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What should I do if I break a mercury thermometer?
The preferred method of disposal for unbroken mercury thermometers and the mercury from broken thermometers is to take them to a local household hazardous waste collection facility or thermometer collection site if one is available in your area.
How toxic is mercury from a thermometer?
It has been reported that the oral intake and ingestion of elemental mercury typically contained in a thermometer (approximately 0.1 mL or 1 gram) does not cause intoxication. Therefore, elemental mercury levels in thermometers are below toxic levels (7).
How long do mercury vapors stay in the air?
one yearAt room temperature, exposed elemental mercury can evaporate to become an invisible, odorless toxic vapor. This vapor has a very long life (up to one year) in the air. Once released into the wider atmosphere, elemental mercury can travel thousands of miles and becomes part of a global pool of atmospheric mercury.
What happens if you break a mercury free thermometer?
Cleanup and Disposal The non-mercury thermometers are non-toxic and environmentally safe. The broken glass should be placed in a sharps container to prevent injury. The remaining liquid can be cleaned up with soap and water.
Can you get sick from a broken mercury thermometer?
The small silvery ball in a mercury thermometer can be dangerous if the glass breaks and the mercury is not cleaned up properly. The mercury will evaporate and can contaminate the surrounding air and become toxic to humans and wildlife.
What happens if you breathe mercury vapors?
INHALATION EXPOSURE: Acute exposure to high levels of elemental mercury vapor may cause inflammation of the lungs (chemical pneumonitis), difficulty breathing or shortness of breath (dyspnea), chest pain, and dry cough.
What mercury poisoning feels like?
Symptoms of mercury poisoning depend on the form of the mercury that was the source of the exposure. Early symptoms of mercury poisoning can include a metallic taste in the mouth and numbness and tingling in the hands, feet and face.
How much mercury vapor is lethal?
Human data: Deaths have resulted from 3 months exposure to diethyl mercury at an estimated concentration of 1 mg/m3 [Hill 1943]. The lethal dose of methyl mercury is estimated to be 200 mg, with paresthesia of the hands, feet, and mouth occurring at a total body burden of 40 mg [Bakir et al.
How much mercury is toxic?
Blood mercury levels above 100 ng/mL have been reported to be associated with clear signs of mercury poisoning in some individuals (e.g., poor muscle coordination, tingling and numbness in fingers and toes).
How long does it take for mercury to evaporate?
A pea-sized drop of mercury that goes undetected can take up to 384 days to fully vaporize. In that amount of time, it can cause severe neurological damage—especially in infants and children. Spilled mercury does not act like most liquids.
Is mercury toxic?
All Mercury is Toxic Although some forms of mercury are more dangerous than others, all are toxic. Depending on the type and amount, exposures to mercury can damage the nervous system, kidneys, liver and immune system. Breathing mercury vapors can harm the nervous system, lungs and kidneys.
How do I know if my thermometer has mercury in it?
How can I tell if my thermometer has mercury? Mercury is a silver-white to gray substance. If your thermometer is filled with a red liquid, your thermometer contains red dyed alcohol or mineral spirits and not mercury. These are safer alternatives to mercury fever thermometers.
How much mercury is toxic?
Blood mercury levels above 100 ng/mL have been reported to be associated with clear signs of mercury poisoning in some individuals (e.g., poor muscle coordination, tingling and numbness in fingers and toes).
What mercury poisoning feels like?
Symptoms of mercury poisoning depend on the form of the mercury that was the source of the exposure. Early symptoms of mercury poisoning can include a metallic taste in the mouth and numbness and tingling in the hands, feet and face.
What will happen if mercury goes inside human body?
Neurological and behavioural disorders may be observed after inhalation, ingestion or dermal exposure of different mercury compounds. Symptoms include tremors, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular effects, headaches and cognitive and motor dysfunction.
How much mercury is toxic grams?
