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February 23

Everyone knows from childhood that you need to handle a thermometer carefully, since mercury balls that leak out when it is damaged are very dangerous for you. human body.

Today, electronic thermometers are also produced, but the accuracy of their measurement is much inferior to the usual mercury thermometer. However, these devices are extremely fragile and are very easy to damage. Therefore, everyone needs to know how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer correctly.

It should be noted that mercury itself is non-toxic. Its evaporation is dangerous for the human body, and this process occurs already at 18 degrees. In case you or your family break mercury thermometer, you must act quickly.

To prevent children, older people, and pets from inhaling toxic fumes and spreading it around the apartment, it is necessary to remove them from the room where the damaged thermometer is located. It is advisable to send everyone out of the house and into the streets altogether.

In the room where there are fragments of a broken thermometer and leaked mercury balls, you need to open the windows and close the door.

Open windows will lower the temperature for less mercury evaporation, and closed door will help prevent the spread of toxic fumes into other drafty rooms.

A rag soaked in a disinfectant solution must be placed on the threshold of the infected room. IN home medicine cabinet there will probably be potassium permanganate. It needs to be diluted with water and a rag moistened in the solution.

To ensure safety when cleaning mercury, the concentration of the solution should be maximum. When using potassium permanganate, the concentration can be determined by the color of the solution. The brighter and more saturated it is, the stronger the solution.

A solution of potassium permanganate can also be used to moisten materials that will be used during the cleaning process. Metal balls stick more easily to a wet surface. At the same time, you can collect mercury and disinfect contaminated surfaces.

Before collecting mercury from a broken thermometer, change into clothes that you won’t mind throwing away after cleaning. If mercury balls scatter in a visible area, then try to limit it, for example, using newspapers soaked in water.

Prepare everything you need. After the mercury is removed, all used tools and clothing used for cleaning must be packed in bags and given to the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations or SES.

If mercury gets on carpet or upholstered furniture, it will need to be treated. This is done by representatives of the SES, who must be invited to measure the pollution at home and carry out demercurization.

What not to do

Many people who find themselves in this situation begin to panic because they have heard about the extreme danger of mercury. However, it should be remembered that the metal in the thermometer is not enough to cause death.

Therefore, you should not be nervous, you need to calm down, think about how and with what to remove mercury, and systematically carry out the cleaning.

First of all, you need to remember that removing mercury with bare hands is prohibited. Hands must be protected with gloves. When deciding how to collect scattered mercury, remember that you should not use a vacuum cleaner or broom for this purpose.

It is unacceptable to dispose of collected metal yourself by simply throwing it into the trash bin at home or on the street or the toilet. Mercury from a thermometer does not have the usual property of a metal to be attracted to a magnet; it behaves in exactly the opposite way.

Therefore, you should not try to remove it with a magnet; the liquid metal will be repelled from it and contaminate an even larger area.

How to protect yourself while cleaning

Collect hazardous metal, having previously protected the skin and Airways from toxic fumes. Put gloves on your hands and a respirator on your face.

If you don’t have such an item at home, you can use gauze bandage. Shoe covers should be worn on your feet. Collecting mercury from a thermometer is not so easy; this process takes quite a lot long time.

To protect yourself, take breaks while cleaning by going into another room, onto the balcony, or outside. Before leaving a contaminated area, remove protective equipment, and put it on again when you return. This will prevent the metal from spreading throughout the apartment.

In order to prevent evaporation of the metal, place the collected balls in a container with water. All clothing and protective equipment must be carefully packed after cleaning. You cannot wash items that have been exposed to mercury particles; they must be disposed of following safety rules.

How to collect mercury from a damaged thermometer

When choosing a way to remove mercury from a broken thermometer, you need to take into account the surface on which the dangerous metal is located. Collection methods on smooth floors or tables and on carpeted floors or upholstery upholstered furniture, differ from each other.

You can collect mercury from the floor or table using a syringe. You can also use an elastic syringe. It is recommended to collect mercury using materials with a sticky surface. This could be packing tape or adhesive tape.

You can remove metal balls using paper napkins, newsprint, soaked in water or vegetable oil. You can also use plain paper, sweeping metal particles onto it with a brush. You can collect small beads cotton pad, moistened with water.

Observe the conditions for storing and safe use of the fragile measuring instrument. Storing the thermometer in a designated case and in a specially designated place will avoid a situation in which you have to clean up a broken thermometer.

