Mercury contamination closes residential Antioch street

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ANTIOCH (KTVU) -- The city's HazMat team was called Monday afternoon to a residential street in Antioch after a mercury contamination was reported in the area.

County health officials said mercury had been found in multiple locations on the 2200 block of Manzanita Way, just north of Highway 4, around 3:30 p.m.

As a result, officials closed a stretch of Manzanita Way between Sycamore Drive and Mahogany Way while crews responded to the residential neighborhood. 

The county's health department has requested assistance from the U.S. EPA for cleanup. It was not immediately clear how the incident occurred or if anyone has been injured.

Mercury does pose health hazards to humans in high doses.

Crews worked to bind the mercury with sulfur and vacuum it up.

Despite the proximity to housing, health department spokesman Seth Heller said that health impacts are unlikely without long-term exposure to the substance.

"In the state that it's in it's not really posing a hazard to residents but we just can't leave it here," Heller said.

It's not yet clear how the mercury ended up in the roadway.

"We can speculate but I really have no idea and I wouldn't want to be wrong," Heller said. "Without any kind of other information to confirm it's just speculation."

Bay City News contributed to this report.