The lethal dose of methyl mercury is estimated to be 200 mg, with paresthesia of the hands, feet, and mouth occurring at a total body burden of 40 mg [Bakir et al.
What to do if you spill more mercury than the thermometer?
If your spill is greater than the amount in a thermometer, visit our What to Do if you Spill More Mercury than the Amount in a Thermometer page. Have everyone else leave the area; don't let anyone walk through the mercury on their way out. Make sure all pets are removed from the area.
What is the number to call for a thermometer break?
If you have further questions, or if there are young children or pregnant women in the house at the time of the thermometer breakage, please call your local poison control center at 1-800-222-1222. Top of Page.
How to dispose of mercury beads?
Place all mercury beads and objects into the trash bag. Secure trash bag and label it as directed by your local health or fire department. Contact your local health department, municipal waste authority or your local fire department for proper disposal in accordance with local, state and federal laws.
How to get mercury out of a bag?
Secure the bag and label it as directed by your local health or fire department. Locate visible mercury beads. Use a squeegee or cardboard to gather mercury beads. Use slow sweeping motions to keep mercury from becoming uncontrollable.
How to get rid of broken glass?
Put on rubber, nitrile or latex gloves. If there are any broken pieces of glass or sharp objects, pick them up with care. Place all broken objects on a paper towel. Fold the paper towel and place in a zip lock bag. Secure the bag and label it as directed by your local health or fire department.
What surfaces can you clean with mercury?
Mercury can be cleaned up easily from the following surfaces: wood, linoleum, tile and any similarly smooth surfaces.
Can you pour mercury down a drain?
Never pour mercury down a drain. It may lodge in the plumbing and cause future problems during plumbing repairs. If discharged, it can cause pollution of the septic tank or sewage treatment plant.
What to do if the mercury thermometer is broken?
In real conditions (including ventilation) when breaking a medical thermometer in a room of 12-18 square meters the concentration of mercury vapor after a few hours can exceed the MAC in 50-100 times, so do not put it off, start demerkurizatsiya (remo val of mercury).
How to collect mercury from a thermometer?
The collection of mercury droplets should be carried out from the border of the contaminated area to its center. Carefully collect the mercury from all cracks, and if you suspect that the mercury got behind the baseboard or under the floorboards, be sure to remove them and check. If it takes too long to collect the mercury, be sure to take a break every 15 minutes and get some fresh air!
What is the best way to clean mercury spills?
When mechanical demercurization is complete, the mercury spill site should be chemically demercurized. We can use soap-soda solution (4% soap in 5% soda solution), 0,2% potassium permanganate solution acidified with hydrochloric acid (5 ml of 1.19 W per 1 liter of potassium permanganate solution), 20% bleach lime solution, 2-3% iodine solution in 30% potassium iodide solution, and others. Their use will oxidize the mercury and make it non-volatile. Potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate, “manganese”) and chlorine bleach are the most readily available in the home.
How to keep mercury from heating up?
After all the mercury is collected, close the jar tightly with a twist-off lid and keep it away from heating appliances. You can use a plastic jar with a tight lid if you don’t have a glass one on hand.
What to wear before collecting mercury?
Before collecting mercury: wear rubber gloves: the substance must not come into contact with bare skin; to protect feet from contamination – plastic shoe covers or bags; to protect the respiratory system – a cotton-gauze bandage soaked in a solution of soda or soaked in water.
Is mercury a hazardous substance?
Mercury is a Hazard Class 1 substance and can have toxic effects on the nervous, digestive, and immune systems, as well as on the lungs, kidneys, skin, and eyes. Health authorities consider mercury to be one of the top ten chemicals that pose a significant public health problem. Mercury vapor and soluble compounds are the most poisonous. A typical medical thermometer contains approximately 2 grams of mercury. The maximum allowable concentration (MAC) of mercury vapor for residential, preschool, educational, work premises is 0.0003 mg/m3. Prolonged inhalation of mercury vapor leads to chronic poisoning.
