Is mercury magnetic?

Is mercury magnetic? How not to collect

The advantage of a mercury thermometer is its stable accuracy in temperature measurement. The main disadvantage of a thermometer is that it is easy to break. One awkward movement is enough for toxic silver balls to scatter across the room. To avoid mercury poisoning, you should immediately collect the hazardous substance.

Why is mercury dangerous?

Upon impact, the mercury is divided into small balls, which instantly roll around the room. Mercury droplets roll into the cracks of the baseboard and floor, penetrate into the underground space and settle in the carpet pile. The toxic hazardous substance evaporates at a temperature of 18°C, poisoning the air in the room.

Once in the human body, mercury from a broken thermometer has a local irritating effect and causes internal poisoning of the kidneys, cardiovascular and central nervous systems. Recommendations on what to do if a thermometer with mercury breaks will help you avoid intoxication.

What to do if the thermometer breaks

If you break a mercury thermometer, it is important to carry out demercurization correctly. It includes the removal and disposal of mercury balls in the leakage area. To remove toxic mercury balls yourself, you need to follow these steps:

• Remove people from the room, close the door tightly and open the windows for ventilation.
• Wear a respirator, rubber gloves and shoe covers.
• Fill a glass jar halfway with water, put a mercury thermometer with the remaining mercury in it and tightly close the container with a lid.
• You need to take a break every 15 minutes. Get outside and drink more cold water.
• For 3 weeks, ventilate the room daily and disinfect the area where the mercury spilled.

How to remove mercury if a thermometer breaks?

Toxic mercury balls roll everywhere when they fall. More often they are concentrated in the cracks of the floor and walls, on the surface of the floor covering and on the carpet. To collect mercury, prepare:

• medical cotton wool and plaster
• thick sheet of paper or cardboard
• glass jar with an airtight lid
• medical syringe and long knitting needle
• solution of potassium permanganate and bleach
• latex gloves
• disinfectants
• flashlight and small pieces of fabric
• plastic bags for collecting contaminated items.

It is necessary to limit as much as possible the area where the mercury thermometer broke. Liquid mercury sticks to the soles of shoes and spreads throughout the apartment. Wear gloves and place the broken thermometer in a jar of water. Start collecting mercury balls, moving from the periphery of the affected area to the center.

How to collect mercury from a flat surface

Collecting toxic mercury droplets from a table or floor can be done in several ways:

• Using a syringe, the liquid balls are sucked up, after which the mercury is placed in a glass jar.
• Mercury is collected from the floor onto a sheet of paper or foil, helping with a brush.
• Using paper napkins or sheets of newspaper moistened with sunflower oil or water.
• Toxic drops of mercury stick perfectly to the patch or tape.
• Mercury is collected with cotton sponges soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate.

After removing mercury particles, treat the room 2-3 times with bleach, manganese or soap solution. To clean the floor, use unnecessary scraps of cloth, as they will have to be thrown away. If the thermometer is broken in the kitchen, it is better to wash the kitchen utensils.

What to do if a thermometer breaks on a carpet or sofa

For treating not very fluffy surfaces, carpets, leatherette and leather sofas, the same tools are suitable as for removing mercury from the floor. It is more difficult to collect mercury beads that are located inside long-pile carpeting. Carpet cleaning steps:

• Gather the edges of the carpet towards the middle so that liquid metal does not leak onto the floor.
• Place the rug in a thick plastic bag and take it outside.
• Lay oilcloth or cellophane on the ground to prevent mercury from getting onto the ground. Hang the rug over the oilcloth laid out.
• Using smooth blows, knock out the mercury balls from the carpet. Collect the mercury from the oilcloth and place it in a glass container.
• Air the carpet for 3 months or hang it in the garage for a long time.

How to get mercury out of cracks

Collecting mercury from floor or wall cracks is a difficult but doable task. There are several ways to solve the problem:

• Use a gypsy needle or a long knitting needle and wrap it with cotton wool soaked in water.
• Pour sand into the crack and sweep it out with a brush along with mercury balls.

Is it possible to collect mercury balls with a magnet? Mercury is a liquid metal, so it is easily magnetic. During the procedure, you must wear thick rubber gloves. They must be removed so that the magnet with the mercury balls stuck to it is inside the glove.

What not to do when collecting mercury

It is strictly forbidden to use a vacuum cleaner to collect mercury. The air heated by a vacuum cleaner accelerates the evaporation of toxic liquid metal. Mercury lingers on the parts of the device, making it a distributor of toxic fumes.

If a member of your family breaks a home thermometer, you will have to collect drops of mercury from the broken thermometer yourself. To do everything right, you should watch thematic photos and videos. This will help protect loved ones from the consequences of toxic mercury poisoning.

Discussion

Good question. The first time I saw in the hospital how a thermometer broke and mercury rolled into small beads on the floor. We collected them by rolling them with a napkin to each other to make a single ball. I was about 10 years old then.

But in the end it turned out that it was impossible to do that! What was urgently needed to be reported to the medical post, because mercury is toxic and evaporates quickly, and we breathe it.

I know for sure that you need to open the windows, put bags on your feet, and under no circumstances pick them up with a broom, vacuum cleaner, or rag.

Comment on the article “How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer”

Collect the mercury with wet rags in a jar of water and close tightly. What is forbidden to do if the thermometer breaks? Where is mercury most often found? Almost every home has a thermometer, and we immediately pick it up at the first sign of

I broke the thermometer, collected mercury, washed the floor with potassium permanganate, but doubts remained. Has anyone called specialists for demercurization? There are so many companies that offer these services, I don’t know which one is better to choose and based on what criteria. Are there any

Source: https://www.cok24.ru/magnititsya-li-rtut-magnitom-kak-nelzya-sobirat-sobiraem-rtut-s.html

Mercury: real and imaginary threats

Everyone knows well how dangerous mercury balls are since childhood. Severe poisoning, in some cases leading to disability and even death, is one of the possible consequences of such intoxication.  

But not in all cases does mercury actually pose a significant health threat. In this article you will learn when to be wary of it and what to do to minimize the risks.

Why is mercury dangerous?

Mercury belongs to substances of the 1st hazard class. When this metal enters the body, it tends to accumulate—80% of inhaled vapors are not excreted. In acute poisoning it can cause severe intoxication and death, in chronic poisoning it can lead to severe disability. First of all, those organs that accumulate the substance best - the liver, kidneys, and brain - are affected.

Therefore, dementia, kidney and liver failure are common results of mercury poisoning. When inhaling vapors, poisoning first affects the state of the respiratory system, later the central nervous system (CNS) and internal organs are affected, and with prolonged exposure, all body systems gradually suffer.

Mercury is especially dangerous for pregnant women, as it affects intrauterine development, and children.

However, such severe consequences are caused not by the metal itself, but by its vapors - they are the main danger in everyday life. Balls of mercury from a broken thermometer begin to evaporate already at a temperature of +18°C. Therefore, at home, where the air temperature is usually much higher, the substance evaporates quite actively.

