The man suspected of leaking mercury at six public places in the Durango area was released Monday from La Plata County jail on a $1,500 personal recognizance bond.
Daniel Lee Plummer, 46, was ordered by La Plata County Judge Martha Minot to appear at 9 a.m. Dec. 19 before 6th Judicial District Judge Jeffrey Wilson.
After reading Plummer his rights, Minot told him to be sure to appear Dec. 19 or he’ll be on the hook for the $1,500.
“It doesn’t cost you anything to get out, but you need to stick around,” Minot said. “If you don’t, you’ll bring a world of hurt on yourself.”
The presence of mercury caused the closure of several local establishments. All had reopened by the weekend except for La Plata County Detox, which expects to reopen Tuesday.
Deputy District Attorney Tina Martinez represented the state Monday. Heather Little from the La Plata County Public Defender’s Office appeared for Plummer.
An affidavit signed by Durango police investigator Burke Baldwin says there was probable cause to arrest Plummer on suspicion of reckless endangerment, a Class 3 misdemeanor and criminal mischief, a Class 3 felony.
The affidavit says that two witnesses saw Plummer enter Manna Soup Kitchen on Wednesday with a large glass jar containing mercury in his backpack. Plummer dropped the backpack, causing the jar to break and leak a small quantity of mercury.
Weldon Ferguson, 60, and Thomas Yarrington, 50, told police Cpl. Glenn Edwards that they advised Plummer that mercury is dangerous and to report the spill to authorities. Plummer didn’t heed the advice and tried to clean up the droplets by putting the mercury in two smaller plastic containers.
During the next 24 hours, Plummer went from the soup kitchen to the Durango Transit Center, the Durango Post Office, south City Market, Town Plaza Coin Laundry, Durango Public Library and the Volunteers of America community shelter. All the sites had to be closed, at least temporarily, except City Market, which never shut its doors because only a trace of mercury was found.
On Monday, the federal building in Bodo Industrial Park was checked on a tip that Plummer had been seen there, said Karola Hanks, the Durango Fire & Rescue Authority fire marshal, who was the spokeswoman for the multi-jurisdictional investigation.
“There was no problem there,” Hanks said. “Otherwise, we doubled-checked everything.”
Plummer asked to be taken to Detox of La Plata County on Thursday evening. After mercury was discovered at Detox and later at the other public places, he was sent to jail.
A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency team from Denver and a restoration crew from Salt Lake City did repeated evaluations and cleanup starting Friday and during the weekend.
Thirty residents who were evacuated Friday from the homeless shelter were able to return Saturday afternoon. As of Monday, all the places Plummer visited, including Detox, were able to reopen to the public.
Detox, the most contaminated of the six sites, officially opens today. Ten people were evacuated from Detox when the mercury was discovered.
Plummer obtained the mercury from an old residence he cleaned, Hanks said. The jar containing the mercury measured about 6 inches in height and 2 to 3 inches in diameter, she said.
Plummer led authorities early Sunday morning to a tent in which he was living so it could be evaluated for mercury, Hanks said. The location of the camp was not released.
Mercury is particularly dangerous if its vapors are inhaled. The Agency for Toxic Substances and Registry website says mercury occurring in urban air can register between 10 and 20 nanograms per cubic meter. In nonurban places, it can be much lower.
Hanks said the level of mercury in Detox registered levels from 25,000 to 30,000 nanograms per cubic liter.
Except for Plummer’s upcoming court appearances, Hanks said of the case, “I think we’ve got it.”
daler@durangoherald.com
