Florida Children Exposed to Toxic Mercury

Children in a Margate, Florida, neighborhood were exposed to mercury left in a resident’s garage, police said. Hubert Jean and his girlfriend discovered the metallic liquid while cleaning out the garage and allowed children to play with it after pouring it in their driveway.

Jean has claimed that he had no idea what the substance was, and even encouraged his pregnant girlfriend to handle the toxic mercury.

Exposure to toxic mercury has been linked to the central nervous system issues, environmental officials said.

According to police, Jean admitted to giving a small amount of the liquid to a teenager, whose friends then approached Jean asking for more. He poured some of the mercury onto his driveway and allowed neighborhood children to play with it.

An alarmed neighbor phoned the police after hearing of the incident.

Police identified all of the children believed to have been exposed, and urged parents to seek immediate medical attention for their children.

The children do not appear to have suffered any injuries from handling the mercury. Jean and his girlfriend also sought medical attention, and claim they too are okay.

Florida’s Department of Environmental Protection is helping with the clean-up, police officials said.