Mercury compounds, such as methylmercury, are no less dangerous to the body. In 1956, mass poisoning caused by this particular compound was discovered in Japan. The Chisso company systematically released mercury into the bay from which the fishermen were catching fish.

As a result, 35% of those poisoned by contaminated fish died. After this incident, such intoxications were called Minamata disease (after the name of the local city). In everyday life, people practically never encounter such severe poisoning.

Symptoms of acute poisoning

Acute mercury poisoning has distinct symptoms. Characteristic symptoms include the following:

• Weakness.
• Nausea and vomiting.
• Headache.
• Chest and abdominal pain.
• Diarrhea, sometimes with blood.
• Difficulty breathing, swelling of the mucous membranes.
• Salivation and metallic taste in the mouth.
• Increase in temperature (in some cases up to 40°C).

Symptoms of poisoning develop within several hours after high concentrations of mercury vapors or compounds enter the body. If during this time the victim does not receive qualified medical care, poisoning will lead to irreversible consequences.

A person develops dysfunction of the central nervous system, damage to the brain, liver and kidneys, loss of vision, and with a large dose of a toxic substance, death can occur.

Acute poisoning is extremely rare: more often in accidents at work, in domestic conditions such a situation is practically impossible.

Symptoms of chronic poisoning

Mercurialism, or chronic mercury poisoning, is much more common. Mercury is odorless, so it is almost impossible to notice balls of the substance that, for example, have rolled under the baseboard, in the cracks between the floorboards, or remained in the carpet pile.

But even the smallest drops continue to release deadly fumes. Since their concentration is insignificant, the symptoms are not so pronounced.

At the same time, small doses over a long period lead to serious consequences, because mercury has the ability to accumulate in the body.

Among the first characteristic signs:

• General weakness, fatigue.
• Drowsiness.
• Headache.
• Dizziness.

Long-term exposure to mercury vapor can lead to hypertension, atherosclerosis, brain and central nervous system damage, and increases the risk of tuberculosis and other lung damage. The thyroid gland suffers from mercury vapor poisoning, and heart disease develops (including bradycardia and other rhythm disturbances). Unfortunately, the symptoms of mercurialism in the initial stages of poisoning are non-specific, so people often do not give them due importance.

If a mercury thermometer breaks in the house or metal gets into an open space from another source (for example, from a mercury lamp), it is important to make sure that the mercury is completely collected. It is also necessary to contact services that will help you dispose of the substance—collected mercury thrown into a trash container poses no less of a threat.

Where else is mercury found?

Of course, the main source of mercury vapor in domestic conditions is a mercury thermometer. On average, one thermometer contains up to 2 grams of mercury. This amount is not enough for severe poisoning (if the mercury is collected correctly and on time), but it is quite enough for mild and chronic intoxication. As a rule, special services of the Ministry of Emergency Situations do not respond to domestic calls, but they will provide advice on a specific case. In addition, they will tell you where to donate the collected metal.

A large drop of mercury and the same amount of metal in small balls will evaporate differently. Due to the larger surface area, small droplets will release more hazardous vapors in a short period. Namely, they are often missed by people who independently eliminate the consequences of a broken thermometer.

The most dangerous situations:

• Metal got on upholstered furniture, children's toys, carpet, fabric slippers (it is impossible to completely collect mercury from such surfaces; things will have to be thrown away).
• Mercury was kept in a room with closed windows for a long time (this increases the concentration of vapors).
• Balls of mercury rolled across the heated floor (the evaporation rate increases).
• The floor is covered with parquet, laminate, wooden boards. In order to completely remove all mercury, you will need to remove the coating at the spill site - small balls easily roll into the cracks.

In addition to thermometers, mercury is contained in some devices, mercury discharge lamps and energy-saving fluorescent lamps. The amount of substance in the latter is quite small - no more than 70 mg of mercury. They pose a danger only if several lamps in the room have been broken. Fluorescent lamps must not be thrown into the trash; they must be taken to special recycling centers.

Mercury in vaccines and food

The dangers of mercury are often discussed in the context of vaccinations. Indeed, its compound thimerosal (merthiolate) has been used as a preservative in many vaccines. Back in the 20s of the twentieth century, concentration was quite dangerous; since the 1980s, its content in one dose does not exceed 50 mcg. The half-life of mercury compounds in this amount is about 4 days, even in infants, and after 30 days the substance is completely eliminated from the body.

Despite this, today most vaccines do not contain merthiolate at all. This is connected not so much with the danger of the preservative, but with the scandal that began 20 years ago.

In 1998, the most prestigious medical journal Lancet published an article by researcher Andrew Wakefield, who linked vaccination (in particular, the thiomersal-containing MMR vaccine against measles, rubella, mumps) with the development of autism. The material caused heated discussions in the medical community and real panic among ordinary citizens.

However, a few years later it was proven that Wakefield’s article was based on false data, it was not based on real facts, and the connection between autism and thiomersal was not proven. A refutation of the material was published in the same Lancet journal.

However, it is this article that is actively cited by representatives of the anti-vaccination movement. Today, vaccines produced in Europe and the United States do not contain merthiolate and therefore may not pose any risk of mercury poisoning.

Small amounts of mercury may be found in marine fish and seafood. Ingestion of significant amounts of metal from food, as a rule, causes mild intoxication, the consequences of which are easy to eliminate.

First aid for such poisoning is simple - you need to induce vomiting, and then drink several tablets of activated carbon or take any other sorbent. After this, be sure to consult a doctor.

This is especially important for pregnant women and children, since mercury poisoning poses the greatest danger to them.

Symptoms of mercury intoxication:

• Nausea.
• Dizziness.
• Noticeable iron taste in the mouth.
• Swelling of the mucous membranes.
• Dyspnea.

First aid and necessary actions for a broken thermometer

If a thermometer breaks in the house, do not panic - quickly taken measures will help avoid negative consequences. Pharmacies sell special kits for demercurization, but you can collect mercury without them.

Ventilation and reduction of air temperature
An open window will help reduce the concentration of mercury vapor. It is advisable not to enter the room where the thermometer broke for a few more days, and keep the windows there constantly open. In winter, you should turn off the heated floor and tighten the radiators - the lower the temperature in the room, the less mercury evaporates.

For large drops you can use a syringe, for small drops - regular adhesive tape, plasticine, wet cotton. Before cleaning, shine a lamp on the place of the broken thermometer - this way everything will be visible, even the smallest balls. Mercury is collected using gloves, shoe covers and a respirator, only in a sealed container (plastic or glass container). All objects on which mercury has come into contact, including what it was collected with, are also placed in an airtight container.

• Treating the area where mercury was spilled

Surfaces are treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or a chlorine-containing preparation (for example, “Belizna” in a concentration of 1 liter per 8 liters of water). Leave the floor and surfaces for 15 minutes, then rinse with clean water. The final stage is treating the floor with potassium permanganate (1 g of potassium permanganate per 8 liters of water). As a result, mercury compounds are formed that do not produce vapor.

Do not collect mercury with a broom, mop or vacuum cleaner. You should also not wash contaminated clothes, slippers, or soft toys - the substance is difficult to wash off, and it may remain in the washing machine mechanism. All items that have been exposed to mercury must be disposed of.

