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Program Goals and Accomplishments

The goals of the Mercury-Free Zone Program are to:

• keep mercury out of the environment;
• eliminate mercury from as many schools as possible; and,
• educate students, their families and school facility about the dangers of mercury.

There are 1,842 public and private middle schools, junior high and high schools in Minnesota. The MPCA estimates that approximately 4,600 pounds of pure mercury remain in these schools. It is in the form of mercury in equipment, such as lab thermometers, barometers, blood pressure cuffs, and fever thermometers, and pure mercury kept in chemical storerooms. Mercury can also be found where spills have not been cleaned up properly, or where it has been dumped down a drain and is caught in a sink trap.

Accomplishments

As of October 1, 2008

• 735 schools have signed the mercury-free zone pledge ( list of schools);
• 285 schools have been assessed by Carol Hubbard, Clancy and the Lumex unit, looking for mercury contamination and missed mercury;
• 33,800 students and others have been educated by Carol Hubbard and Clancy about the dangers of mercury; and
• 3,376 pounds* of elemental mercury have been removed from Minnesota schools and recycled!

* This is a "best guess" based on the manufacturers' figures for the amount of mercury contained in each piece of equipment