As part of a planned $100,000 renovation at the South Boulder Recreation Center in Boulder, Colo., an environmental consultant recently discovered elevated levels of mercury and lead in rubber flooring underneath the center's gym floor, according to the Daily Camera.
The toxic materials will need to be removed at an "unknown cost." City officials became aware of the elevated levels of toxic substances in late January, and they told the Daily Camera that there is "no immediate danger to the public or employees" since the toxic rubber flooring is covered by wood. The renovation was slated to begin in March, but now it is unclear when it will begin.
Citing the Northeast Waste Management Officials' Association, the Daily Camera wrote that rubber gym floors were installed in public buildings, schools and gymnasiums throughout the early '70s and '80s, and that those installed prior to 1985 frequently contain high levels of mercury or lead.
HF presented a similar story in October 2011 involving ballooned to about a half-million dollars, too, after a sport flooring contractor cut through a polyurethane layer, releasing mercury particles into the air.
