On Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018, a mouse created a stir in Argonne’s Legal department, located on the second floor in Building 201.
“I saw it sitting next to the Legal department’s water cooler,” said Legal Operations Manager Tracey Gallegos (LEG). “I jumped and yelped — a perfectly natural reaction. People came out of their offices to see if I was alright.”
“I saw the mouse in the CPA water cooler area just a moment before I heard a cry from Legal,” said a member of the Communications and Public Affairs division.
The mouse has been described as small and grey.
“It was cute,” said Gallegos, “but there was no way I was going to touch it.”
One brave individual made an attempt at capturing the mouse with a small waste paper bin turned upside down. But the moment before capture, the mouse made a run for it and ended up outside the bin with its tail trapped under the lip of the bin.
“We didn’t want to hurt it,” said Legal Assistant Jacquie Krupa (LEG), “so we lifted the bin off its tail and it quickly darted away through the cube maze.”
Building Maintenance responded to the scene, but the mouse could not be located.
Subsequent attempts were made to lure the hidden mouse into a waste paper bin with a small amount of raisin bran, with no results.
The mouse remains at large. Efforts are underway to capture the unexpected guest so it can be released safely outdoors.
“It’s a good idea to put food away and clean up any crumbs,” said Building Maintenance Foreman Dan Newtoff. “Especially around the holidays, food tends to be left out in common areas.”
Employees should contact safety@anl.gov to report safety concerns. In an emergency, call 9-1-1 from landlines or (630) 252-1911 from cell phones.
If you have a safety-related story you’d like to share, please email safetyshare@anl.gov.
All employees are encouraged to submit safety shares for inclusion in the Safety Share Library. Submission details are available on Inside Argonne.
Each month a safety share submitted by an individual will be selected to receive a Spot Award for demonstrated safety leadership. The Spot Award program offers three award levels: gold ($100), silver ($50) and bronze ($25).