(Updated) Officials clean ‘very small’ amount of mercury in Berwick

The Berwick Police Department and Berwick Volunteer Fire Department blocked access Monday afternoon to the levee at Rose Street and River Road after officials found a small amount of mercury on the levee. A crew finished cleaning the area within several hours.
Authorities responded to the incident around 1:30 p.m. Monday.
State Police Hazmat, the state Department of Environmental Quality and the U.S. Coast Guard were called to assess the situation.
Berwick Police Chief James Richard said someone is believed to have dumped “a very small amount” of mercury on a concrete portion of the levee’s unprotected side in the 1800 block of River Road. The substance rolled down to the base of the levee but didn’t go into the water. A cleanup crew finished removing the substance from the levee by 8 p.m. Monday.
Police asked people to stay away from that area while it was cleaned, but didn’t evacuate any areas.
Jonathan Theriot, who lives on Rose Street near the levee, was walking on the levee with his son and daughter “just for something to do,” Theriot said.
“On the way back, I noticed a little silver ball rolling down the levee,” Theriot said.
The mercury looked as though it was spilled when someone broke a thermometer.
“It was in puddles,” Theriot said. “It wasn’t a little bit."
“I took my kids away from it immediately, and being the weekend, I knew I wouldn’t be able to get in touch with anyone. First thing [Monday] morning, I called 811, the dig site thing, and they advised me to call the parish or something like that. I called Berwick this morning.”