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.