Area Closed Off After Hazardous Materials Found In Nearby Antioch

CONTRA COSTA COUNTY, CA -- Hazardous materials crews are working to cleanup mercury contamination found on a residential street in Antioch Monday morning, according to a spokesman for Contra Costa Health Services.

Roughly six contamination sites were reported in the 2200 block of Manzanita Way around 10:15 a.m., according to spokesman Seth Heller.

Manzanita has been closed from Sycamore Drive to Mahogany Way as crews work to bind the mercury with sulfur and vacuum it up.

Despite the proximity to housing, Heller said that health impacts are unlikely without long-term exposure to the substance.

"In the state that it's in it's not really posing a hazard to residents but we just can't leave it here," Heller said.

It's not yet clear how the mercury ended up in the roadway.

"We can speculate but I really have no idea and I wouldn't want to be wrong," Heller said. "Without any kind of other information to confirm it's just speculation."

By Bay City News/Image via Shutterstock