How to collect mercury if the thermometer broke at home?

How to collect mercury if the thermometer broke at home?- This issue is very important and quite relevant for a long time. Despite new technologies and safe modern electronic thermometers, many remain faithful to mercury graduates. In this article, we will review all the rules of behavior in emergency situations and the recycling of mercury balls.

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What is a mercury thermometer?

Why in the modern world is still using such a dangerous thing and keep it at home, because there are infrared and electronic devices that are completely safe? The thing is that mercury thermometers have a number of advantages in comparison with all innovative technologies.

Advantages of a mercury thermometer:

• The medical device is the most accurate. Its performance is considered to be the closest to that of a reference gas thermometer.
• Wide range of ambient temperatures at which the thermometer correctly measures body temperature. This is possible due to the special properties of the liquid metal: to freeze at a very low temperature, and to melt at a very high temperature.

Important! Even under extreme conditions, it is not difficult to measure the body temperature with a mercury thermometer.

• Due to the fact that the device can be easily disinfected by immersing it completely in a special solution, it is often used in medical and healthcare facilities.
• The cost of the device is low and available for everyone, which is especially important today for many.
• Undeniable advantages are also the simplicity and ease of use.

Unfortunately, the mercury device has drawbacks, one of which negates all its advantages and makes the thermometer an undesirable object in the home medicine cabinet.

Disadvantages of a mercury thermometer:

• To measure body temperature accurately, you should give this process 5 to 10 minutes, which is not very convenient.
• The glass cone is very thin and can easily break when mechanically contacted with a solid surface. In this case, mercury, which spreads over considerable distances, quickly turns into toxic and poisonous vapor. The consequences of such an accident( and what happened on another can not be called) can even lead to a fatal outcome.

By the way, many have already switched to using less accurate, but safer thermometers and completely abandoned mercury thermometers. But if you do not belong to the number of such people, then you must have information about how to remove mercury from a broken thermometer at home.

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Consequences of a broken mercury thermometer

Mercury is a liquid metal and it looks truly beautiful. But appearance is often deceptive. Metal belongs to the first class of particularly harmful substances. Even at an air temperature of 18 degrees, mercury evaporates, contaminating the air with harmful toxins.

Important! The evaporation of the entire volume of mercury from the thermometer leads to an excess of the concentration of the maximum permissible standards by more than two million times. This is the most important reason why one should know how to collect mercury if the thermometer broke at home.

By inhaling the infected air, a person can get serious health problems:

• Headaches;
• Dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract;
• Problems with kidney function;
• Stomatitis;
• Reduction of hemoglobin in the blood;
• Dermatitis of varying complexity;
• Arrhythmia;
• Visual impairment;
• Convulsions;
• Unstable mental state.

First signs of mercury poisoning

If you do not have time to collect mercury as soon as possible, if the thermometer broke at home, you can feel such ailments:

• General weakness, drowsiness, fatigue;
• Headache;
• Irritability;
• Dizziness and nausea;
• Loss of appetite;
• Trembling of hands and feet;
• Increased sweating.

If the poisoning is severe, then the described symptoms can be added:

• Metallic taste in the mouth;
• Pain when swallowing;
• Gums bleeding;
• Increased body temperature;
• Runny nose;
• Diarrhea;
• Confusion and inadequate perception of reality.

Important! It is worth knowing that poisoning with mercury vapor may not immediately appear. If you hesitate and could not immediately collect mercury, when the thermometer broke at home, it is quite possible consequences of this nature:

• acute type of poisoning can be felt a couple of hours after inhaling air with vapors;
• chronic - only a few years.

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Prohibited actions in case of accident with mercury thermometer

Panicking, people do not think about how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer at home correctly, and start doing completely forbidden actions than just worsen the overall picture. Therefore, first of all we will indicate what can not be done:

• Do not under any circumstances touch the droplets of mercury with your bare hands.
• Do not dispose of broken thermometer particles in the garbage disposal or in the trash.

Important! Available in a thermometer, two grams of mercury can pollute six thousand cubic meters of air.

• To quickly collect mercury, if the thermometer is broken, it is forbidden to discharge the remnants of mercury into the sewage system, since the liquid metal settles in the pipes, and it is impossible to remove it from there.
• You can not collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner. The use of such a technique will only help the metal evaporate faster and smash the couples around the apartment. Vacuum cleaner, in addition, after the collection of mercury will have to be thrown out, as it will become dangerous for the tenants.
• It is prohibited to use a broom during the collection of mercury. Thus, you will only break the balls into rods and help them to evaporate as quickly as possible.
• Collecting a liquid metal magnet only leads to the opposite effect. Rather, mercury will be repelled from the magnet, rather than attracted. This is due to the very weak magnetic field of the liquid metal.
• You can not wash, both manually and in a washing machine, clothes and shoes that are in contact with mercury.
• Do not open windows and doors at the same time in the room where the incident occurred. Draft will promote rapid evaporation of the metal.

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How to remove mercury from the floor from a thermometer at home? Preparatory work

The main rule in eliminating the problem is to keep the mind sober. Do not panic. Keep calm. If you do everything calmly and correctly, then terrible consequences can be avoided.

First steps:

1. First of all, take out of the apartment elderly people, pregnant women, children and animals.
2. Close the door in the room where the trouble occurred, open the window. Take care that there is no draft.
3. Prepare a lamp or flashlight to better view all the grains.
4. Remove the fragments of the thermometer from the surfaces.

