General News
17 October, 2025
Emergency response to spill
A mercury spill saw staff at Maryborough District Health Service (MDHS) evacuated on Tuesday afternoon, with emergency services on site for nine hours to address the incident.
Emergency services were called to the old hospital site at around 3.10 pm on Tuesday afternoon after a bottle of mercury was dropped by a staff member, who was taken to urgent care.
Maryborough and Carisbrook Fire Brigades, two Fire Rescue Victoria (FRV) Hazmat Response units from Lucas and a FRV scientific officer were called to the scene as MDHS enacted its emergency management protocols and worked with authorities while assessment was underway.
Police were also called, guarding entry into the contaminated area.
Incident controller Darryl Wagstaff said a strategic plan was immediately put in place to address the spill.
“When we arrived on the scene, the hospital had evacuated the staff from that area, so a 50 metre perimeter zone around the building was set up,” he said.
“We entered the building with masks on and applied hazmat absorbant material.”
A sulfur powder was applied to the spill, making the mercury less toxic prior to clean up and removal.
“The FRV firefighters dressed in chemical splash suits and breathing apparatus and removed the substance in a safe manner. They put it into a container and removed the small bottle it had come from.
There was approximately two teaspoons of mercury spilled on the steps,” Captain Wagstaff said.
“We had crew changes through the night from a couple of our firefighters and the hazmat team. We were able to remove the quantity of mercury that was spilled, and contain it into a hazmat recovery drum.
“From there, we handed the scene back to the hospital to have the area decontaminated, and arrangements were made for the decontaminants to be correctly disposed of.
“We also had our firefighters and staff from the hospital tested with a mercury monitoring machine by the scientific officer, to see if anyone was contaminated. We found some shoes had been contaminated, as mercury had been dropped.”
Crews were on site until 12 am Wednesday cleaning the spill.
Captain Wagstaff highly praised emergency services and MDHS staff’s cooperation during the incident.
“Overall, the crews worked very well together, the hospital staff were very good in giving information, there was no injury or illness from the event itself, the staff member that was involved was fine. Overall, it ended very well,” he said.
“The cooperation with the hospital staff and management was excellent, I have to give them credit for their emergency procedures and plans they have in place.
“It wasn’t a large spill, it wasn’t on fire, it wasn’t leaking from anywhere, it was contained, which made our job easier to help clean it up.”
Although long discontinued, mercury has been used in healthcare settings in devices such as old fashioned thermometers and blood pressure monitors. Toxic exposure to mercury can occur through inhalation or ingestion.