Residents of MacDonald House in Helser Hall got a surprise Sunday when they found mercury droplets on their bathroom floor.

MacDonald House is the first floor in Helser Hall, with 54 male residents.

Director of Residence Randy Alexander said department officials do not know how the mercury got into the MacDonald House bathroom.

“Someone put some mercury in a shower in the house bathroom, and students initially saw it but didn’t report it because they thought it was a white powder,” Alexander said.

“DPS will be doing an investigation, but we have no information at this time,” he said.

Alexander said the students reported the mercury Monday, and officials from Environmental Health and Safety were contacted.

David Inyang, assistant director of Environmental Health and Safety, said employees with his department have been investigating the incident.

“We have been out at Helser conducting tests and monitoring clean up,” he said.

People should not be exposed to mercury levels above 0.1 milligrams per cubic centimeter, Inyang said.

Alexander said the highest level Environmental Health and Safety workers found on MacDonald House was 0.03 mg/cc.

Bret Winterle, president of MacDonald House and junior in mechanical engineering, said he is concerned about the health of the residents.

In a statement released Tuesday, he said clean-up efforts “have still left the levels too high for comfort.”

“I would be absolutely furious if I found out that I had been kept in an unsafe situation,” he said.

Alexander said the bathroom in MacDonald House is currently closed.

“We will test again [Wednesday] morning to see if it can be opened,” Alexander said. “It will be closed until we are certain that the levels are safe for students to use it.”

Alexander said the Department of Residence also will be removing the carpet in MacDonald House.

“We found traces of mercury on carpet outside the bathroom,” Alexander said. He said people may have tracked the mercury out of the bathroom.

There is asbestos tiling underneath the carpet on MacDonald House, which may cause complications with removing the carpet, he said.