Mercury fumes foul Tivoli theaters

By Bill Keran
The Metropolitan

Tivoli 12 movie theater was closed for about 30 minutes on the first day of classes after the Denver Fire Department  feared something dangerous might be mingling with the smell of popcorn ÷ toxic mercury fumes.

Theater staff was evacuated Aug. 25 around 1 p.m. when an electrical component in a popcorn maker leaked a small amount of mercury.

There were no injuries, and the vapors did not reach harmful levels.

Lyle McKenzie of the state health department said the level of mercury fumes on the popcorn machine was 1.46 micrograms per cubic meters of air, well below the 200 micrograms needed before a self-contained breathing apparatus is required.

If the popcorn popper had heated the mercury, the vapor levels in the air might have become lethal, he said.