Putnam parents asked to turn in student clothing from Friday and Monday after classroom mercury spillBy Carol Robinson -- The Birmingham News BIRMINGHAM, Alabama - Birmingham City Schools officials are asking parents of students at Putnam Middle School to now bag the clothing and shoes that students wore to school on both Friday and Monday.A mercury spill from a broken thermometer in a sixth-grade science classroom prompted the school to shut down for today.Spokeswoman Michaelle Chapman said the spill happened Friday, but a substitute teacher in that classroom didn't know what the spilled substance was. It was not until a science teacher from another room saw the substance Monday and recognized it as mercury.Chapman said today that the federal Environmental Protection Agency is assisting school officials with the cleanup.Initially they asked that all clothing worn to school Monday be brought to the school, but today they expanded that to clothing worn Friday and Monday, even if it already has been washed.The bagged clothing should be delivered to the school by 8 p.m. today. If parents can't take the clothing to the school today, officials ask that it be brought Wednesday morning.All of the items will be screened for mercury and items that pass the screening will be returned to students at a later date.
I remember breaking a couple of thermometers as a kid just to watch the mercury roll around on the counter. http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/03/putnam_parents_asked_to_turn_i.html