Researchers who studied three generations of mothers and their children from the community of Grassy Narrows, Ontario, have concluded that sustained exposure to the toxic metal helped cause a suicide rate three times higher than any other First Nations community – which are already far higher than among the country’s general population.
Maybe/probably but on the scale of 20000lbs that still seems odd. Although at 113lbs/gal that’s only 175 gallons but still, mercury is usually used in extremely small quantities.
Typically as a vapor, even. And it has a fairly low vapor pressure for a liquid. Not even that much vapor is needed.
It’s an immense amount of liquid mercury - especially since it probably had organic compounds in it too. Bioavailable mercury is truly fucked stuff, and those responsible for this should live the rest of their lives in a chemical shed.