Environment and Conservation, Wayne County, Investigating County Bridges, Urge Caution

 

WAYNE COUNTY, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation and Wayne County officials are urging caution around all small county bridges as the investigation into the source of elemental mercury found in Beech Creek continues.  A tip following the department’s public communications about Beech Creek led Environment and Conservation staff to visit three bridges where mercury was found in bridge materials.  The department is now working with Wayne County officials to identify all similar bridges in the county for evaluation.

 

“These bridges are more than 50 years old, and we do not know yet where the materials used to make them may have come from,” said Environment and Conservation Deputy Commissioner Paul Sloan.  “Until we have had the opportunity to visit and evaluate each bridge and the surrounding environment, we urge people to stay out of the water underneath them, and not to touch or go near them outside of your vehicle.”

 

The three bridges where mercury was confirmed are on the Head of Green River Road, Green River Road near the golf course and a private driveway crossing off Green River Road.  The mercury was found in material under the bridges that has characteristics similar to concrete.  The bridges in question are small, weathered, metal bridges that do not have sides or rails.  They are used on small public roads and for driveway crossings.  All three bridges remain open to daily vehicle use.

 

Elemental mercury is toxic, particularly in vapor form, and should never be handled or inhaled.  If you are in an area where you can see a bridge that meets the description above, you are urged to stay out of the creek and away from its surrounding environment in that vicinity, and to not consume fish from that area. 

 

Additionally, the fish consumption advisory for all of Beech Creek and its embayment on the Tennessee River remains in effect, as does the Beech Creek sediment contact advisory in the Leatherwood community between Leatherwood Branch and Smith Branch.  The current bridges over Beech Creek, however, are not made of the same materials that have been found to contain mercury, though it is possible one of these bridges existed there in the past. 

 

“We want to do everything we can to make sure the citizens of our county are protected,” said Wayne County Mayor Jason Rich.  “We will continue to work with the state to find and evaluate these bridges, and try to track the origin of these materials.”

 

Environment and Conservation is coordinating with the Tennessee Department of Health on its findings.  As the county bridges are identified, the department will evaluate them and the surrounding environment for mercury contamination and update the public.  Once the extent of contamination is identified, Environment and Conservation will work with other state and federal officials, as well as Wayne County, to determine the best course of remediation.  In addition, the department is working to track the origination of the bridge materials, and to determine whether they could have been used in other areas. 

 

Any person with information about the bridges in Wayne County, particularly information about bridge locations that may be on private property or information about where bridge materials may have originated, should call the Department of Environment and Conservation's Columbia Environmental Field Office at (931) 380-3371.   

 

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