EPA not recommending manually clearing out explosives from Highview home

The latest breaking updates, delivered straight to your email inbox.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Tuesday began the process of removing mercury from one Highview home and gave an update on their recommendation to safely remediate the other property.

Both homes have been the subject of a multi-agency investigation since July after explosives and other dangerous materials were discovered. It led to the arrest of homeowner Marc Hibel, who authorities say was making homemade bombs.

“The situation's complicated, of course, because of the hoarding situation Mr. Hibel put into the house and the house next door,” said Chuck Berry, the on-scene coordinator for the U.S. EPA. “It's increased our workload in the amount of material we have to take in and out.”

On Tuesday, EPA officials started removing mercury from 6211 Applegate Lane, the neighboring home to the one Hibel owned.

During the process, the concrete driveway will be replaced, furniture and other household items will be taken out, and the floors will be cleaned with special equipment.

The operation is expected to take three days, but officials say restoration could take several weeks.

Berry says there are higher levels of mercury inside the house than outside, but there are still no serious health risks to people in the area. To maintain this, the agency is conducting surface and air tests.

“Anybody who is not in the house or standing right there on the driveway is at no risk from any of this,” said Berry.

While the EPA clears out one residence, they are still determining the fate of the other property at 6213 Applegate Lane. But, officials say they do not plan to recommend a manual cleanup process.

“There's so many unlabeled and unknown chemicals in there that are stored in makeshift and random containers, no one felt comfortable doing that,” said Berry. “The hazard level is too high, and the risk to their own workers is just too great.”

Plans to burn the home down are still on the table, but federal officials say they are also considering a new disposal method.

“A mechanical removal, which is basically tearing the house down with an excavator and try to remove those chemicals out of the way,” said Berry. “But, again, we run into issues from a disposal side with that, and we have to work through that before we recommend it.”

Hear more from the EPA below:

In a statement, Mayor Craig Greenberg said: “Our administration continues to plan for a monitored and controlled burn of 6213 Applegate Lane,” said Mayor Greenberg. “We will provide an updated timeline as soon as possible. We’re grateful to have our state and federal partners, including the U.S. EPA, as part of the Unified Command and we look forward to working with them to resolve this situation safely.”

The health department is offering free mercury exposure tests for anyone who was on the property since July 3.

Officials say so far, no one has requested a screening.