According to the lawyers, the contaminated Kiddie Kollege day-care center in Philadelphia was closed four years ago, but a lawsuit seeking damages is still four months off.

On Friday lawyers for plaintiffs in the lawsuit filed in Gloucester County were provided five compact discs of photographs of the day care's documents, which were contaminated with mercury so attorneys were not allowed to handle them and were disposed of in a landfill for toxic substances. Demolition of the building that housed the day care and cleanup of the site was completed last month, The Philadelphia Inquirer has reported.

Jim Pettit, a lawyer for the families of nearly 100 babies and children who attended the day care from 2004 until it was closed, said, "It is clear from even the few photographs I looked at this afternoon that the person holding the documents for the photographer is wearing large, thick gloves."

The building, which formerly housed a thermometer factory, had been found to have mercury levels 27 times the acceptable level, he said.

The Inquirer also said that Randy Weaver, a deputy state attorney general in the case, said the mercury level of the documents themselves was "minutely elevated."

It was further reported that the suit, which is to go to trial Sept. 13, seeks to have the state, the building owners and others pay for medical monitoring to ensure the children are promptly treated for any ailments that arise from mercury exposure. (With Inputs from Agencies)