Gallery evacuated after liquid mercury spill

Feb 4 2008 Richard Down, Liverpool Daily Post

HALF a pint of noxious liquid mercury spilled from the pendulum of an antique clock at a Wirral art gallery yesterday forcing a full-scale evacuation.

The heavy metal spillage at about 12.30pm yesterday forced Wallasey firefighters and Merseyside Police to cordon off Slatey Road and evacuate staff from the Williamson Art Gallery, Birkenhead.

Gallery workers were in the process of setting up a new display of clocks and watches from the Antique Horological Society. Exhibits included everything from pocket watches to impressive longcase clocks. Exhibits come mainly from private collections and are never normally seen by the public.

But last night Rob Smith, head of Arts & Museums said an accident involving one of the long case clocks had sparked a major alert.

He said: “The accident happened during preparations for the gallery and museum’s new ‘Your Time’ exhibition of antiquarian timepieces. A pendulum filled with mercury was broken during the installation.”

Six firefighters had to don specialist chemical suits and call in an Instant Unit from Kirkdale to tackle the toxic spill.

Wallasey Fire Station’s watch manager Graham Beckwith said it had posed quite a logistical problem for three teams of fully equipped fighters who had to operate in a confined space.

He said: “We collected all the mercury up with spatulas but it had beaded and splashed over a wide area and splashed against some paintings. I would say it covered two square metres.

“Any residue that was left needs to be carefully cleaned up and this is a difficult process and there were many antiquities in the area so it was a case of getting there quickly.

“What we’ve advised is that the curator look at items, especially those of more value, and get them cleaned up under strict conditions.”

He said he had thought carefully about committing his crew and how to best deal with the fall out before getting stuck in. His methodical approach meant the operation took about four hours.

Cordons were in place on Slatey Road to accommodate the decontamination unit.

Today the Art Gallery management will meet to discuss how best to arrange a

Mr Smith added: “The Fire and Rescue Service have contained the spillage but the museum remains closed until we have met tomorrow morning with a specialist chemical spillage company.

“Our prime concern is the safety of our visitors and staff, but we hope to be able to launch the exhibition as planned on Friday this week.”

Staff and experts will have to assess whether any of the other exhibits on permanent display need attention. The Williamson boasts a collection that includes Victorian oil paintings, significant English watercolours, Liverpool Porcelain, Della Robbia Pottery and the Baxter Vintage Motor Collection.