North Adams House Condemned

   A neighborhood in North Adams' West End is alarmed, after a home there was condemned, in connection with a mercury spill at a school earlier this week.

   It's alleged an unidentified male student spilled the toxic substance intentionally at Conte Middle School on Monday, hoping to get out of classes early.

   The house, which is connected to the boy, has been condemned, which no one can live there until it is cleaned up. Failing that, the house could be demolished. 

   "Does that (condemnation) mean it will be knocked down?" we asked North Adams Mayor John Barrett. "Oh no, it means we close the house down until the problem is corrected, which is probably what will happen.  In this case it had excessive high levels of mercury which was a hazard to anyone living there," says the Mayor.

   The Massachusetts Department of Public Health says the liquid mercury was contained in a vial---the kind that comes from an industrial source.  Police are weighing charges against the middle-school boy---while an elementary school girl also connected to that home has been hospitalized for exposure.

   "That was done as a precaution," explains the Mayor, "It's safe to assume she's a relative of the individual we think was responsible for the spill. " We asked, "Will that individual be charged?"  The Mayor says "I'm not at liberty to say."

   CBS 6 News spoke to Suzanne Condon of the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  She says the amount of mercury spilled was relatively small in terms of exposure.  She says parents shouldn't worry about students' long-term health, and adds the cost of the cleanup is greater "economically" than "healthwise."

     Estimates run into the tens of thousands of dollars for the school cleanup, which the Mayor believes will be covered by insurance.  He says the public may notrealize that once mercury is spilled, it can be spread by people's feet----quite a distance.

   "Not a case of a simple cleanup.  This was tracked and spread out as far as Pittsfield, " says Mayor Barrett.