NILES Hearing targets mercury storage

It's not certain that the government will move any of its mercury anywhere.
NILES -- Representatives from the Defense National Stockpile Center held a public meeting Thursday to gather input on a proposal to store 4,436 metric tons of mercury at the Warren Depot in Weathersfield Township.
The DNSC is considering three options for handling the mercury the federal government owns. DNSC officials have said their preferred alternative for handling mercury is consolidated storage at one location. The other two options are to take no action or to resume selling mercury.
The Warren Depot currently holds 536 tons of mercury. If the DNSC chooses to consolidate to the Warren Depot, the mercury at the New Haven, Ind., Somerville, N.J., and Oak Ridge, Tenn., would be brought here.
Cornel Holder, administrator of the DNSC, tried to assure those in attendance at McMenamy's banquet center that the United States takes excessive precaution with mercury storage. He added that the Warren Depot has never had a leak or other mercury-related incidents.
Concerns
Some local residents, such as Karen Ashiolas of Niles, are aware of the potential risks mercury vapors could pose if they are inhaled.
"I really don't like the idea of them storing it in our area," she said. "I worked security before [at a Delphi Packard plant] and I would go down into a hold to check out certain containers similar to that and have to put protective gear on. By the time you get it on, I don't know what would happen if there were a leak."
Mercury occurs in three forms, all toxic with varying health effects. The DNSC's mercury inventory is composed of elemental mercury, the least toxic form.
Short-term inhalation of mercury vapor could result in hallucination or delirium, and long-term exposure can result in excitability, irritability, insomnia, severe salivation, loss of teeth and tremors, according to the Department of Health and Human Services Web site.
Praises safety of site
Don Waldron of the Trumbull County Emergency Management Agency said the Warren Depot is a safer storage facility than the other potential facilities.
"This is a much safer operation, it's a much safer way to store the mercury itself," Waldron said. "The way it's done and professionally handled down there [at the Warren Depot], I don't think you're going to find it any better."
The public review and comment period will conclude July 18. The DNSC's decision will be made sometime after that. To submit a comment, post on the mercury management Web site at www.mercuryeis.com or send a written comment to:
UAttention: Project Manager, Mercury Management EIS, DNSC-E, Defense National Stockpile Center, 8725 John J. Kingman Road (Suite 3229), Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-6223