Hospital Mishap Releases Mercury
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Small amounts of liquid and vapor mercury were released when a machine used to sterilize surgical instruments at Olive View-UCLA Medical Center exploded, L.A. County health officials said Thursday.
None of the three employees near the equipment was injured.
John Wallace, spokesman for the county Department of Health Services, said the area in the hospital basement where the explosion occurred Wednesday afternoon has been sealed off.
It will take two to three days for the county hazardous materials team and a private company contracted by the hospital to decontaminate the area, he said.
The incident “didn’t interrupt hospital operations,” Wallace said. “It wasn’t something that endangered people.”
Wallace did not know how much mercury was released but said he didn’t think it was a “substantial amount.”
No surgeries or other procedures will be delayed, Wallace added.
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