After use, it must be immediately put back in place, so it can become easy prey for small children or animals who decide to play with a shiny object. Even if you don’t have children or animals at home, if you leave the thermometer on the sofa or table, you can accidentally brush it off or crush it.

How to remove mercury from fleecy surfaces

If mercury ends up on furniture upholstery, carpet, or other soft surfaces, then the task becomes very complicated. However, there are ways to collect metal balls in this situation.

If the pile is not long, you can use sticky tape, cotton wool or paper napkins. Relatively large particles in a soft surface can be removed this way. Small particles are more difficult to remove. The carpet will need to be taken outside, hung vertically, with oilcloth placed underneath it.

After this, the carpet must be thoroughly knocked out on all sides. Oilcloth with particles that have fallen on it must be disposed of in the same way as the rest of the tools and clothes that you used during cleaning.

One of the most complex tasks When collecting dangerous metal from a broken thermometer, it is necessary to remove the smallest particles trapped in the cracks of the floor.

To remove small metal balls from hard-to-reach places, use a knitting needle or something similar. You need to wrap cotton wool around one end of the knitting needle, moisten it with water and extract the mercury in this way.

To see even small particles of mercury, use a flashlight or portable lamp. In this way, you can clean more thoroughly by examining all corners of the room where the thermometer broke.

After visible metal elements have been collected, disinfection must be carried out. To do this, you can use bleach, a solution of potassium permanganate, or Whiteness. The concentration of the disinfectant should be maximum.

Disinfection measures must be carried out several times: immediately after cleaning, and then daily for some time.

Treat with a disinfectant solution not only those surfaces where the mercury was located, but the entire area of ​​the room. After this, you need to carry out a thorough cleaning using soap or detergents that you use all the time.

Clothing, materials and tools that were used during the cleaning process must be carefully and tightly packed in plastic bags. They should not be thrown into waste containers intended for general waste.

Hand over all used items to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. This service must be notified of the incident. They will give recommendations on how to act in the current situation.

After cleaning for some time, it is necessary to ventilate the room where the thermometer was broken daily. If the level of mercury vapor exceeds the permissible level, this will help avoid poisoning through the respiratory tract.

Pharmacies sell special indicators that can be used to determine the level of pollution in a living space. You can also call SES employees for this purpose.

If preventive measures didn’t help, and the thermometer at home still broke, you shouldn’t panic. Report your problem to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, calmly clean up the consequences of the disaster, observing safety rules.

If you do everything right, then no dangerous consequences You won't have a broken thermometer. This can happen to anyone, and believe me, it happens every day.

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. Toxic dangerous 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 glass jar half 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 some air 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 concentrate 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 for knitting
  • 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 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 cleaning 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 fleecy surfaces, rugs, dermatin and leather sofas The same tools are suitable as for removing mercury from the floor. It is more difficult to collect the mercury balls that are inside carpeting with long pile. 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 it right, it's worth watching themed photo and video. 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”

Emergencies Ministry sheep do not go to see broken thermometers in Moscow. That’s why I read with great surprise that they were leaving. Didn't find what you were looking for? See other discussions: How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. So where does the mercury go in the end?

Collect the mercury with wet rags in a jar of water and close tightly. If on the floor, then wash it with potassium permanganate. What is forbidden to do if the thermometer breaks? Where is mercury most often found? Almost every house has a thermometer, and we immediately take it to...

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...

How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. I broke the thermometer - what should I do? The mercury fell quite compactly - on the blanket and on the floor (carpet). My brother washed his clothes (he was in the hospital) in the washing machine and did not take out the mercury thermometer.

How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. 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...

How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. I broke a mercury thermometer: (Conference "Pregnancy and Childbirth" "Pregnancy and Childbirth". Why are mercury vapors from a broken thermometer dangerous and how to collect mercury. Mercury is especially dangerous for children...

How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. It is necessary to limit as much as possible the area where the thermometer fell. Liquid mercury sticks to the soles of shoes and spreads throughout the apartment. What to do if the thermometer breaks. How to collect mercury from broken...

question about the thermometer. And if the thermometer’s mercury is divided into three sections and does not reset, is that all, the device is ruined? Or is there a way to get it back to normal? How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. What to do if the thermometer breaks.

How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. I broke the thermometer - what should I do? The mercury fell quite compactly - on the blanket and on the floor (carpet). So, a woman who worked in this laboratory during pregnancy had a child serious problems...

We also broke thermometers... Once on the floor in the corner, we collected it with a newspaper and that’s it (I broke the mercury in Mol! What should I do!!! Where to call - run, hide. I was told to just put everything away and I saw a program where a man was drinking mercury from a thermometer and there the doctor from the SES explained about the doses...