How to clean a broken mercury thermometer?
Do NOT vacuum or sweep the broken thermometer pieces. Instead, put on a pair of rubber or latex gloves and carefully pick up broken glass or plastic with a paper towel. Seal the pieces in a plastic bag.
How to stop mercury from leaking?
Do not walk through the mercury spill, or you may risk spreading it. Open all doors and windows to the outdoors, and shut all the doors to other parts of the building. Turn down the temperature to avoid creating more fumes. Call your local health or fire department for further instructions right away.
How to move mercury beads?
Mercury beads move FAST. Using a small piece of paper or cardboard, very slowly roll the mercury beads onto a second piece of paper and seal everything into another plastic bag. Shine a flashlight at an angle to find small shiny pieces that still need to be gathered.
Is mercury bad for babies?
If you’re pregnant, nursing or have small children, you should also be aware that even small amounts of mercury vapor can be especially harmful to unborn and nursing babies, as well as to the small lungs of children and pets.
Can you touch mercury?
The good news is that our bodies do not absorb liquid mercury easily through the skin, so don’t worry if you accidentally touch it. That said, we do easily absorb mercury vapors into our lungs, so you still do need to be careful.
Is mercury a hazardous waste?
This spreads the vapors through the air and increases exposure. Mercury is a hazardous waste. Never dispose of it with the regular household trash, unless following the specific safety instructions from your local hazardous waste facility.
What happens if a thermometer is broken?
If a mercury-containing thermometer is broken, do not clean up the spilled mercury with a vacuum cleaner. This Really Happened. An 11-month-old girl was seen in a hospital because she developed loss of appetite, difficulty crawling, drowsiness, an itchy rash, red skin on her hands, and peeling skin on her feet.
How much mercury is in a thermometer?
Most oral and rectal thermometers contain about 0.5-0.6 grams of mercury. The main health problems from mercury are from the vapors. These are produced at room temperature and especially when mercury is heated. The vapors can be inhaled and are absorbed into the body.
Why are thermometers declining?
Calls to Poison Control about mercury from broken thermometers are declining because of the availability of other types of thermometers. Although mercury is considered a highly toxic substance, the overall risk of toxicity from a broken mercury-containing thermometer is low when appropriate clean-up measures are taken.
What is the oldest thermometer?
The oldest thermometers used are mercury in glass. Newer thermometers include non-mercury liquids in glass and digital and electronic devices that use sensors to measure temperature. Thermometers that check body temperature in the ear, across the forehead, or have a digital display do not contain mercury.
How to get rid of mercury in mouth?
Ingestion of small amounts of mercury usually do not need a specific treatment, but rinsing with water then spitting can help remove any mercury remaining in the mouth. For people with symptoms, special drugs can be given to help remove the mercury from the body.
What surfaces can you clean with mercury?
Mercury can be cleaned up easily from the following surfaces: wood, linoleum, tile, and most other hard, smooth surfaces.
How to contact poison control for mercury thermometer?
Depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the broken mercury-containing thermometers, most cases can be managed safely at home; however, always contact Poison Control at 1-800-222-1222 for assistance.
What happens when mercury vapor is inhaled?
If mercury vapor is inhaled, it is easily absorbed by the body, where it first gets into the lungs and from there into the blood and the brain.
How to prevent mercury poisoning?
If this happens in your home, immediately hold your breath and get everyone out of the room and shut the door behind you on your way out, to limit it spreading into other parts of your home. Have everyone leave the house if you have a furnace or air handling system that circulates the air throughout the building - if you know how to shut that down as you leave, do so.
What is mercury used for?
It is used in some thermometers, dental amalgams, fluorescent light bulbs, some electrical switches, mining, and some industrial processes. It is released into the air when coal and other fossil fuels are burned.
How long should you stay out of a fluorescent light?
