapor or years of significant internal buildup of mercury ingested through eating contaminated food, such as tuna, are believed to contribute to chronic health problems. But the emphasis is decidedly on long-term exposure to high levels of the chemical, not transitory contact with small amounts.

Mercury is widely available and has many common industrial uses. Safe handling methods for it are so well-known that its use remains common in high school chemistry labs, thermometers and even fluorescent light bulbs. Maintenance departments of many universities and large companies include instructions for quickly dealing with "spills" of the metallic liquid. Thousands of American adults even have old dental fillings that contain mercury.

So why are city officials banishing dozens of D.C. families from their residences and violating the privacy of people’s homes, simply because some foolish teenager tracked in or deliberately brought in a small amount of mercury?

How do officials even know the true source of mercury or mercury vapors in private D.C. homes? Mercury is not a controlled substance, and even busting a fluorescent light bulb releases mercury vapor.

The overreaction by local officials is ludicrous, based on public reports about the Ballou incident. And the costs of that overreaction must be measured in far more than monetary terms – although the actual cost to taxpayers already is estimated to be staggering, in the millions.

Ballou students are losing irreplaceably valuable instructional time, with many hours wasted on a long daily commute to temporary classrooms that are ill-equipped for teaching and learning. Displaced adults’ and families’ lives also are being unnecessarily disrupted.

While some testing by authorities may be prudent, more than a few days of displacement for students or families – which was exceeded long ago, in this case – is simply ridiculous. Officials are exercising incredibly bad judgment by failing to resolve this problem in an expeditious manner.