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Clancy, the Mercury-Detecting Dog, Helps Make Schools Safe
Schools have the responsibility of educating our kids while keeping them safe. One danger in schools is not easily detectable—mercury. However, thanks to the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) and a mercury-detecting dog more than 1,500 pounds of elemental mercury have been safely collected for recycling from Minnesota schools and kept out of the environment.
MPCA educator Carol Hubbard and Clancy, the mercury-detecting dog, visit schools to teach students and school staff about the dangers of mercury, how exposure occurs, and how to properly handle and dispose of mercury. With his sensitive nose, Clancy can detect the vapor from as little as half a gram of mercury, the amount contained in a fever thermometer. He can also find small quantities of mercury, such as any that may have accumulated in sink drain pipes, in the cracks between floorboards and tiles, and other out-of-the-way places.
In order to get a visit from Clancy, Minnesota schools have
to take MPCA’s Mercury-Free
Zone pledge (PDF) (1 pg, 62K, about
PDF) 
,
where schools agree to:
- inventory the mercury-bearing items in its buildings;
- turn in mercury and mercury-bearing items for recycling;
- purchase non-mercury alternatives;
- implement a phase-out plan; and,
- commit to an educational program for students, facility and staff about mercury and other persistent bioaccumulative toxins (PBTs).
Mercury, a naturally occurring element that is found in the air, water, and soil, can become dangerous to humans when it is released into the environment as a result of mismanagement of elemental mercury or as a result of a broken mercury-containing product, such as thermometers, barometers, thermostats, and florescent light bulbs. At room temperature, uncontained mercury can become an invisible, odorless vapor.
Recognizing the dangers posed by mercury in schools across the country, we teamed up with MPCA to create a new educational campaign: Keep Your Paws Off Mercury. Teachers can use the campaign’s video and poster to educate students about mercury and what to do if mercury is spilled.
Don’t worry about Clancy’s exposure to mercury. Clancy is never exposed to potentially high levels for extended periods and his blood mercury levels are monitored regularly. By locating spills so they can be cleaned up, Clancy is helping assure that people will not continue to breathe mercury vapor from the spills.
MPCA’s Mercury-Free Zone Program exemplifies the type of activity encouraged by our Resource Conservation Challenge within the national priority area of Priority and Toxic Chemicals Reduction.
For More Information
- Schools and Mercury
- Keep Your Paws Off Mercury (PDF) (1 pg, 455K, about PDF)
- EPA's Schools Chemical Cleanout Campaign
- The
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency's Mercury Free Zone Program
- Resource Conservation Challenge National Priority Area: Priority and Toxic Chemical Reduction
- RCC News Stories:
- No Recess for Chemicals at Arlington Schools (April 2007)
- Tennessee School Labs Get a Green Makeover (March 2006)
- Formula for Success: Two Rural Chemical Cleanouts (September 2004)
- "Rehab the Lab" Keeps Kids Safe by Promoting Safe Disposal (March 2004)
- Mercury-detecting Dog to Hit the Road this Fall (September 2003)