Outfit

Be sure to take care of your safety. For this you will need:

1. Rubber gloves. Protect your hands, since harmful metal can be absorbed into the body through the pores of the skin.
2. Respirator. This item is required for respiratory protection. You can replace it with a cotton-wool dressing moistened in a water-soda solution.
3. Shoe covers. To prevent mercury from getting on shoes and further spreading it around the house, put shoe covers or dense cellophane bags on your feet.

Than to collect mercury from the floor from a thermometer?

The following items will help quickly and completely remove mercury from the thermometer:

• Rubber syringing;
• Knitting Needle;
• Plate made of copper;
• Syringe;
• Wet cotton;
• Plaster;
• Scotch;
• Wet newspaper;
• Brush for drawing;
• Glass jar filled with water.

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How to collect mercury from the floor, if the thermometer broke. Cleaning Steps

Having done the first steps, protecting yourself from direct contact with mercury and preparing everything you need, you can proceed to the most important question: how to collect mercury from the floor from the thermometer correctly, so that nothing remains. The whole process is divided into three stages:

1. Demercurization - the collection of all metal balls.
2. Chemical demercurization - cleaning of premises with disinfectants.
3. Appeal to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Demercurization:

1. Lamp or flashlight light the scene. Thoroughly inspect all surfaces.

Important! If mercury has got on soft toys or clothes, the best option is to place them in a cellophane bag and throw it into the trash. If the objects are very expensive for you, then take them neatly to the street so that all the mercury residues evaporate from them.

1. Start collecting from large balls. Thus, you will avoid the subsequent division of them into smaller elements. To do this, bend a sheet of thick paper into a scoop shape and, using a spoke or a copper plate, collect mercury droplets into it.
2. Move the mercury balls close together neatly into one heap so that they are reunited.
3. Collect small droplets with adhesive tape or patch.
4. Remove mercury from the thermometer from hard-to-reach places( crevices on the floor and furniture) using a cotton swab dipped in a solution of potassium permanganate. A syringe with a thick needle can also come in handy in this case.
5. Collect mercury from the carpet, if the thermometer broke, syringing will help. After this, you should take out the carpet to fresh air, so that all the remaining microparticles are completely weathered.
6. All the pieces that could be collected, lower into a jar of water. There also collect all the materials used during cleaning: cotton wool, scotch tape, plaster, cotton buds. After removing all residuals of the accident, the bank needs to be tightly closed.

Important! Water will prevent the evaporation of mercury and its spread through the air.

1. Put all items of equipment and tools in a bag, tighten them tightly. The package can be thrown in the trash.

Important! The whole process of demercurization can take several hours. During it, you should take breaks - every 15 minutes to go out into the fresh air. So you can additionally protect yourself from poisoning by harmful couples.

Chemical demercurization

For further processing, a disinfectant solution should be prepared. You can use one of the following recipes.

Solution No. 1:

1. Mix several potassium permanganate crystals with water. The liquid must have a dark brown color.
2. Add salt and vinegar to the solution, taking into account the proportion: 1 liter of brown liquid, 1 tablespoon.
3. Pour a pinch of citric acid and mix the solution thoroughly so that all the ingredients are completely dissolved.

Solution No. 2:

1. In 5 liters of water dilute 1 liter of chlorine.
2. You can also use any chlorine-containing bleach and mix it with water in a ratio of 100 ml to 800 ml respectively.

Important! Such a solution can not handle wallpaper and laminate, as it will irretrievably ruin the material. It is, by and large, used in public institutions, such as a kindergarten, a hospital or a school.

Solution # 3:

1. In 1 liter of water, dissolve 40 g of soap and 50 g of soda.
2. Stir the ingredients thoroughly until completely dissolved.

How to remove mercury from the floor, if the thermometer broke? We disinfect the room:

1. Wear rubber gloves.
2. Treat all surfaces in the room with a damp cloth soaked in a prepared solution.

Important! Particular attention should be paid to crevices on the floor and furniture, plinths.

1. After 8 hours, wipe all treated surfaces with a damp cloth soaked in a clean water.

Important! After treatment with a chlorinated solution, wipe the surface with clean water after 20 minutes.

1. After treatment, the room should be ventilated for at least 2-3 hours.
2. During the whole week after the incident in the apartment, it is necessary to carry out daily wet cleaning.

Actions after removing the remnants of the broken thermometer

Once you have finished cleaning the apartment, you should take care of the collected balances:

1. Call 101 and find out where you can transfer the bank with the mercury drops of the EMERCOM employee.
2. If you still have doubts about the quality of the cleaning, then call the staff of the Sanitary and Epidemiological Station. With the help of a special device they will be able to measure the concentration of vapors in the apartment air.
3. Take care of your own health, because during cleaning, even in outfits there is a chance to get poisoned. To do this:
   • Thoroughly rinse the mouth with a mild solution of potassium permanganate.
   • Brush your teeth.
   • Drink several activated carbon tablets.
   • Next day drink as much as possible liquid: tea, juice, compote, water, coffee.

Important! If a child has swallowed a drop of mercury, do not panic. Mercury balls are not absorbed by the intestine and are excreted without any problems with feces.

Knowing how to collect mercury, if a thermometer broke, you are somewhat protected from the deplorable effects of poisoning with harmful toxins. But only to some extent. The best option would be a complete rejection of unsafe subjects measuring body temperature and the use of alternative devices. The situation with a broken thermometer can not be predicted in any way, as well as the consequences of such trouble. Secure your home, especially if it has children.