MANSFIELD — A homeowner’s discovery of mercury in his Rowland Avenue home has temporarily displaced him, his wife and two children as EPA officials work to eradicate the neurotoxin.
According to Richland Public Health spokesperson Reed Richmond, Brian Sandusky was cleaning out a catch basin in his basement on Monday when he found a “silvery substance.”
“So he called the Mansfield Fire Department, which was the right thing to do, by the way. When they got here, they called Richland Public Health,” Richmond said. By 6 p.m. on Tuesday, the U.S. EPA was on the scene to evaluate the situation, he said.
“When they (U.S. EPA) tested for mercury, the levels were high,” Richmond said, adding that mercury had been traced in the house’s three levels but that the basement had the highest concentration.
He said the area’s sewer lines had not been affected and that neighbors were not in danger of being contaminated. Mercury was not found outside the house, Richmond said.
As of Thursday evening, all the family’s clothing and bedding was determined to be contaminated by mercury and unsalvageable. Richmond said authorities are working out a plan with area nonprofits to help recover the cost of contaminated items.
Other objects found within the home’s basement were brought outside the house and wrapped in plastic. Authorities from RPH and the U.S. EPA said they are currently evaluating if those items are contaminated.
Brian Sandusky and his wife, Stephanie Ault, were transported to a nearby hotel to wait until EPA officials finished the cleanup. Their children were moved to their grandparents’ home.
Richmond said the family are not showing symptoms of mercury poisoning, which, according to CDC, include a fever, fatigue and clinical signs of pneumonitis. Other symptoms include memory loss, irritability or depression.
Richmond said each family member will be tested through urine analysis starting Friday to determine if mercury shows up in their systems.
U.S. EPA Region Five On Scene Coordinator Jon Gulch estimated the cleanup would take another couple days.
“We’re hoping it’ll be Saturday when we can start talking about getting them back in the house,” Gulch said.
He said there was no way at this point to determine how much mercury has been recovered from the house.
“But it was more than what’s found in a thermometer,” he said.
Richmond said officials are unsure where the mercury came from, adding an investigation may lead to criminal charges.
According to Richland County Auditor records, the Rowland house’s previous owner was Jevita Perkins. Sandusky and Ault bought the home for $8,000 on June 27. An auditor’s report on the home listed its condition as “poor.”
