Mercury effects linger, lawyer saysA 5-year-old who attended the Kiddi
Kollege day care is reportedly experiencing seizures. A new round o
tests found elevated levels in at least a dozen children.

By Jan Hefler
Inquirer Staff Writer

Seven weeks after the mercury-contaminated Kiddie Kollege day-car
center closed, a 5-year-old Franklin Township girl still has seizures
unexplained rashes, mysterious illnesses and peeling skin on he
fingers and toes, which her attorney says are linked to inhaling th
toxic metal.

The girl is among at least a dozen Kiddie Kollege children who stil
have elevated levels of mercury in their bodies, according to result
of a second round of medical tests that were released in recent days t
parents.

Several parents and their attorneys said the new tests are alarmin
because experts had expected the levels of mercury in the bodies o
children who spent time in the former Gloucester County thermomete
factory would drop over time.

"When the Health Department contacted me this time, they actually acte
a little concerned," said Tina Toy, whose 2-year-old daughter, Savannah
attended Kiddie Kollege for more than a year. Toy said the state worke
"had a heavy heart" in his conversation with her.

Kiddie Kollege shut July 28 after state Department of Environmenta
Protection workers discovered it had been operating in the bankrup
thermometer factory - one of New Jersey's known toxic sites - for tw
years.

The state attorney general has launched a criminal probe into how th
day-care center was allowed to open and other state officials ar
conducting a widening probe into whether more day-care centers ar
imperiled by the state's 17,000 known contaminated sites.

Last month, the state Department of Health and Senior Services teste
60 Kiddie Kollege students for mercury exposure and reported that 2
had elevated but acceptable levels of mercury. State health official
said the mercury levels should drop as the children stay away fro
mercury exposure.

The children were tested again this month. The state Department o
Health and Senior Services would not disclose the results to Th
Inquirer.

Parents said the second round of tests were not encouraging. More tha
half the children had levels above the normal range, according t
interviews with parents and their attorneys.

"What we're seeing is what we suspected before the test came back - th
mercury is not leaving their systems quickly enough and they're th
cases where you see the symptoms persisting," said Christophe
Manganello, a Pitman lawyer who represents the 5-year-old girl wit
seizures and 17 other Kiddie Kollege children.

The girl's mercury level dropped slightly, he said. Still, the mercur
level in that girl and in nine other children he represents remai
above normal.

Bridgeton lawyer Kevin McCann said he represents two other childre
whose mercury levels exceed normal, including Dillon Widdifield, 5, wh
has the highest mercury level of any of the Kiddie Kollege children.

"They are very distraught," he said of Dillon's parents.

The children who still have elevated levels will be retested again i
about a month. Their homes also will be tested, to see whether mercur
may have been brought home in their bookbags, sleeping bags or othe
articles.

The parents and their attorneys have asked state and federal healt
officials to expand the testing to include children who weren'
attending Kiddie Kollege at the time it was closed. They also hav
asked that testing for all the children continue for decades or more.

"These kids need testing and the employees need testing for the rest o
their lives. It's just the right thing to do," said Manganello.

Tom Slater, spokesman for the state Department of Health and Senio
Services, confirmed that parents have been told the results for thei
own children. He said said he didn't know why the state wouldn'
publicly release the total result of the second tests.

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Contact staff writer Jan Hefler at 856-779-3224 o
jhefler@phillynews.com.