Mercury and thermometers. Incidents. Child from 1 to 3. Raising a child from one to three years: hardening and development, nutrition and illness 1) Yesterday, the mercury did not seem to leak out (the silver tip was intact). The thermometer fell in its case, I opened it, one piece fell out, put it away...

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The mercury thermometer broke at home! We seem to have collected mercury from the floor, and what to do now?!?! At home Small child is sick, sits with a nanny. Nothing will happen from one thermometer, but you need to collect as much mercury as possible, put it in a jar, fill it with water and close it, so it won’t...

They don’t even recommend collecting mercury yourself and throwing it in the trash - they write everywhere that you need to call special services. I would call you if you want, I just stopped measuring the BT after the thermometer broke (I didn’t really call for rescue, but the mercury...

YOU BROKEN THE THERMOREGER AND SPILLED MERCURY If you break the thermometer and mercury rolls on the table or floor, do not under any circumstances try to wipe it with a rag - this will only lead to smearing of the mercury and an increase in the evaporation surface.

Collect the mercury and throw the bag into the garbage disposal. The crumb of black bread can be collected. And with a vacuum cleaner, mercury is broken into small drops, which have a larger evaporation area than one large one. Place all the collected mercury in a jar and close it tightly.

Broken thermometer. How to proceed?. About yours, about your girl’s. Discussion of issues about a woman’s life in the family, at work, relationships with men. Good day...I found a broken thermometer at home - the body itself and a thin tube through which mercury rises.

I broke the thermometer - what should I do? The mercury fell quite compactly - on the blanket and on the floor (carpet). And when I was a child, my grandmother broke a thermometer, collected some things in a dustpan and a bucket, but what to do if the thermometer broke. How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer?

Broken thermometer. How to properly remove mercury from a broken thermometer. I broke the thermometer - what should I do? The mercury fell quite compactly - on the blanket and on the floor. Recommendations on how to properly collect mercury from a broken thermometer will help you avoid intoxication.

Mercury is not only an element of the periodic table and a metal used in medicine, mechanics, metallurgy and technology to create various devices, which is a thermometer. It is also a heavy metallized silvery liquid, with a low melting point (-39 degrees) and evaporation point (+18 degrees), which makes it extremely poisonous.

When the thermometer breaks, it releases from 2 to 4 grams of mercury, which upon impact instantly turns into many beautiful small balls that easily penetrate furniture, carpet and uneven flooring.

At room temperature The mercury evaporates, poisoning the air. In a person who inhales it, mercury accumulates in the body and can subsequently cause harm. Therefore, if the thermometer breaks, the mercury must be removed immediately.

So, how to remove mercury from a broken thermometer?

  • Professional cleaning of an apartment or any other room (demercurization) is carried out with the participation of a neutralizer - sulfur (try to find a "sulfur-colored" fertilizer in hardware stores) . So, having collected mercury balls in a glass container, it is firmly closed, and the cracks are filled with sulfur. It does not make mercury safe, but by reacting with vapors, it removes volatility.
  • Before removing mercury and carrying out any manipulations with it, you must put on rubber gloves on your hands, and cover your nose and mouth with a mask or, in extreme cases, a scarf.
  • When collecting mercury, it is advisable to remove everyone from the room and open windows for ventilation and to prevent concentration of vapors. It is important not to create drafts, as a light breeze may be enough for the mercury to continue its journey.
  • Ordinary napkins soaked in vegetable oil will help to effectively collect mercury balls from a broken thermometer: liquid metal easily sticks to oiled areas.
  • To collect mercury, you can use a syringe, a medical enema, or even a pipette, with which you need to carefully draw in the balls without touching them.
  • There is also this method: finely chop newspaper, soak it in water, and use the resulting slurry to collect mercury from a broken thermometer.
  • To prevent large balls of mercury from breaking up into small ones, you must first collect the droplets big size, and then a small one, rolling them into one ball if possible.
  • Small balls that have rolled into crevices or other awkward places can be collected by drawing them into a medical syringe with a thick needle.
  • Collecting mercury can take a long time, so it is advisable to go out periodically Fresh air.
  • In order to remove mercury from a broken thermometer, you can make a solution of potassium permanganate (even a weak one, 0.2%) will do and, after wetting a cotton swab with it, walk over the surface with mercury, which will definitely stick to it. (be careful, potassium permanganate is used as a stain and you can ruin the furniture or floor!)
  • Some mercury beads can be collected using tape or masking tape.