The person who collected the mercury should wash their hands well after the procedure, rinse their mouth, and brush their teeth. You can drink 2-3 tablets of activated carbon. Gloves, shoe covers and clothing that have been exposed to mercury must be disposed of.  

Source: https://formulazdorovya.com/1100586148866296672/rtut-ugrozy-realnye-i-mnimye/

How to properly collect mercury at home?

It’s probably not difficult to imagine such a picture. Night, temperature, chills, thermometer and here it is - a careless movement of the hand, which leads to the fact that it breaks. We all know that a mercury thermometer is not only a useful and necessary thing in the house, but also extremely insidious.

When using it, all precautions must be taken, and this is not always possible. All it takes is one awkward movement and that’s it – the thermometer breaks and the silver balls splash onto the floor. And at this moment, most of us begin to panic. After all, how to collect mercury from the floor of the house?

Mercury is dangerous

We all studied chemistry at school and know that mercury is a metal compound with a fairly low melting point. Under normal conditions, that is, at home, mercury cannot melt unless you live in conditions of minus 38.9 degrees Celsius. Therefore, if you break a thermometer, then fairly mobile small balls will immediately appear on the floor.

If it’s about plus 18 degrees in your apartment, then you can start to worry. Its vapors are extremely poisonous and also have a strong penetrating ability into the body of humans and animals. This metal instantly poisons the air. In addition, as practice shows, mercury balls quickly stick to house shoes and animal paws, and get deep into the carpet and floor cracks. That is, mercury vapor instantly combines with the air and spreads throughout the room.

Mercury vapor poses a danger to human health. If people breathe poisoned air for 24 hours, this risks developing chronic mercury intoxication. The first symptoms of mercury poisoning look like:

• Feeling of a metallic taste in the mouth;
• Stomatitis;
• Formation of dermatitis of varying degrees;
• Anemia;
• Strong headache;
• Disruption of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Kidney damage, problems with urination;
• Tremor (shaking) of the limbs.

The only consoling factor is that a regular mercury thermometer contains from 2 to 4 grams of metal. That is, such an amount of mercury does not pose a serious danger to human life and health. The main thing is to properly remove the mercury balls. By the way, you don’t even have to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations of your city about a broken thermometer - they won’t come because the situation is insignificant. The most they can help you with is telephone advice.

Rules of conduct at home

So, if a thermometer breaks at home, then the first thing you should do in such a situation is to calm down and take this fact sensibly and seriously. Remember that collecting mercury with a broom or vacuum cleaner is strictly prohibited. Thus, you will spread mercury vapors and crystals throughout your living space. Next, you need to remove children and animals from the house. And only now can you begin to eliminate the consequences of a broken thermometer.

To protect the respiratory tract from exposure to mercury vapor, you need to wear a gauze bandage or a disposable respirator (if available). If you have neither one nor the other, then tie a regular scarf or rag over your face. This is a must, as cleaning will take you several hours. It is advisable to put shoe covers or regular bags on your shoes, and medical or household gloves on your hands.

Necessary tools for collecting mercury

How to collect mercury, and what kind of object is used to collect it? In order to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer, you will need the following tools:

• Pipette or syringe;
• Rubber bulb;
• Scotch tape or plaster;
• Plasticine;
• Cotton wool, newspaper and wet rag;
• Crumb of black bread.

The first thing to do is to remove large balls of mercury using a regular wet cloth or a syringe - whichever is convenient for you. If the thermometer breaks and balls of mercury roll around the room, then you need to carefully roll them towards each other so that they combine into larger ones. Every 10-15 minutes of working with mercury, you need to take a break and go out into the fresh air.

You need to collect mercury balls in a jar of water; you can also place here all those objects that you just manipulated to collect the poisonous metal. Don't forget to put the remaining glass from the thermometer in there. The jar must be tightly screwed and given to the sanitary and epidemiological service.

Collecting mercury from surfaces

The next question that worries many is how to remove mercury from the carpet? First of all, you need to roll up the carpet so that the mercury balls do not fly apart. After you collect the mercury from the broken thermometer, you need to take the carpet outside and leave it there to air for a day or two. If mercury gets on personal belongings, they must either be thrown away or ventilated for several months.

After you have collected all the mercury balls visible to the human eye at home, you should not assume that microdroplets of the metal could not remain somewhere else. Final cleaning will still be required. To do this, you need to wash all the walls, floors and other horizontal surfaces of the house with a detergent containing chlorine or bleach. For these purposes, ordinary potassium permanganate or a saturated soap solution is suitable.

If you break the thermometer on a hard surface, you can remove the mercury using a syringe and a damp sponge. It is advisable to wipe the surface with a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate or a detergent containing chlorine.

Some people who have broken a thermometer have a desire to collect mercury with a magnet. But this will not bring results. Despite the fact that mercury is a metal, it is diamagnetic. That is, when you start collecting balls of poisonous metal with a magnet, they will begin to repel each other rather than attract. Therefore, you shouldn’t even waste time on this pointless activity.

Final cleaning of the room

After cleaning the broken thermometer, you need to carry out a final cleaning of the entire house or apartment with a solution of ferric chloride, which is sold in any household goods or chemical store. The concentration of the solution should be 20%. You can also use this product to clean furniture and carpet piles that have been exposed to mercury.

After this, all windows in the living room must be opened and left to ventilate for at least 12 hours. If children lived in the room where the thermometer was broken or it was an adult’s bedroom, then it is advisable not to enter this room for several days. For your own peace of mind, you can insist that the sanitary and epidemiological service come out to determine the concentration of mercury in the air.

5 rules to consider:

1. If you break a thermometer, you should not touch the mercury with your bare hands and inhale the vapors of this toxic metal. You can remove mercury using wet cotton wool, a syringe, or a pipette.
2. Do not throw the thermometer and mercury balls into the toilet, sink or trash container. Just 2 grams of toxic metal contained in a thermometer, gradually evaporating, can poison 6,000 cubic meters of air.
3. If mercury gets on horizontal surfaces, they must be thoroughly treated with a solution of potassium permanganate or chlorine.
4. Children are prohibited from entering the room where the thermometer has broken.
5. Mercury is collected from carpet or furniture in the same way as from hard surfaces.

The only thing is that the carpet and other personal items and furnishings need to be thoroughly ventilated for several weeks.

Personal precautions

Once you have collected mercury from the floor, carpet, furniture and other surfaces, you need to dispose of gloves, shoe covers, a jar of mercury and other items that you touched the mercury with.

The next point that must be taken into account is self-sanitation.

A person needs to change clothes, wash and wipe the body with a weak solution of potassium permanganate. This also applies to the oral cavity. Doctors recommend drinking several tablets of activated carbon and drinking plenty of liquid. This is necessary in order to remove mercury compounds through the kidneys.

It is also recommended to close the room in which the mercury has broken for several days and open the windows in it. If your thermometers break with enviable frequency, then you need to purchase an electronic thermometer.