Stay out of the house and/or room for at least 15 minutes after the fluorescent light broke, which is how long it will take for the gaseous mercury vapor to condense back into a fine mist of liquid mercury droplets and to settle out on the surfaces of the room / house. After that point you can go into the house and begin cleaning up all the surfaces you can, just wiping them off with soap and water, but again, don’t dump any of your clean up materials down drains, toilets, storm sewers, or send them to landfills, as they are hazardous waste. The amount of mercury in any one light bulb is very small, so it is likely not going to make anyone deathly ill, even if they accidentally breathed some of the air from the room where the bulb broke, which is the worst case scenario. If you broke a fluorescent bulb that wasn’t on, mercury contamination will be limited to the places where the pieces fell, and the broken glass is probably more dangerous than the mercury, but still you should treat the broken glass and cleaning materials as hazardous waste.
Is mercury toxic to thermometers?
No. Elemental mercury has very little toxicity. And, it is easy to spit out. There is very little mercury in the thermometer in the first place.
Is mercury vapor toxic to humans?
Neurological and behavioral disorders in humans have been observed following inhalation of elemental mercury vapor. Specific symptoms include tremors, emotional liability, insomnia, memory loss, neuromuscular changes, and headaches. In addition, there are effects on the kidney and thyroid. High exposures have also resulted in death. With regard to carcinogenicity, the overall evaluation, according to IARC (1993), is that metallic mercury and inorganic mercuric compounds are not classifiable as to carcinogenicity to humans (group 3). A critical effect on which risk assessment could be based is therefore the neurotoxic effects, for example the induction of tremor. The effects on the kidneys (the renal tubule) should also be considered; they are the key endpoint in exposure to inorganic mercury compounds. The effect may well be reversible, but as the exposure to the general population tends to be continuous, the effect may still be relevant.
Is mercury poison a good poison?
Pure mercury isn’t a good choice of assassination poison. A dental assistant once tried to commit suicide by injecting 10ml ( a LOT ) of mercury into her blood stream. It didn’t kill her. She was taken to hospital.
What is the liquid used in mercury thermometers?
Mercury Thermometers | US EPA. “The liquid used can be pure ethanol, toluene, kerosene or Isoamyl acetate, depending on manufacturer and working temperature range. Since these are transparent, the liquid is made more visible by the addition of a red or blue dye .”. Alcohol thermometer - Wikipedia.
What happens if you put mercury in a glass?
If there was mercury in it and the mercury is allowed to leak out (i.e. the glass breaking), your child could get mercury poisoning, which can range from having minor to severe problems.
How long does it take for mercury to clear up?
It can take weeks for the symptoms from mercury poisoning to clear up. Fertility threat. In addition to liquid mercury, mercury salts and compounds are also dangerous, especially when they get into water systems through industrial waste. "We've long known that mercury can accumulate in algae and fish," says Gebel.
What happens if you inhale mercury?
If mercury vapor is inhaled, it is easily absorbed by the body, where it first gets into the lungs and from there into the blood and the brain. The nerve poison can cause sleep disorders, agitation, and paralysis.
Can a broken thermometer cause mercury poisoning?
Even a simple thing such as a broken thermometer can lead to mercury poisoning. It can be particularly dangerous in a children's playroom if liquid mercury seeps into cracks and corners and is left undisturbed to vaporize. "It's not like with hot water - water vaporizes and is gone.
Is mercury safe to use?
Mercury is so dangerous for the environment that its use has been discontinued in most places for everything except where it can not be replaced. Since a thermometer can be made with many other liquids, there are almost no mercury thermometers in use any more; only some left from decades ago.
Can mercury be used in thermometers?
Mercury is no longer used in thermometers but was once very common. Exposure to it can cause the neurological disorder erethism mercurialis - with at least one observable symptom, according to Thomas Gebel, a toxicologist at Germany's Federal Institute for Occupational Health and Safety in Dortmund.