How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer

Mercury thermometers for measuring temperature are widely 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 over the entire area of ​​the lesion, which pose a serious threat to humans. Not everyone knows how to fix a leak. In this case, you need to be careful.

Mercury Thermometer Pros

1. The device of medical orientation accurately measures body temperature, unlike electronic analogs. To date, such a thermometer is considered the most correct.
2. The thermometer is able to measure temperature readings even under extreme environmental conditions, be it cold or hot heat. At the same time there are practically no deviations.Therefore, people prefer to measure the temperature in this way.
3. Health and medical facilities are used to using a mercury thermometer due to its easy disinfection. It is enough to immerse the device in a special solution to carry out decontamination.
4. Today, 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 analogue is often "junk".

Cons of a mercury thermometer

1. There is not always time and patience to keep a thermometer in the armpit. It sometimes takes 7-10 minutes to measure the temperature. This option is unacceptable for busy categories of people.
2. The measuring rod is placed in a flask of very thin glass. The material is extremely fragile, therefore, when mistreated, it often beats. Mercury flows out of the cavity, which later turns into poisonous fumes. It is not always possible to eliminate the leak without harm to health.

What danger is mercury from a thermometer

1. Mercury refers to liquid toxic metals. When heated and at an approximate temperature of +18 degrees, it evaporates, forming toxic vapor. Very often, mercury balls are spread throughout the room and become clogged in hard-to-reach slots, shoes, and carpeting.
2. Mercury is odorless, but this does not make it less toxic. Metal freezes only at -37 degrees, so this aspect should not be counted at home.
3. After the thermometer breaks, mercury quickly flows out of a special rod and forms small balls. They slide well and evaporate just as quickly, it all depends on the air temperature in the room. The higher the performance, the stronger the decomposition and further poisoning.
4. Accidents occur after vapors enter the respiratory tract. Interestingly, only 1.5-2 gr. liquid metal can poison up to 10 people. It is this amount of mercury that accumulates a thermometer.
5. After inhalation of toxic fumes, toxic compounds are deposited in the brain, heart muscle, lungs and bronchi, liver, kidneys and skin. Often the body is sprinkled, stomatitis is formed in the oral cavity, the kidneys and the central nervous system are affected. With prolonged exposure to mercury on the body begins insanity of the mind.
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, emetic urge and nausea. Next begins intestinal upset, bleeding gums, sore throat.
7. If no first aid was provided after mercury poisoning, the situation is complicated. Often the body temperature rises to a critical level of 40 degrees, there is a strong cough, the airways swell and the lungs become inflamed.

What should not be done if the thermometer broke

• do not use a vacuum cleaner, because after that it will have to be thrown 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 into the trash, toilet, sink;
• do not sweep the balls so as not to break them into smaller drops;
• Do not erase items on which mercury has got, immediately dispose of them.

What to do if the thermometer broke

First, call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, report the problem and wait for the arrival of specialists.And this time spend a number of the following actions:

1. Ask your relatives to leave the room in which the mercury leak has occurred. Close the door very tightly so that possible pairs do not leak through the slots.
2. Open the windows for airing, if the street is not worth the sultry heat. Wear a gauze bandage or use a respirator to protect your airway.
3. Cover your skin with very thick rubber gloves, put on 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. Place inside the wreckage of the thermometer, seal the container and remove away.
5. Pick up other containers to place instruments that come into contact with the 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 of an hour. For this period, go out for a breath of fresh air, be sure to drink plenty of water.
7. After eliminating the effects of a broken thermometer for a crescent every day, ventilate the room several times. It is important to completely remove any mercury vapor from the room.

How to collect mercury correctly

1. When a thermometer is broken, mercury scatters throughout the room. Silvery balls can become clogged in the floor and carpet slots. To eliminate the consequences of a similar problem, it is necessary to prepare and act clearly.
2. To do this, you need medical cotton, a small piece of cloth, a plaster and a thick sheet of paper. Highlight the individual garbage bags under the items that got mercury. Be sure to take a glass container with an airtight lid.
3. In addition, 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 there should be no one in the room when collecting mercury except you. Try as much as possible to limit the place where the thermometer broke. Mercury adheres well to various surfaces and things, as a result, the metal is spread throughout the apartment.
5. The collection should occur from the circumference to the epicenter. Wear rubber gloves, equip yourself with everything you need and carry out the operation carefully.Translucent surface flashlight, do not miss the joints on the floor.
6. You can use a medical syringe to suck in liquid mercury balls. Next, the metal is placed in a previously prepared container. Also mercury is collected with paper napkins dipped in vegetable oil.
7. An alternative and no less effective way to collect toxic metal is a patch or adhesive tape. Do not forget about a sheet of foil or paper. Collect mercury on the canvas with a brush.
8. Moisten cotton pads in manganese solution and collect mercury balls. After careful collection of liquid metal, the room must be disinfected several times. Use the means of directional action.

Collecting mercury from furniture or carpet

1. Remember, all the tools and tools you need to pick up on the current situation and the extent of the defeat. If you collect mercury from lint-free surfaces, the attributes used in the first case are quite suitable for this purpose.
2. If you have carpets in the house with a long nap, where mercury can obviously get stuck, in this case you will have to apply a lot of strength to fix everything.The edges of the palace will have to be turned up and, if possible, raised. Thus, the toxic metal will not roll down to the floor.
3. Place the fleecy carpet in a tight cellophane bag. Take the attribute to the street. Spread oilcloth on the ground, suitable for the size of the carpet. Hang the attribute over the polyethylene. Slightly start kicking the carpet.
4. All mercury that has crumbled on oilcloth, collect in a glass container, tightly seal the lid. Further, it is recommended to take out the carpet more often on the street for airing. You can also place an attribute for a long time in the garage. After a few weeks, the carpet will completely air out. The garage must be dry.

Collection of mercury with improvised means

Magnet

1. There are controversial controversies about this method of collecting mercury. Some argue that the method is quite good, others insist that the liquid metal simply does not magnet.
2. If you decide to resort to manipulation, be sure to arm yourself with thick gloves, then get rid of them and the magnet.

Knitting Needle

1. Perhaps the removal of mercury from the cracks is the most intractable, 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 with it. Sprinkle the gap with fine sand. Next, mark him with a needle with mercury.

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

Video: what to do if the thermometer broke