GLEN COVE, N.Y. (1010 WINS) — A Long Island school district found levels of mercury in three of its gym floors, causing concern among parents whose children have been exposed.
In a letter to the school community, Glen Cove City School District Superintendent Dr. Alexa Doeschner confirmed that the levels of mercury vapor found in the middle school gymnasium (which includes two floors) are well below the New York State safety threshold, but that those in the high school gymnasium were well above the allowable limit.
The threshold is 0.75 µg/m³, and the middle and high school gyms were found to have 0.33 µg/m³ and 2.94 µg/m³, respectively.
The high school gym is now closed as officials take samples, build engineer controls and develop an abatement plan, Doeschner said. The middle school gym will remain open under current ventilation and temperature conditions, though out of an abundance of caution, the district will work on a remediation plan.
Anthony Mihailescu's 17-year-old son is a wrestler, and has spent hours a day on the gym floor for years as part of his sport. He said that about a year and a half ago, the family started noticing changes in the teen, including memory loss, anxiety and depression that appears to be linked to the high levels of mercury found in his blood.
"It's like the toxins are affecting his mind, his brain," Mihailescu told 1010 WINS. "That's something that maybe come out of his system as the mercury comes out of his system, or he may be affected by these for the rest of his life."
The school district said that the mercury in the flooring comes from the 1960s and 1970s, when some rubberized floors were manufactured with mercury to help keep the rubber flexible.
"During the month of August, all three gym floors will have been removed and new state-of-the-art gym floors will be installed during the month of September," the school said in a statement. "It is the district’s expectation that the high school auxiliary gym will reopen by mid-September, with the middle school gyms reopened no later than the beginning of October.
"The school said that "throughout the removal of the flooring as well as prior to reopening of the gyms, air-quality testing will be performed to ensure that the district is within state mandates."