There were no serious injuries after a mercury spill Wednesday night in Knoxville. Interim Fire Chief Greg Higginbotham says Knoxville City Rescue responded at around 6:40pm Wednesday to a report of an 18-year-old having skin contact with mercury. The home was evacuated, and Emergency Management Coordinator Jeff Anderson says crews removed the carpet where the mercury had spilled and disposed of it appropriately.

Knoxville Hospital and Clinics was put on Code Secure for two hours as the patient was decontaminated properly. No one was allowed to enter or exit the building, and the patient was eventually decontaminated without incident. Anderson says both the hospital and the first responders did a tremendous job dealing with an unknown and dangerous situation.