College’s alert system gets first run after mercury found

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. — Bluefield State College’s new alert system got its first run when mercury was discovered in a storage room at the Ned Shott Gymnasium.

Bluefield State spokesman Jim Nelson says the system was used to this week to inform students and staff about the mercury. The system sends text messages to the cell phones of those who sign up for the service.

An environmental cleanup crew from Clean Harbors of North Carolina was scheduled to begin removing the mercury Thursday.

Nelson says the source of the mercury has not been determined.

Earlier this year, Concord University shut down its science building after mercury was found in a storage room. Concord officials say that cleanup effort is nearing an end.