UFA, July 8 (RIA Novosti) – A Russian pensioner has handed over to the authorities 16 kilograms of highly toxic mercury that he kept in his garage for 18 years, the local Interior Ministry reported on Monday.
The 74-year-old retiree from the southern Urals Republic of Bashkortostan told the head of the local municipality about the liquid metal, who then reported it to the police.
“The police who arrived at the scene discovered 10 factory-made containers sealed with wax and produced in 1975. There were 16 kilograms of mercury inside the packages," the Interior Ministry said. "The area was cordoned off. The next day, rescuers took away the dangerous find for disposal.”
Mercury is a highly toxic element that can damage the brain, kidney and lungs.
According to the ministry, the retiree supervised construction of a local pig farm in 1975. During construction, several packages of the toxic metal were delivered for use in a measuring device.
The leftover mercury was put in a warehouse, but in the early 1990s when the local state farm was broken up, the man put the mercury in his garage.
He said he had stashed it away to prevent children from finding it and harming themselves or others.
