Tribble
Killjoy Boffin
- Joined
- Apr 21, 2015
- Messages
- 2,956
Routine monitoring at a sewerage treatment plant in Upper Austria revealed alarmingly high levels of mercury earlier this year. Workers then started to trace the source of the mercury, which was almost double the allowed limit.
The Department of Water Management first inspected sewer lines from industrial and commercial enterprises in the Vöcklabruck district as well as dental practices but did not find any contaminations.
Using a portable mercury detector, they eventually traced the contamination back to a private residence, 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) away.
The person living in the apartment told workers she had recently visited a wellness center in India where she was given a curative cream and powder to bring home.
Tests revealed the cream contained 32 percent sulfur and 27 percent mercury. The powder contained 36 percent mercury, 20 percent copper and 3.8 percent sulfur.
Free daily tabloid Heute reported the 50-year-old woman was suffering from cancer and bought back 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of the remedies from a monastery. The paper reported she was now also suffering from serious mercury poisoning.
Public broadcaster ORF reported that workers were tipped off by the presence of tealights and a kind of Indian prayer shrine in the woman's apartment. About 4 kilograms of pure mercury reportedly reached the sewer system over several months.
Heute reported that the incident cost €100,000 ($122,000).
https://www.dw.com/en/austrian-woma...th-mercury-laced-remedy-from-india/a-42771257
The Department of Water Management first inspected sewer lines from industrial and commercial enterprises in the Vöcklabruck district as well as dental practices but did not find any contaminations.
Using a portable mercury detector, they eventually traced the contamination back to a private residence, 17 kilometers (10.5 miles) away.
The person living in the apartment told workers she had recently visited a wellness center in India where she was given a curative cream and powder to bring home.
Tests revealed the cream contained 32 percent sulfur and 27 percent mercury. The powder contained 36 percent mercury, 20 percent copper and 3.8 percent sulfur.
Free daily tabloid Heute reported the 50-year-old woman was suffering from cancer and bought back 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of the remedies from a monastery. The paper reported she was now also suffering from serious mercury poisoning.
Public broadcaster ORF reported that workers were tipped off by the presence of tealights and a kind of Indian prayer shrine in the woman's apartment. About 4 kilograms of pure mercury reportedly reached the sewer system over several months.
Heute reported that the incident cost €100,000 ($122,000).
https://www.dw.com/en/austrian-woma...th-mercury-laced-remedy-from-india/a-42771257