Wastewater Treatment Workers Suffer from Mercury Exposure

By JAMES KINSELLA
Gazette Senior Writer

Two employees at the Oaks Bluffs wastewater treatment plant are now receiving medical treatment for exposure to mercury after they handled a chemical at the plant that contained the toxic substance.

The exposure was first reported in late December, but town officials confirmed yesterday that it may in fact reach back for as long as two years.

Town administrator Casey Sharpe and treatment plant superintendent Joseph N. Alosso said yesterday that the exposure was limited to employees who worked at the plant laboratory, and that both employees have since returned to work.

"They have felt well enough to come to work," Ms. Sharpe told the Gazette yesterday. Of the two employees, she said, the level of mercury has dropped for one, while the other continues to show elevated levels.

The names of the two employees have not been released because the matter is medically related.

Ms. Sharpe said the two employees were using mercuric iodide, a mercury-based chemical, as they performed a routine test for ammonia nitrogen. Ms. Sharpe said the employees followed the instructions for handling the chemical drawn from a safety data sheet. Unlike some other chemicals used at the plant, mercuric iodide does not require a fume hood, Ms. Sharpe said. The workers now are using a different chemical to conduct the test, she said. The ammonia nitrogen tests are conducted almost hourly at the lab.

According to a web site operated by the New Jersey Department of Health and Senior Services, mercuric iodide is a hazardous substance regulated by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). The chemical is a red, sand-like solid used in medicine and analytical chemistry, according to the site. When inhaled or passed through the skin, mercuric iodide can cause a variety of symptoms, including burning and irritation of the eyes and skin, irritation of the nose, throat and lungs, coughing and shortness of breath, gray skin tones and kidney damage.

On Dec. 26, the employees reported symptoms, and the illness was subsequently traced to mercuric iodide. Ms. Sharpe said the exposure occurred sometime in the last one to two years. One of the employees has worked at the plant for two years, while the other has worked there for a year.

Ms. Sharpe said the town is treating the matter as a worker's compensation issue. Mr. Alosso said plant workers routinely work with substances of this nature, not to mention the viruses and pathogens that form part of the waste stream going into the plant. He said working at the treatment plant carries occupational hazards, as do many jobs. He said blood work revealed an elevated level of mercury in the workers, but he downplayed the issue.

"It's not totally uncommon for something like this to happen," Mr. Alosso said.

He said the workers used mercuric iodide in a test for internal process control, rather than for state-required monitoring. He said the substance was later removed from the plant and that plant workers have since been using another test to monitor the process.

Mr. Alosso said he reported the matter to Ms. Sharpe when he learned of the situation around Christmastime. He said the town wastewater commission has not held a meeting in the interim.

Linda Marinelli, a member of the Oak Bluffs board of health, said yesterday that she was very concerned about what had happened. Ms. Marinelli, who defeated Mr. Alosso for her seat on the board of health last April, seized the moment to register concern at the fact that Mr. Alosso works 40 hours a week at the Edgartown wastewater treatment plant as well as 20 hours a week at the Oak Bluffs plant. "Maybe it's too much of a job for Joe Alosso," she said, adding:

"I've been very concerned over that from day one. How can he do both jobs? You can't serve two masters and do the job right."

Mr. Alosso declined comment on the statement.

Nicole St. Peter, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, said the health care providers for people exposed to a heavy metal such as mercuric iodide are required to report the exposure to the state agency. Ms. St. Peter said the agency had yet to receive any such notification stemming from this incident.

Theresa Barao, a spokesman for the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said the town is not required to report the matter to the DEP. A spill of a hazardous material would have required a report, Ms. Barao said. She said the exposure instead is a town personnel issue.

Mr. Alosso said a report had been filed with OSHA, the federal agency that monitors health and safety in the workplace.