How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer

Mercury thermometers for measuring temperature are very popular because they show a fairly accurate result. However, despite this, the thermometer has an unpleasant feature to break. Silver balls of mercury are rolled out over the entire area of ​​the lesion, which pose a serious threat to humans. Not everyone knows how to fix a leak. In such a case, care must be taken.

Pros of a mercury thermometer

1. A medical device accurately measures body temperature, unlike electronic counterparts. To date, such a thermometer is considered the most correct.
2. The thermometer is capable of measuring temperature even under extreme environmental conditions, whether it is cold or sultry heat. In this case, there are practically no deviations. Therefore, people prefer to measure the temperature in this way.
3. Health and medical facilities are accustomed to using a mercury thermometer due to its easy disinfection. It is enough to immerse the device in a special solution to carry out disinfection.
4. To date, during the crisis, people are trying to save on everything, including medicines and devices of this orientation. A mercury thermometer is cheap, so it is available to absolutely everyone.
5. The main advantage is ease of use. Even a teenager under the supervision of parents can measure the temperature. For comparison, the electronic counterpart often "junk".

Cons of a mercury thermometer

1. There is not always time and patience to hold a thermometer under the armpit. Sometimes it takes 7-10 minutes to measure the temperature. This option is not acceptable for employed categories of people.
2. The measuring rod is placed in a flask of very thin glass. The material is extremely fragile, so it often breaks when handled improperly. Mercury flows from the cavity, which later turns into toxic fumes. It is not always possible to eliminate a leak without harm to health.

What danger does mercury from a thermometer carry

1. Mercury refers to liquid toxic metals. When heated and an approximate temperature of +18 degrees, it evaporates, forming toxic vapor. Very often, mercury balls are spread throughout the room and are clogged in hard-to-reach cracks, shoes, and carpet.
2. Mercury is odorless, but this does not make it less toxic. Metal freezes only at -37 degrees, so you should not count on this aspect at home.
3. After the thermometer breaks, mercury quickly flows out of a special rod and forms small balls. They glide well and evaporate just as quickly, it all depends on the air temperature in the room. The higher the indicators, the stronger the decomposition and further poisoning.
4. Accidents occur after vapors get into the airways. Interestingly, only 1.5-2 gr. liquid metal can poison up to 10 people. It is this amount of mercury that the thermometer accumulates.
5. After inhalation of toxic fumes, toxic compounds settle in the brain, heart muscle, lungs and bronchi, liver, kidneys and skin. Often the body sprinkles, stomatitis is formed in the oral cavity, the kidneys and central nervous system are affected. With prolonged exposure to mercury on the body, insanity of the mind begins.
6. The first signs of mercury poisoning will be noticeable after 3.5-4 hours after the incident. Symptoms manifest themselves in the form of dizziness, migraine, weakness, fatigue, vomiting, and nausea.Then begins an intestinal upset, bleeding gums, sore throat.
7. If first aid was not provided after mercury poisoning, the situation is complicated. Often, body temperature rises to a critical point of 40 degrees, a strong cough appears, the airways swell and the lungs become inflamed.

What should not be done if a thermometer crashes

• do not use a vacuum cleaner, because after that you will have to throw it away;
• do not collect balls without protective gloves, otherwise mercury will be absorbed into the skin;
• Do not create a draft in the apartment so that toxic fumes do not migrate to other rooms;
• do not throw mercury in the bin, toilet bowl, sink;
• do not sweep balls so as not to break them into smaller drops;
• Do not wash things that have mercury on them; dispose of them immediately.

