The silent hazard: an unusual case of mercury contamination of a dental suite.
Heavy exposure to mercury in a vandalized dental office suite where 20 lb of mercury was maliciously spilled on floors (some covered with rugs) and splattered on walls during a nighttime break-in is described. Monitoring of ambient mercury vapor levels after a clean-up suggested that mercury contamination was under control, but urinary mercury levels that continued to increase contradicted these findings. A further investigation showed that some sections of rugs were heavily contaminated. Unaware of this contamination, dental assistants, by regularly vacuuming the rugs, created a hazardous environment. The steps taken to resolve this problem are discussed, and the importance of the urine analysis for the monitoring of mercury exposure is emphasized.
D000393:Air Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D003770:Dental Offices; D006801:Humans; D008628:Mercury / Q000032:analysis* / Q000652:urine
D000393:Air Pollutants; D008628:Mercury