BOISE -- Families are finally allowed back into their Boise homes today after being displaced due to a mercury spill a week ago – but not all of them will be returning.

KTVB

Some Boise families are being let back in their homes after a mercury spill forced them to move out last week.

It is still a mess on White Cloud Drive, but the EPA says it is safe.

They will do one final test tonight on an apartment, but at least of the displaced families was allowed back in.

In apartment 703 we found Cindy Guntrum and her two young children packing their belongings.

Cindy says despite being cleared to move back in -- she doesn't feel safe.

Her children suffer from asthma and she says the risk of living in the once-contaminated area outweighs the benefits.

She is moving her things to storage and moving in with her mom until she finds a new home.

"It’s scary, because my kids were playing, just to know that my kids were exposed to that for that long it's very scary.  I would rather just up root it and get out of here, instead of making my kids sick, said Cindy Guntrum.

The EPA says it had to dig at least a foot down, under the lawn, sidewalk and driveway in an effort to cleanup the toxic mercury.

Crews originally thought the spill had been on the ground for a couple of days, but as it turned out it has been there much longer.

So far the cleanup process has cost $160,000 – or about $20,000 per day.

The EPA anticipates the final bill will be around $200,000.

Investigators believe they know the source of the mercury spill, but so far no one has been charged or cited.