Source: https://ochistote.ru/poleznye-sovety/kak-sobrat-rtut.html

How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer on the floor

Mercury is a highly toxic metal that has a detrimental effect on the human body and the environment.

Modern people are trying to get rid of the use of items containing this substance.

But to this day, many still use a mercury thermometer. Therefore, the question of how to properly collect mercury is very relevant for many families.

How to properly collect mercury metal from the floor

There are many methods for collecting mercury from the floor. The simplest methods will be discussed below.

1. If you have a syringe on hand, you can safely use it. In this case, its ability to absorb liquid, including mercury balls, will come in handy. Moreover, the collected dangerous component is injected into a previously prepared glass container with water. When finished, be sure to close it hermetically.
2. Mercury can be removed at home even with ordinary napkins or cotton wool, previously moistened with water or sunflower oil.
3. Mercury from a broken thermometer will stick perfectly to tape or medical plaster. These things can be found in any person's home.
4. Mercury balls, if desired, can be removed onto foil or paper using a brush.
5. The contents of a broken thermometer can be removed from the floor surface using sponges or cotton balls pre-treated with potassium permanganate.

Remove mercury from carpet

How to collect mercury from a carpet? It is important not to panic; although the substance is toxic, if all precautions are taken, it does not pose a great danger.

To begin, roll the rug or rug from the edges to the center. This is done to prevent mercury balls from spreading across the floor. Then, it is recommended to put the coating in a thick and, of course, intact plastic bag. Moreover, your movements should be made from the periphery to the central part.

Take everything outside. At the same time, you need to know, if the thermometer is broken, how to collect dangerous mercury. In this case, it is not suitable to simply hang the carpet. It is recommended to first lay polyethylene under it.

This is done to prevent toxic balls from reaching the surface of the earth. From the opposite side of the cover, perform weak blows. All so that the toxic substance is released from the carpet onto the removed polyethylene.

Be reasonable! Don't destroy nature and don't harm people around you. Do not throw away a broken thermometer and its remains right in the yard. The balls are carefully collected in a container of water and only then handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations for disposal.

The carpet must be periodically taken outside for airing for another three months. The ideal option would be to hang it for a month in the garage or in the yard of your private home. This way it will become completely safe faster.

Can mercury be removed with a magnet?

Before collecting toxic mercury with a magnet, you need to take precautions. In this case, be sure to protect your hands from the toxic substance. For this, it is recommended to use gloves made of especially dense rubber.

Since mercury is primarily a metal, a magnet can handle its balls in the best possible way. After all, the interaction of these components is known even to a schoolchild. And there is no doubt that a magnet will not help.

It is important to do everything carefully and put the collected mercury in a special container with water. A magnet will not be able to collect everything at once. Although, this depends on its size and the amount of substance scattered on the floor.

And, in conclusion, I would like to note that gloves should be removed so that the magnet with mercury balls remains inside the glove.

What does mercury look like in the photo?

Photos of mercury balls can be found on the Internet. But there is nothing special in these photos. They look like small transparent balls that are toxic.

It is important that children see such photos. They need to know what the hazardous substance looks like and how to remove mercury. Moreover, on the pages of Internet portals you can find a lot of step-by-step photo instructions on how to collect mercury from the floor or carpet.

Important

• if the thermometer breaks, clear the room of people as quickly as possible;
• Ensure that the room is hermetically sealed before removing toxic metal and open windows for ventilation;
• during the cleaning process, be sure to use a respirator or a regular gauze bandage;
• as protection for your feet, you should prepare shoe covers or simply wear plastic bags;
• It is recommended to put all the contents of the thermometer and the fragments into a glass container, half filled with water, and seal it with a lid;
• instruments in contact with mercury and a broken thermometer, during the cleaning process, must be placed in another container, also sealed;
• It is worth collecting mercury carefully, and every 15 minutes it is recommended to leave the dangerous room and go out into the fresh air (it is important to drink as much liquid as possible);
• For a whole month after you had to collect mercury from a broken thermometer in your apartment, you should ventilate the room more often than usual.

What not to do

• it is important to exclude drafts that can contribute to the spread of balls throughout the room;
• You should not use a vacuum cleaner when cleaning mercury, since the expensive equipment will then have to be disposed of;
• if you decide to remove mercury with a rag, you can rub the dangerous substance into the floor surface;
• Do not throw mercury into the sewer or onto the street ( it's dangerous! );
• Do not bury mercury in the ground or burn it (this will negatively affect the cleanliness of the environment);
• It is not recommended to sweep mercury balls with a broom, since its hard rods can allow them to break into smaller particles;
• Do not wash clothes that have come into contact with a toxic substance in the washing machine;
• You should not turn on the air conditioner, as mercury particles may settle on the filter.

Disposal of a broken thermometer

It is recommended that you voluntarily give a container of mercury, the remains of a broken thermometer and the tools that you used during the cleaning process to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

And don’t be too surprised or upset if the employees of this service redirect you to the housing office or to the pharmacy. It is worth showing perseverance and perseverance in order to dispose of toxic substances correctly, without causing damage to nature and people.

Never dispose of the thermometer or any collected toxic metal in the trash or down the drain. This is not true. This will allow toxins to spread into the environment.

And after that, stop by the nearest pharmacy kiosk and buy yourself a new, electronic, not mercury thermometer.

Room treatment

After collecting dangerous mercury in a room, you should ventilate it for three hours.

This is done so that the poison vapors disappear. But pieces of furniture that were nearby should also be subject to special treatment.

You can prepare a soap-soda mixture from 50 g of soda, 50 g of soap and 1 liter of water at room temperature. All metal and wooden surfaces are rubbed with it and remain so for two hours.

After which, the composition is washed off only with a soap solution, and then with warm water. Such manipulations must be performed daily, for a whole week. It is important to constantly wash the floors in the room and ventilate it.

Chemical demercurization at home involves the use of whiteness. To start, you need 1 liter. Dissolve white in 5 liters. water. Moreover, the container must be plastic.

Metal vessels are contraindicated. The resulting composition, using a brush or sponge, is used to treat the contaminated surface. In this case, gloves must be very thick.

In this case, parquet and baseboard cracks deserve special attention. After 15 minutes, everything is carefully washed off with clean warm water.

It is recommended to repeat such manipulations every four days for a whole month. It is very important not to forget about ventilation. Remember, mercury does not evaporate well at low temperatures.

Therefore, you should not open the windows completely if it is cold outside. This way you will not achieve the desired result. It is better to leave the window slightly open for a long time.

Important! The composition with which you initially wiped the surfaces is also considered saturated with mercury. Therefore, dangerous to your health. It must be handed over, along with mercury and cleaning tools, to a special institution, for example, to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

What is recommended to do in case of emergency?

Mercury vapor is classified as a first-degree poison. Even a small amount of them can cause irreparable harm to human health.

Therefore, if you break a thermometer, it is better to call specialists who know how to collect dangerous mercury correctly. Leave the room yourself and organize its ventilation.

A mercury collection service with special certification deserves trust. Only real professionals who have the necessary instruments and equipment will be able to collect mercury and decontaminate it.

