Temple High School’s gymnasium has been closed to students and the public since Oct. 17, after mercury was discovered in the original rubber flooring under the wooden gym floor, David Goldberg, executive director of facilities and construction for the Carroll County Schools, told Board of Education members at their meeting Monday.

Board members Bernice Brooks and Dorothy Burton-Callaway were upset that they were not informed about the problem as soon as it was discovered and so were unable to talk to community members about the issue.

“In the future, would you just share something like this with us, so that when parents call us we don’t look like uninformed board members,” Brooks said. “I had several calls.”

The problem was discovered when the system tried to clean up and repair flood damage to the flooring.

“About 10 days after the floods, we noticed that the gymnasium floor, the wood floor, started bowing up,” said David Goldberg, executive director of Facilities and Construction. “We did some investigation, and apparently we had some of the flood waters get underneath the wood floor. ... Once we got part of the gym floor up we noticed some 9 by 9 tiles, which is always a red flag for us for asbestos.”

The system had the tiles and the original rubber flooring tested so it would know how to dispose of the tiles. When the tests came back, the school system was surprised to see evidence of mercury in the rubber floor under the wood. The mercury was used in the application process of the floor in the early 1960s. Now, mercury is known as an extremely toxic substance.

“It was used as a bonding agent,” Goldberg said. “When you start removing it and disturbing it, like asbestos, it gets airborne and vaporizes.”

It’s a rare incident, Goldberg said.

“The EPA doesn’t even have a written protocol in how to deal with this,” he said. “EPA’s working with us. EPD’s working with us. The Georgia School Board Association is working with us. Everybody is teaming up together.”

The system will be removing the entire floor including flooring in other parts of the building. Any soft surface, such as basketballs or uniforms, that could have absorbed any mercury will be removed and replaced. Hard surfaces, such as the bleachers, will be cleaned and tested. The cost of the entire project will be about $385,000. The removal and disposal of the flooring will cost $201,000. The replacement of floor and ceiling tiles and the gym floor will be $121,000, and replacement of the contents will be $16,000. Repairs on the outside of the building come to about $47,000. The contents will be covered by insurance. The GSBA has agreed to cover 100 percent of the removal costs of $201,000 and the cost of replacing the gym floor.

Tristar Environmental Inc., based in Norcross, submitted the low bid for the work.

“We’re at a break-even point,” Greg Denney, chief financial officer, said about the necessary work.

The Temple High School basketball teams will play at Temple Middle School until the project is completed.