TRUMBULL COUNTY Contractors to clean up spill at prenatal clinic

The clinic was moved to Trumbull Memorial Hospital.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR TRUMBULL STAFF
WARREN -- The Trumbull County Health Department prenatal clinic waiting room will be unsealed today so contractors wearing protective gear can clean up residue of a mercury spill.
The room on the first floor of the Chestnut Street building has been closed since May 25, when mercury spilled from a device used to calibrate blood-pressure kits.
The city's hazardous-materials team sealed the waiting room with duct tape to prevent vapors from circulating, said nursing director Selene Layton.
Clinic patients were not exposed to the mercury, Health Commissioner James Enyeart said.
"I don't think there was at any time any public exposure," he said.
Mercury about the size of a dime was spilled, he said.
Damage from exposure
High levels of exposure to mercury can damage the brain and kidneys. Effects are especially severe on developing fetuses, according to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry.
Since the spill, the health department relocated its prenatal clinic to Trumbull Memorial Hospital, Layton said.
"We could have kept our clinic here, but it would have meant our clients would have had to wait in the hallway," she said.
The cost of the cleanup is expected to be about $1,000.
Commissioners are expected to decide soon whether they will keep the health department building or move the department to rented space elsewhere.
Twice this year, commissioners solicited bids from companies willing to rent to the health department but have not yet awarded a contract.
As well as the first-floor mercury spill, the building has toxic mold in the basement, a leaking roof and windows and crumbling front steps.