Demercurization is the process of removing mercury and its compounds. In this case, a chemical or mechanical method of implementing the task is assumed. In this case, people who do not participate in the destruction of mercury metal must definitely leave the premises.

The mercury meter complex must be included in the State Register of Measuring Instruments. And only after specialists have diagnosed the degree of contamination can we begin to decontaminate the room from mercury.

Only specialized services can guarantee complete removal of toxic contamination. Professionals carry out work solely according to the readings of the device, up to completely clearing the room of dangerous fumes.

After some time, a control measurement is carried out. At the same time, you will not pay anything extra. Everything is done completely free of charge, so that you can verify the quality of the decontamination carried out.

Precautionary measures

If it is not possible to call a specialized emergency services service to dispose of mercury, you will have to collect the balls yourself.

1. First of all, open the windows in the room. Moreover, it is recommended to exclude drafts so that the substance does not spread throughout the room.
2. People who are in the room and will not take part in cleaning must leave the room. They don't have to inhale toxic fumes.
3. In this case, it is imperative to use personal protective equipment. A respirator or a standard gauze bandage acts as protection for the respiratory organs. Rubber gloves are put on your hands and shoe covers on your feet. The latter can be replaced with plastic bags.
4. If toxic metal gets on the surface of a carpet or other objects that can absorb the substance, it is necessary to ventilate and knock it out for three months.

Source: http://dombrat.ru/uborka/kak-sobrat-rtut.html

Rules for safe cleaning of premises from traces of mercury

Due to the accuracy of measurements, affordable price and ease of use, a mercury thermometer is still often found in everyday life. It has many advantages, but there is one drawback that can cancel everything out - mercury itself. If you have such a thermometer in your house, then you should definitely know how to collect mercury in case it breaks.

First actions

1. The very first thing to do if the thermometer breaks is to remove all its inhabitants from the room. Let children and animals spend some time outside or with friends, otherwise they may accidentally touch the silver balls and swallow them.
2. Next, you need to close the doors to the room where the thermometer was broken and open the windows for ventilation. In this case, it is desirable that there are no drafts.
3. If you do not want to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations when the device breaks, and intend to cope on your own, then you need to wear gloves and a cotton-gauze bandage.

   The bandage is moistened in a solution of soda and water (a large spoon of soda per glass).

4. Put plastic bags on your shoes so you don't have to dispose of your slippers later.
5. If you don’t have a bandage, you can quickly make one at home from a bandage folded in several layers.

   Or you can just go to the nearest pharmacy and buy a bandage and disposable shoe covers.

6. First, they collect the fragments of the broken thermometer from the floor, and then proceed to the mercury.

Collection Tools

Now let's take a closer look at how to collect mercury from the floor. Do not throw it in the household waste bin. Usually a container of water (jar) is used, since water prevents the evaporation of mercury. You need to take a jar that you can screw on with a lid. Here's how you can collect liquid metal that has scattered on the floor in small balls:

• rubber syringe;
• syringe;
• wet cotton wool;
• wet newspaper;
• copper plate;
• brush.

We throw all the collected mercury from the broken thermometer into a jar of water, and after cleaning, you can also throw away your tool with which you collected the toxic metal. The jar is sealed and handed over to the employees of the sanitary and epidemiological service.

Instead of a jar, mercury balls can be swept into a paper envelope with a brush or tassel, and then the remains can be collected with wet newspaper. All the mercury that you collected after the thermometer has broken is finally placed in an airtight container, a strong plastic bag or a rubber glove.

Carpet and furniture

In some cases, mercury from the thermometer can end up on the carpet. What should be done and what remedies should be used in this sad case?

The first thing you want to do when a device with mercury breaks is to collect everything with a vacuum cleaner. However, it will spread the already formed fumes throughout the room, plus the mercury inside will heat up and begin to evaporate intensely, and then you will have to clean the vacuum cleaner itself (or throw it away).

If vacuuming is prohibited, you can use, as mentioned above, a syringe. Drops are sucked up with it, after which it is given for disposal. The broken thermometer itself must also be disposed of. The carpet must be taken outside; if you live in your own home, you can leave it for several days to ventilate.

If you break the device and mercury gets on the furniture, you need to wipe it with a strong solution of potassium permanganate, although this may cause some surfaces to become stained. Ventilate the room well every day and do not sit in it for a long time. Over time, the mercury will evaporate and disappear.

Final cleaning

After cleaning, the place where the device broke should be wiped with a product that will completely eliminate all traces of mercury. Ferric chloride solution is very effective. You can buy it at a chemical store or hardware store. Make a 20% aqueous solution and wipe the surface, then rinse everything off with soap and soda water.

Instead of ferric chloride, which leaves behind stains and is also toxic, use a solution of potassium permanganate or aqueous solutions of any substance containing chlorine. A good home remedy is bleach. It is diluted at a ratio of 1:5, that is, take a liter of bleach per 5 liters of water.

Thoroughly wash the floor, baseboards, and, if possible, walls in the room where the thermometer broke. After 15 minutes, the chlorine solution is washed off the floor with clean water. For a week, every day they ventilate well the room in which the thermometer broke and do not sleep in this room. You can’t cool the room too much, because this will cause less mercury to evaporate and stop ventilating.

To be sure that there is no danger to you in your home, you can invite employees of the sanitary and epidemiological service and ask them to inspect your home, in which the thermometer was broken.

Today there are instruments that can detect very small concentrations of mercury and find where it is concentrated. There are other specialized companies that deal with mercury recycling. They have products that neutralize mercury and help quickly and efficiently get rid of the consequences of contamination in your home.

How not to collect

Many people try to collect mercury from the floor with a broom or vacuum cleaner. This cannot be done, because then the metal will be very difficult to remove from the twigs of the broom, as well as from the inside of the vacuum cleaner. While a broom is easy to dispose of, the situation is different with a vacuum cleaner. If you subsequently use a vacuum cleaner that is poorly cleaned of mercury, you will spread harmful metal fumes throughout your home.

Some people have a desire to collect mercury from a broken thermometer with a magnet, but this will not yield anything, since, despite its metallic luster, mercury is diamagnetic. Moreover, when you try to collect the balls with a magnet, they may roll to the side. A diamagnetic substance actually interacts with a magnetic field, only very weakly and is not attracted, but repelled from the magnet.

Let us explain why you should not throw mercury and a thermometer that has broken into the trash can or into the toilet. If you do this, the mercury will move from your home into the surrounding atmosphere.

It can settle on sewer pipes and get into the ground and air, end up on car wheels, etc.

Of course, a small amount of it is unlikely to harm the environment, but if all people do this, then in the end we ourselves will create an environment hazardous to our health. Let's at least think a little and take care of ourselves.

What to do if the thermometer is broken	What not to do
Ventilate the room, wear protective equipment	Do not touch with bare hands or inhale fumes for a long time
Collect with wet cotton wool, paper, suck in with a syringe, syringe, sweep away with a brush or using a copper plate or wire	You cannot collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner, broom, or magnet.
Transfer to a special service or civil defense headquarters	Do not flush mercury down the drain, throw it in a garbage chute, or on the street.

