Now it was revealed that the man, who turned out to be an unemployed guest worker from the city of Belgorod in western Russia, was to have received a monetary reward of about $625. He was promised the money and supplied with the large quantity of mercury by Artur Ivanov, Innovatkin’s brother. According to the police, Ivanov did not want to do the contamination himself because he knew how dangerous mercury was and didn’t want to risk his health.

Now the firm and its director, who was revealed to have a criminal record, are being probed for involvement in other similar cases. He is now charged with illegal trade of dangerous compounds, but the police are looking for more evidence, which may allow substituting the charge with a more serious one.

Poisoning from mercury vapors is highly dangerous and can do permanent damage to the kidneys, the brain, and in worse cases lead to death. It can also cause great harm to fetuses and cause developmental problems in children.

In the April spilling case, mercury concentration in the air of the mall exceeded safe levels by 70,000 times. All of the policemen, who kept people from approaching the contaminated building, had their shoes destroyed for health safety reasons.