WIRE:09/14/2000 22:24:00 ET Homes within Chicago may face mercury contamination threat

CHICAGO (AP) _ For the first time, city and gas company officials say residences within Chicago may face the same problems of mercury contamination plaguing suburban homes. Mayor Richard M. Daley asked Peoples Energy for assurances that approximately 30,000 homes in the city are not contaminated by mercury after the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed a substance found in a Chicago home was the potentially poisonous substance.

The EPA said the substance at the home did not pose a health risk. Daley said there is no immediate cause for alarm, but the discovery follows the revelation that more than 200,000 homes in the Chicago suburbs may be at risk for contamination. The mercury in the suburban homes was apparently spilled when old gas regulators were replaced by the Nicor gas company. Chicago residences were not considered at risk because the city never used gas lines that required the regulators. But three communities annexed by the city _ Edison Park, Clearing and Mount Greenwood _ did have the gas lines and could potentially face the same contamination risks. Mercury is a toxic metal that can damage the kidneys and brain at certain levels of exposure. Peoples Energy chief executive Richard Terry said the company will begin visual examinations of the homes immediately, but could not say when inspectors would be available for more thorough investigations. "We"re starting with the visual right now and we"re going to do our very best to get a hold of testing equipment and follow up," Terry said. The company could face more problems in some northern suburbs and a sizable portion of Lake County, where delivery systems also use medium pressure lines.

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-- Martin Thompson (mthom1927@aol.com), September 14, 2000