We must remember that a mercury thermometer should be handled carefully: do not give it to small children and store it in a special capsule that protects it from shock. You should also not leave the thermometer at hand while dozing, much less fall asleep with it.

Today, a large number of electronic instruments for measuring temperature have appeared. They allow you to make your life safer, so use them safely and take care of your health.

Source: http://HozObzor.ru/uborka/kak-sobrat-rtut.html

Properties of mercury in a magnetic field

Mercury has unique properties that allow it to be used for a variety of purposes. It must be taken into account that it is deadly to the human body, as it is an extremely toxic metal.

Mercury is element number 80 on D.I. Mendeleev’s periodic table.

Mercury is a transition metal, the only one that, under normal conditions, is in a liquid state.

The general characteristics of mercury consist of its chemical and physical properties.

Physical properties

The metal has a silvery-white color. It has diamagnetic properties, as it can create both solid and liquid alloys - amalgams - with other metals.

In amalgams, metals no longer behave as actively as in a free state. What is the melting point of mercury? Negative -38.83 °C. It begins to evaporate at room temperature at +18 °C, and boils at 356.73 °C.

The magnetic properties of mercury are characterized as follows: it is diamagnetic. It will not be possible to assemble it with a regular magnet.

Chemical properties

This element is a low-active liquid metal and, like noble metals, is stable in dry air.

It reacts with salts, acids and non-metals and has two oxidation states +1 and +2. Mercury does not interact with water, non-oxidizing acids and alkalis.

It reacts chemically with oxygen only when heated above 300 °C, forming mercury oxide.

Use of mercury in industry and in everyday life

Most often, mercury is used to produce chlorine and caustic soda.

Mercury is used to make various scientific instruments: thermometers, polarographs, barometers, vacuum pumps, pressure gauges (used to measure the pressure level of gases and liquids). Today, most electrochemical industries widely use mercury electric current rectifiers.

In medicine, so-called mercury-quartz lamps are widely used, which are used for irradiation with ultraviolet rays; everyone knows thermometers for measuring body temperature. This metal is also used as a disinfectant.

Due to the unique property of the substance to dissolve other metals (except iron, manganese, nickel, cobalt, titanium, tungsten, tantalum, silicon, rhenium and a number of others), forming amalgams, it can be used to soften cadmium, tin and silver, which are used in manufacturing dental fillings

To produce low-temperature thermometers, thallium amalgam is used, which hardens at -60 °C.

We have learned to use the property of mercury, such as evaporation at room temperature, for example, in the oil refining industry for oil purification (mercury vapor helps regulate the temperature of oil refining processes).

Mercury sulfate is used in the chemical industry as a catalyst to produce acetaldehyde from acetylene.

Even in the manufacture of felt, mercury salts are used, and also for tanning leather, as a catalyst during organic synthesis.

In agriculture, a mercury derivative, mercuric chloride HgCl2 (a strong poison), is used to pickle seeds.

During astronomical observations, instruments such as mercury horizons are used, inside of which there is a vessel with mercury, which allows their horizontal surface to be used as a mirror.

Past use of mercury

In past centuries, mercury was not considered a dangerous metal, so it was widely used as an elixir for many ailments. The ancient Greeks and Persians used mercury as an ointment.

In the 2nd century, Chinese alchemists valued mercury for its ability to increase life expectancy and vitality.

An infamous example of mercury use is the death of Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang.

He died after taking a mercury tablet, claiming that it would make him immortal.

Many centuries before our era, mercury and its mineral cinnabar were widely used in Ancient Egypt. It was known there in the third millennium BC. e.

, and in Ancient India - two thousand years BC. e.

In Ancient Rome, this metal was also used, as can be learned from the “Natural History” written by Pliny the Elder.

From the Renaissance until the early 20th century, mercury was used primarily to treat diseases that could be sexually transmitted, such as syphilis. After such treatment, many of the patients died.

Danger of mercury for humans

Mercury is dangerous primarily because it is very toxic. Has the highest degree of danger.

Penetrates the human body by inhaling its odorless vapors.

Mercury is toxic even in small concentrations and has a bad effect on the digestive, nervous, immune systems, kidneys, lungs, eyes and skin.

This increases the risk of atherosclerosis, hypertension and tuberculosis.

There are mild, acute and chronic mercury poisoning. Mild poisoning includes digestive poisoning, while acute poisoning includes poisoning in enterprises after an accident or due to non-compliance with safety precautions.

Acute poisoning from this dangerous metal can be fatal. If left untreated, the functions of the central nervous system are disrupted, mental activity decreases, convulsions and exhaustion occur. This is followed by baldness, complete paralysis and loss of vision.

  How to remove mercury from a broken thermometer

Find out what harm formaldehyde causes to humans from our article.

Source: https://masakarton.com/svoystva-rtuti-v-magnitnom-pole/

What to do if you break a mercury thermometer

Until recently, a mercury thermometer was in every home medicine cabinet. Now it has been replaced by an electronic version, but many families still prefer to use a mercury thermometer: it is easy to use and does an excellent job of its main function.

There is probably no family where the thermometer has not been broken at least once. In this situation, it is important not to panic. If you know how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer, you will be protected from dangerous consequences.

What happens if you break a thermometer with mercury at home?

If a mercury thermometer breaks at home, do not immediately grab a broom and dustpan. Mercury is a liquid substance, and the main danger lies in its vapor. They are extremely toxic, and for this reason, mercury poses a serious threat to humans.

And although there is not too much of this substance in the thermometer, even this amount is enough to poison a dozen people.

The problem is that when the “balls” of mercury fall out of the thermometer, they are difficult to collect - these particles are very small. And if the floors in the house are planks, they often end up between the boards.

As a result, if present for a long time in a poorly ventilated room, toxic fumes can significantly harm human health. Due to the danger of this substance, you need to clearly know how to collect mercury if the thermometer breaks and what to do with other remains of the measuring device.

Is it possible to get poisoned by mercury from a thermometer?

As we know from a school chemistry course, mercury evaporates already at a temperature of +18. If you break a mercury thermometer in an apartment, this is especially dangerous - the substance immediately begins to emit toxic fumes, which contributes to severe chemical poisoning.

Why is mercury dangerous for humans? Its vapors penetrate not only the lungs, but also settle on the internal organs. Even if you protect your face with a mask, you can get poisoned, since toxins can penetrate through the skin.

• The amount of mercury in the thermometer is not enough to cause a dramatic change in health, but with prolonged exposure through the respiratory system the substance will cause significant damage.
• If a thermometer is broken indoors and the necessary measures are not taken on time, typical symptoms characteristic of intoxication may soon arise. These are weakness, nausea, hand tremors and general malaise.
• Changes in the central nervous system include insomnia, headache and depression. And also the internal organs - the liver, kidneys and thyroid gland - begin to suffer.
• Therefore, if a thermometer breaks, it is necessary to take immediate action, otherwise the consequences of such frivolity will be severe, even fatal.

