Toxic Mercury Vapors Seeping From NJ School Gym Floors: Officials

At least 11 school districts have asked for help now that toxic mercury vapors are seeping from gym floors in schools across New Jersey, according to school officials. Now school officials are alerting concerned and outraged parents who fear for their children's safety.

At least one New Jersey gym teacher says she has cancer because of it, and she's got a petition going to get people involved.

The New Jersey Education Association has been leading the charge to do something about it, informing districts throughout the state that rubberized floors typically installed during the 1980s and 1990s have been breaking down.

The inhalation of mercury vapour can produce harmful effects on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, as well as the lungs and kidneys, and may be fatal, according to the World Health Organization.

Mercury is commonly used in the manufacturing process of rubberized floors to help keep them flexible. But if they break down, officials say, they can emit mercury indefinitely.

It’s worse if the floors are damaged or deteriorated, the room is hot, and/or ventilation is poor—especially if there’s no outside air, according to the NJEA. Covering or sealing them is often ineffective, the NJEA says; mercury can penetrate and contaminate the materials placed on top, adding to costs of fixing the hazard.

"We have worked hard to work to raise awareness of this potential danger," said Steve Baker, NJEA spokesman. "When we became aware that there was a problem, we made sure to make districts aware."

"This has been one problem of extreme importance because of the health concerns," he added. "This is something we have to take seriously. Rubberized floors – they realy have to be replaced."

It wasn't clear at press time which districts have asked for help, although at least four districts have announced that they are doing something about it. Some say the number of districts who have sought to address mercury vapors could be as high as 25.

The efforts of school districts dealing with the issue haven't come without controversy, however. Some of these districts continue to use their gyms even though vapors have been detected.

Washington Township in Gloucester County, for one, is planning to spend $3.2 million this summer to remove rubberized floors that emit mercury vapors in the gym and all-purpose rooms.

"Rubber gym flooring, which is very popular in the elementary and middle school levels, has been widely used in schools for decades," according to a report released by the Washington Township School District. "Unfortunately many rubber floors contain mercury compounds, and as those compounds degrade, mercury vapors may be released."

Mercury also was found in the rubber gym floors in three Parsippany Troy-Hills schools, including an elementary school, district officials say. The school district said in 2017 that the airborne levels tested below the legal safety limits, but parents were still concerned about the district's response.

Rubber floors in Parsippany High School, Central Middle School, and Littleton Elementary school tested positive for mercury in the floor and as vapors in the air. Read more: Mercury Found In Gym Floors In Three Parsippany Schools

And when testing was performed between March and June, the highest level detected at Wenonah Elementary was 0.74 micrograms per cubic unit of air, according to officials. State standards require mercury levels to be at below 0.8 micrograms per cubic unit of air.

Wenonah, as a result, is applying for emergency funding from the state to replace 4,500-square-feet of flooring, according to officials. The repair may cost as much as $500,000.

But Kristine Height, Wenonah’s chief school administrator, told Patch that the district plans to have classes in the gym anyway once school opens in the fall. She said she consulted with health officials and that there should be no health effects from the current levels of mercury vapors.

Height did say that she's been discussing the issue with state officials and others to try to get money to help remedy the problem.

"It's not just like we're taking it lightly," Height said. "It's just that you have to listen to the experts."

The NJEA also pointed to Tracie Yostpille, president of Freehold Township Education Association, saying she’d never heard about the hazard with rubber-like polyurethane floors in gyms and other school until the district talked about it a workshop.

There, someone talked about what made the floors more pliable: a hazardous chemical called phenol mercuric acetate (PMA). Over time, and with use, it can break down, releasing toxic mercury vapor.The chemical is invisible, odorless, and comes off at room temperature.

The district took action, arranging for the gym floor to be tested. It worked with the FTEA, using NJEA’s health and safety resources. The district did air tests, closed the gym where test results were high, agreed to a presentation from a New Jersey Work Environment Council (WEC) hygiene consultant, and gave staff time off for health tests, according to the NJEA.

The district then decided concrete would be removed down to where the mercury levels are really low, and a new floor would be installed.

“I think we’re in a good place now,” Yostpille told the NJEA. “Because I have a strong union, I can make a phone call to get services for my members, to protect their health and safety. Working with the union and administration, we remediated something that could have been dreadful.”

The issue was big enough in Washington Township, meanwhile, that parents packed a meeting to compain that the district's remedial steps won't solve the problem (story continues below video).

Joseph N. Bollendorf, the superintendent of the Washington Township schools, addressed the matter in a letter to parents during the spring, saying gym classes at the district's six elementary schools, as well as Bunker Hill Middle School and Washington Township High School, were going to be relocated until the issues with mercury vapors were dealt with.

"Although the test results and data presented by the district engineer and certified industrial hygienist indicate that our gyms tested well below the NJDOH guidelines, and that the continued use of the gyms does not present any short- or long-term health risk based on the most advanced air quality testing, we feel this prudent step will put the minds of our community, our staff, and our students at ease," said Bollendorf.

Melissa McNally, 42, told Patch that she has a rare cancer that she thinks may be related to her job as a physical education teacher in Washington Township. As she's weighing whether to send her son, Nolan, to the Wenonah school, she's circulating a petition to urge officials to keep the rooms off limits, McNally told Patch.

She says she has about 100 signatures, which is a lot for a district that has no more than 200 children.

"They're still making the choice to not play it safe," she said of the Wennoah district. "I'm fearful because I know we're dealing with something that I know is affecting me."