LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finished cleaning up a dangerous metal at a home in Highview.
Mercury was found in the concrete and carpet of a house next door to the Applegate Lane home where a man was accused of making homemade explosives.
The Louisville Metro Public Health and Wellness Department said the amount of mercury detected is not a health concern and the removal was a precaution.
If spilled, mercury can turn into poisonous vapors.
Residents who have been near the property on Applegate Lane over the past month can contact the health department for free mercury screening of shoes and vehicles. Testing takes seconds and takes place at the health department's main office at 400 E. Gray St., Louisville, KY 40202. Please call 502-574-6650 to schedule an appointment.
Anyone with questions about potential health impacts of mercury exposure should call Kentucky Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 (choose option 2).
The city of Louisville filed a demolition order Aug. 1 for the adjacent home at 6213 Applegate Lane. The paperwork said the home and the adjacent garage have "known explosives, explosive fumes or vapors or the presence of toxic fume gases, or material ..." It also said that if the buildings were ignited, they'd be in "imminent danger" of collapse, possibly endangering anyone around.
Officials have also compared the condition of the home to that of a hoarder. It is filled with items, which compounds finding any possible explosives dangerous chemicals.
The investigation started July 27, when police went to the home on Applegate and arrested Marc Hibel, 53, on a tip that he "may be in possession of homemade explosives."
Officials found more than 20 dangerous chemicals in the home. Police said Hibel "is a chemist by trade and admitted to possessing laboratory-grade equipment and chemicals."
Hibel pleaded not guilty to wanton endangerment and burglary charges.
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