What should you do if a mercury thermometer breaks? Eliminating the problem consists of several stages.

A thermometer was broken in the apartment: what to do?

If the thermometer in your apartment breaks, you need to know exactly what to do. Remember that the remains of a thermometer pose a serious danger to everyone who lives here. When mercury leaks from a thermometer, toxic fumes spread quickly, and you need to start eliminating the problem without delay.

If there is a spill of mercury, a hazardous metal, provide local ventilation and leave the contaminated room before specialists arrive.

When a thermometer breaks, the best decision is to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations; this call will be free from any mobile phone. Dial 01 or 112 and explain the problem. They will send you specialists who know exactly how to remove mercury.

But if you decide to deal with the problem yourself, you should familiarize yourself with the rules of conduct in such cases.

What to do if suddenly a thermometer broke in your home, and for one reason or another you did not call the “rescue service”? Here is a list of emergency measures:

• People and animals must leave the apartment immediately.
• In the room where the trouble happened, you need to open the window. You should not create a draft; let the door remain closed so that toxic fumes do not spread further throughout your home.
• You will need to prepare a solution of potassium permanganate, soak a rag in it and place it on the threshold of the room.
• Then prepare the necessary equipment. You will need:

• rubber medical gloves (you can also take household gloves, but they do not fit so tightly to your hands);
• a gauze bandage soaked in a saline solution (if you don’t have one, take a cotton towel);
• shoe covers (you can replace them with plastic bags).

You definitely need to look at the area where the thermometer broke, again using a flashlight.

After completing the cleaning, these things must be thrown away.

• Carefully inspect the area where the thermometer broke. Use a flashlight or small lamp to be sure that all glass and mercury particles are found.
• Remove glass shards. Be careful - the glass of the thermometer is very thin, and its particles are completely invisible.

Proceed with cleaning the mercury only after all these steps have been completed. Remember that this is a dangerous substance, and its residue cannot simply be removed with a broom. Certain rules must be followed to avoid harm to health.

When the cleaning is completed, you need to decide where to dispose of the mercury thermometer. Please note that you cannot throw it in the trash, even if you pack everything tightly. Special services deal with the disposal of mercury thermometers.

Is it possible to collect mercury with a magnet?

Mercury reacts only to this type of “magnet”: a stranded copper wire and a bottle of hydrochloric acid.

Some people, when deciding how to remove mercury from a broken thermometer, take a magnet. This is a mistake, since the substance is diamagnetic, and its particles will not “stick” to an ordinary magnet.

But if you have some stranded copper wire and a bottle of hydrochloric acid, you can use these tools to make an excellent mercury magnet.

• To do this, unravel the end of the wire, making a kind of “tassel” out of it. Now all you have to do is dip the wire in hydrochloric acid and watch how mercury is attracted to it. Shake it over the jar periodically to remove any adhering drops of the substance.
• Use a magnifying glass to check the quality of the cleaning. When a piece of wire is used and is no longer needed, and all the remains have been collected, it should all be thrown away.

How to collect mercury if the thermometer is broken

Be sure to place the broken thermometer and all its elements in a jar of water, first wearing gloves.

How can you collect mercury if your thermometer breaks at home? It all depends on what surface its fragments are scattered on. When a mercury thermometer breaks, its parts can fly anywhere - under the baseboard, between the boards of a wooden floor, on the carpet or upholstered furniture.

How to collect mercury from a floor covered with linoleum, parquet or painted boards? Proceed this way:

• Carefully pick up the broken thermometer and lower it into a container of water. Scattered fragments are also removed there. Carefully ensure that when moving the “remains” of a broken thermometer, no particles of a toxic substance leak out.
• Take a piece of thick paper or cardboard, and use it to “drive” the silver “balls” into one. Collect this single lump with cotton wool and place it in a container with water.
• Use tape or adhesive tape and apply the adhesive side to the surface on which the broken thermometer was lying. This will help you not to miss the smallest particles of the toxic composition. Place the adhesive plaster or tape that you used to glue the “balls” into the water.
• Use a lighting device and carefully look through all the cracks and corners for shiny particles of the substance. If a thermometer breaks near the wall at home, the baseboard will have to be removed in order to do a good job of cleaning. The “balls” are removed from such places with a medical syringe (if you don’t have one, use a syringe). Place everything you used to collect debris and chemical particles into a container of water.
• Dilute bleach in water and wash the surfaces where the remains of the thermometer lay.
• If cleaning the room takes too long, leave the room every 15 minutes to get some fresh air.

Don’t forget - while treating surfaces, leave the window open and the door closed.

How to collect mercury from a carpet, plush toy or furniture so that no traces of toxic substances remain on the surface? If a mercury thermometer in an apartment breaks and small “balls” fall on a rug or sofa, you need to act like this:

• If there is a carpet on the floor, and the furniture is upholstered with lint-free fabric or leather, then the problem of how to remove mercury can be solved using the same methods as when cleaning the floor.
• When a mercury thermometer breaks on a long-pile carpet, you need to know what to do with this covering. The best solution is to throw it away, but if you are sad to part with the carpet, you will have to work hard:

• carefully roll up the carpet and place it in a thick bag of a suitable size;
• take the package outside;
• spread an oilcloth on the ground and hang a carpet over it;
• carefully knock the mercury out of the pile;
• collect the balls from the oilcloth and pour them into a vessel with water.

After cleaning, keep the carpet unrolled in the garage or at your dacha for 2–3 months, as mercury vapor takes a long time to dissipate.

Do not leave stuffed animals that have been exposed to mercury at home.

• When the thermometer breaks near soft toys, mercury will settle on them. You should not expect that the toxic fumes will disappear from them; such things should be thrown away immediately.

When a thermometer in an apartment breaks, it is important for the owners to understand how long it takes for mercury to dissipate.

With proper cleaning of the space, it is enough to leave the windows open in the room for several hours so that you can stay there again.

Remember that after completing the cleaning you need to hand over the thermometer for disposal.

Where to take a mercury thermometer for recycling

If a thermometer has broken, and its fragments have been collected, and equipment and clothing have been put away in bags, a reasonable question arises: where to donate all this.

As mentioned above, you should not throw such garbage into the nearest container. Before disposing of a mercury thermometer, you need to find out where the recycling service is located.

You can only donate things that have interacted with dangerous metal there. Perhaps they will accept one broken thermometer from you. Then you will have to go to the landfill yourself and throw away the rest of the things there.

What is not recommended to do

If a thermometer breaks in your home, you need to know not only what to do, but also what actions not to take. There are a number of prohibitions:

• when you have no idea what to do if a mercury thermometer breaks in your home, do not try to deal with the problem on your own, immediately call the Ministry of Emergency Situations;
• do not touch mercury “balls” with ungloved hands;
• Do not use a vacuum cleaner to remove residues; during operation, it heats up, which leads to more intense evaporation of toxic substances. In addition, once the chemical gets inside the unit, it will no longer be possible to remove it, and you will have to get rid of the “dust collector”;
• do not sweep the mercury with a broom, as this will crush it into small fragments;
• no need to think about where to throw away the mercury thermometer - just take it to the recycling service. Remember: the amount of substance contained in the thermometer can poison about 6,000 cubic meters of air;
• do not release “balls” into the sewer pipe;
• do not keep things that you cleaned, they must be thrown away.