What to do if a thermometer crashes

First, call the Ministry of Emergencies, report a problem and wait for the arrival of specialists. In the meantime, do a series of the following:

1. Ask relatives to leave the room where the mercury leaked. Close the door very tight so that possible fumes do not leak through the slots.
2. Open the windows for airing if there is no sultry heat on the street. Make yourself a gauze dressing or use a respirator to protect your airways.
3. Cover your skin with very thick rubber gloves, put shoe covers or plastic food bags on your feet.
4. Prepare a glass jar with a lid, fill the cavity with cold water to the middle. Put the fragments of the thermometer inside, clog the container and put it away.
5. Take other containers to place instruments that come in contact with mercury balls. Close them tightly and take them to an inaccessible place.
6. In the process of liquid metal liquidation, take a break every quarter hour. For this period, go out to breathe fresh air, be sure to drink plenty of water.
7. After eliminating the consequences of a broken thermometer, aerate the room several times every day for a crescent. It is important to completely remove possible mercury vapor from the room.

How to collect mercury properly

1. When breaking a thermometer, mercury scatters throughout the room. Silver balls can clog into the floor gap and carpet. To eliminate the consequences of such a problem, it is necessary to prepare and act clearly.
2. To do this, you need medical cotton wool, a small piece of cloth, a patch and a thick sheet of paper. Select individual garbage bags for items that have been exposed to mercury. Be sure to take a glass container with a sealed lid.
3. Among other things, you will need a gypsy needle or a knitting needle and a syringe to collect mercury balls. Take a bright flashlight, manganese solution, bleach and household rubber gloves. You will also need a disinfectant.
4. Keep in mind that when collecting mercury, no one should be in the room except you. Try to limit as much as possible the place where the thermometer crashed. Mercury adheres well to various surfaces and things, as a result, metal is distributed throughout the apartment.
5. Gathering should occur from the circumference to the epicenter. Put on rubber gloves, arm yourself with everything you need and carefully carry out the operation. Shine a flashlight on the surface, do not miss joints on the floor.
6. You can suck in liquid balls of mercury with a medical syringe. Next, the metal is placed in a pre-prepared container. Mercury is also collected with paper towels dipped in vegetable oil.
7. An alternative and no less effective way to collect toxic metal is a patch or tape. Do not forget about a sheet of foil or paper. Collect mercury on the canvas with a brush.
8. Soak cotton pads in manganese solution and collect mercury balls.After careful collection of liquid metal, the room must be sanitized several times. Use directed action tools.

Collection of mercury from furniture or carpet

1. Remember, all available tools and instruments must be selected from the current situation and the scale of the defeat. If you will collect mercury from non-fluffy surfaces, the attributes used in the first case are quite suitable for these purposes.
2. If you have long-pile carpets in your house where the mercury can clearly get stuck, in this case you will have to make a lot of effort to fix it. The edges of the palace will have to be tucked up, and possibly raised. Thus, toxic metal does not roll to the floor.
3. Place the fleecy carpet in a thick plastic bag. Take the attribute to the street. Line an oilcloth suitable for size with carpet on the ground. Hang the attribute over polyethylene. With gentle movements, begin to knock out the carpet.
4. Collect all the mercury that was crumbled onto the oilcloth in a glass container, tightly cork with a lid. It is further recommended that the carpet is often taken outside for ventilation. You can also place the attribute for a long time in the garage. After a few weeks, the carpet will completely ventilate. The garage must be dry.

Hand-held collection of mercury

Magnet

1. Conflicting controversy has arisen over such a method for collecting mercury. Some argue that the method is pretty good, others claim that liquid metal is simply not magnetized.
2. If you decide to resort to manipulation, be sure to arm yourself with tight gloves, then get rid of them and the magnet.

Knitting needles

1. Perhaps the removal of mercury from the cracks is the most difficult to resolve, yet there is a way to get rid of toxic metal. For this you need a long knitting needle.
2. Dampen medical cotton wool in water, wrap a metal rod around it. Sprinkle a gap with fine sand. Next, knit it with a knitting needle along with mercury.

After the thermometer fell out of hands and crashed, it is necessary to dispose of the drops of liquid metal. It is important to collect all the mercury, even if it is in hard to reach places.

Video: what to do if a thermometer crashes