A resident at the Durango Community Shelter was in the La Plata County jail Friday after mercury was spilled in at least five public facilities, closing their doors indefinitely.
The shelter, Manna Soup Kitchen, the Town Plaza Coin Laundry, the Durango Transit Center and La Plata County Detox will be closed until a team from the Environmental Protection Agency from Denver can inspect the premises.
Two Durango police patrol cars used to transport Daniel Plummer, 46, to Detox and later to jail also are under quarantine for the time being.
The EPA team left Denver, driving, about 11 a.m. Friday.
Little is known about Plummer, said fire Marshal Karola Hanks, with Durango Fire & Rescue Authority.
“He’s homeless and indigent,” Hanks said. “He’s lived in the hills around town in a tent, and police are looking for the tent.”
It’s believed that Plummer had an undetermined amount of mercury in a container that broke, Hanks said. He transferred the mercury, which is a liquid metal, to other containers such as pill bottles.
Durango police Lt. Ray Shupe said Plummer possibly could be charged with felony criminal mischief and reckless endangerment, a misdemeanor.
“The extent of the cleanup could reach $100,000,” Shupe said.
Ten people were evacuated from Detox, and 30 people, including families, from the shelter, which is operated at 1055 Avenida del Sol by Volunteers of America.
The first leak was reported at 7:31 a.m. Friday at La Plata County Detox, which is in the Three Springs subdivision near Mercy Regional Medical Center.
The mercury was found in Plummer’s backpack in containers that were leaking, according to a news release from rescue authority.
Detox, where Plummer asked to be taken Thursday evening, is managed by Axis Health. All employees and patients were decontaminated by the rescue authority’s hazardous materials team. Patients were either released or transferred to the La Plata County jail.
Mercury doesn’t pose an immediate health problem, said Shane Baird with the DFRA hazmat team. It is a liquid metal that can be poisonous if vapors are inhaled.
Droplets of mercury were visible on a second-floor wooden deck at the Durango Community Shelter.
The EPA says infants, pregnant women and young children are particularly susceptible. Health effects from inhaled mercury vapor include tremors, emotional changes, neuromuscular headaches, insomnia and decline in cognitive functions.
It was unknown Friday afternoon how long Detox, the homeless shelter, Manna Soup Kitchen, the transit center and the laundry will remain closed.
“All our residents will be safely in hotel rooms by 5 p.m.,” shelter director Sarada Leavenworth said. “The Salvation Army is supplying food and paying for 12 hotel rooms at Spanish Trails and the Wapiti Lodge.”
Leavenworth didn’t know how long shelter residents will be in hotels.
“It depends on the investigation by the EPA,” Leavenworth said. “We’re going day by day.”
San Juan Basin Health Department closed for about three days in February 2012 because of a mercury spill.
daler@durangoherald.com
What’s closed
Several public locations are closed indefinitely after a homeless man contaminated them with mercury, according to fire officials and law enforcement. Those locations include:
Volunteers of America Durango Community Shelter, 1055 Avenida del Sol.
Manna Soup Kitchen, 1100 Avenida del Sol.
La Plata County Detox, in the Three Springs subdivision near Mercy Regional Medical Center.
Town Plaza Coin Laundry, 36 Town Plaza.
Durango Transit Center, 250 W. Eighth St.