If mercury comes into contact with a warm radiator, do not stay indoors. Leave the apartment, having previously closed the door to the room, and call the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Remember that mercury melts with heat and its vapor will enter your lungs if you stay nearby.

A mercury thermometer is a very convenient thing, but no less dangerous. Therefore, handle it with care and keep it away from restless children. And then you won’t have to think about what to do if you break a mercury thermometer in your apartment. By taking precautions, you will save yourself from the need to throw away spoiled things and rack your brains over where to donate your mercury thermometer.

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Source: https://hoznauka.ru/poleznye-sovety/chto-delat-esli-razbilsya-gradusnik.html

How to collect mercury from a thermometer

Mercury is a very dangerous substance with the ability to evaporate. Mercury vapor is the most harmful, so being in a room where it is present is dangerous to health. Thermometers broken due to carelessness are sources of severe contamination of residential premises. Today we will tell you what to do and how to collect mercury if the thermometer breaks.

How to collect mercury from a thermometer: algorithm of your actions

1) Remove residents from the premises, especially children, by closing the front door to prevent vapors from spreading.

2) It is necessary to reduce the temperature in the room, for example, open a window.

3) Cover the area where the mercury has spread with wet sheets of newspaper. Place things that have been in contact with mercury in plastic bags and take them out onto the balcony or outside.

What should you not do if a thermometer breaks in your room?

1) Do not create drafts when ventilating, so that the smallest particles of mercury do not scatter throughout the room.

2) You should not use a regular broom, as mercury balls may rise into the air and cannot be collected.

3) If you use a vacuum cleaner, it will spray throughout the room. In addition, the device will be infected and will have to be abandoned.

4) Clothes contaminated with mercury cannot be washed, as the substance may contaminate the washing machine and sewer system.

5) You cannot throw mercury into a garbage chute, toilet, or landfill. 

How can you collect mercury from a thermometer?

Until the substance is collected, household members should not enter the room. You need to prepare a metal or glass jar with a tight lid. You will also need a scoop, a brush, a sheet of paper, and a medical bulb. Before collecting mercury from the floor, you must wear rubber gloves.

1) Carefully lift and lower large fragments from the thermometer into the jar.

2) Using a brush and scoop, collect small fragments and large drops of mercury.

3) Using a sheet of paper and a brush, sweep up small drops of mercury, carefully dropping them into the jar.

4) Check the cracks in the floor and things located near the broken thermometer. Use a medical bulb with a thin tip to remove mercury from places inaccessible to the brush. Make sure there is not a drop left.

5) Having collected the mercury, close the jar tightly and carry out wet cleaning in the room using a weak soap-soda solution or a solution of potassium permanganate. 

It is much more difficult to collect mercury from a carpet that has a fleecy surface.

Is it possible to collect mercury with a magnet? It’s impossible, because nothing will come of it, since mercury is a diamagnetic material that weakly interacts with a magnetic field, capable of being repelled rather than attracted by a magnet. In addition, when trying to collect mercury using this method, the balls may roll in different directions.

After collecting large particles of mercury from the carpet, people very often use a vacuum cleaner or take the carpet outside to knock it out. This is incorrect because the person doing the cleaning inhales a significant portion of the fumes. At such moments, the best solution would be to contact specialized services.

If you manage to collect mercury yourself, you need to tightly close the jar and, under no circumstances, throw it into the garbage chute or trash can in the yard. After all, by doing this, you can not only damage the environment, but also harm people’s health. The can should be handed over to an organization that handles mercury disposal. The address of such an organization can be found by calling the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

To be sure that the room is completely cleared of particles of the substance, you can invite specialists, for example, from the sanitary and epidemiological service, to check the concentration of mercury vapor in the room.

Source: https://webdiana.ru/sovet/2985-kak-sobrat-rtut.html

What to do if you break a thermometer at home

A thermometer is a must-have item that is in the first aid kit of every home. Until recently, only mercury thermometers existed. Now on the shelves of pharmacies, consumers are provided with various types of body temperature meters: electronic, infrared thermometers.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks? This is the most important question that those who prefer to use this device have to face at least once in their lives. Mercury vapor is very harmful to the body and can cause serious illness.

To understand this issue, you must first become familiar with the operating principle of this device and how to use it correctly.

How does a mercury thermometer work?

The thermometer consists of a capillary tube in which there is no air. It is hermetically sealed on both sides. At one end of the tube there is a container with mercury.

A capillary tube with mercury is attached to a bar with a printed scale. The scale values ​​range from 32 to 42 ºС. Each degree is divided in turn into another 10 divisions for more accurate measurements. One mark is equal to 0.1 ºС.

A medical thermometer differs from a conventional thermometer, which measures the ambient temperature, in that the movement of mercury in the opposite direction is difficult. This occurs due to a narrowed channel that connects the capillary tube to the mercury reservoir.

First, the patient’s temperature is measured with a thermometer: the mercury heats up, expands and rises through the tube, showing the maximum value. After stopping the measurement procedure, the mercury in the thermometer remains below its maximum value for a long time. This property of the thermometer is very convenient for monitoring the patient’s condition until the doctor arrives.

To “return the mercury” to its original position, just shake the thermometer vigorously several times. But this must be done carefully so as not to drop the fragile instrument .

Advantages of a mercury thermometer:

• It is more accurate, unlike its modern counterparts.
• Practically does not respond to changes in environmental conditions. That is, under any conditions, a mercury instrument will show the most objective indicator of the temperature of the human body.
• It can be easily disinfected by dipping it in a special solution that is used by medical institutions.
• The reasonable price makes it accessible to a wide range of consumers.

Disadvantages of a medical thermometer:

• Measures temperature for a long time: about 7-10 minutes.
• Mercury poisoning from breaking a thermometer. The thermometer has a very thin glass shell, which easily loses its integrity when it hits the floor.

Rules for using a mercury thermometer:

1. Before using the thermometer, shake it well so that the mercury liquid returns to its original position.
2. Keep the thermometer on your body for at least 10 minutes.
3. After each use, the device should be disinfected, but not with hot water. To do this, you can wipe it with a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide.
4. Do not leave a fragile item without its case.
5. Don't fall asleep with him.
6. Do not give to children.

Tip: If there is a small child at home who, through negligence, can break a fragile device, then it is better to purchase an electronic instrument for measuring temperature.

A mercury thermometer has broken - what to do?

So, the biggest disadvantage of this home appliance is the loss of its integral structure. If a thermometer is broken, what should you do? Droplets of mercury should be collected as quickly as possible and the room should be disinfected. But this must also be done correctly, since mercury has its own specific properties.

Source: https://uplady.ru/dom/domashnee-hozyajstvo/chto-delat-esli-razbilsya-gradusnik-kak-sobrat-rtut-opasno-li-eto.html