So, the mercury has been collected. All collected balls must be shaken into a glass container filled with water, which should then be tightly closed and placed in plastic bag. Shoes and items exposed to mercury should also be placed in a bag. The package should be handed over to a representative of the sanitary and rescue service for effective disposal and treatment of items.

The places where the mercury was based must be thoroughly washed with a soap solution and soda, which can be prepared by diluting 400 g of soap and 500 g of soda in 10 liters of water. Effective disinfection can also be carried out with a solution of iodine or potassium permanganate.

After the mercury has been removed and the room has been disinfected, you need to open the windows and leave the room to ventilate for at least 4 hours.

What should you not do when collecting mercury?

When removing mercury from a broken thermometer or other device, you need to know that this dangerous substance should never be collected with a vacuum cleaner, broom, hands or household items.

In many homes, body temperature is still measured with mercury thermometers, although many know how insidious they are. One awkward movement - and many moving silver balls scatter from the broken glass case around the room into different sides. What to do? How to collect mercury from the floor without causing harm to yourself or your loved ones?

In this article:

Why are mercury balls dangerous?

Mercury is a liquid metal that evaporates even at room temperature +18°C. Its vapors are a strong poison; they have no odor, therefore they are even more dangerous. A broken thermometer releases 2-4 grams of this metal, which can pollute up to 6 thousand cubic meters of air (unless, of course, all this is removed in time). Droplet balls roll into cracks in the floor and baseboards, hide in the pile of carpets, stick to slippers and spread throughout the apartment. Mercury evaporates and gradually poisons the air. A person, being in a room where a thermometer has broken, inhales these fumes. Toxic metal accumulates in his liver, kidneys, and brain and so-called mercury intoxication develops. The skin becomes covered with strange rashes, stomatitis appears, the kidneys and nervous system. And long-term exposure can even cause madness. It's creepy, isn't it? How to act to avoid all this?

What to do if the thermometer breaks

  • Immediately remove everyone from the “disaster” site, especially children, if any. You won’t even notice how these curious creatures will immediately begin to explore the contents of the thermometer and play with the funny living droplets scattered on the floor.
  • Close all doors to other rooms. Avoid drafts that will blow dangerous balls all over the room. Only after cleaning can you open the window and ventilate the room. And this will have to be done not in a day or two, but over three months.

The right equipment

If the mercury removal operation takes longer, apply a damp gauze bandage to your nose. Every 10-15 minutes, try to leave the room into another room or into fresh air. Protect your hands rubber gloves, put regular garbage bags over your feet if you don’t have disposable shoe covers on hand.

Tools and methods for neutralizing the mercury “catastrophe”

Find a glass container with a tight lid to serve as a container for storing the mercury. Be very careful that this container does not accidentally tip over or break. Pour cold water into it. Place the thermometer in a plastic bag.

Forget about the existence of a broom in the apartment and do not try to collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner. The twigs of the broom will further crush the balls and turn them into toxic dust. It will rise into the air and settle on furniture and walls.

If you want to use a vacuum cleaner, be prepared to throw it away immediately after cleaning. Mercury will cover the inside of the device with a thin film, and will evaporate safely there, especially during operation, when the engine heats up. But that is not all. The microdroplets drawn in by the vacuum cleaner along with the air, safely bypassing the filters, will fly back into the room and be scattered throughout the apartment.

Available demercurization methods

  1. How to collect mercury when conventional methods are not suitable? Use the most ordinary syringe - pull the balls inside like a vacuum cleaner, release the contents into a prepared jar of water. It is especially good for catching naughty droplets under baseboards and from cracks. After this, you will have to dispose of the syringe.
  2. Moisten paper napkins with sunflower oil - mercury droplets stick to them perfectly. You can do this with newspaper soaked in water or wet cotton balls. The insidious metal also sticks to copper wire, tape, adhesive tape. Try collecting it with a soft brush on a piece of paper.
  3. After collecting, be sure to treat the room with chlorine or soap solution, even if you are sure that you have collected everything. Wash not only the floor, but also the walls. Fill the cracks in the floor with chlorine solution. A solution of potassium permanganate is also suitable for this. Use a disposable cloth, which you immediately place in garbage bag. And if, on someone’s advice, you are planning to treat the floor surface with ferric chloride, be careful: it is also very toxic. Why poison yourself twice? In addition, it may leave permanent stains.

After all the procedures, you, as the liquidator of a mercury accident, need to take a shower, rinse your mouth with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, brush your teeth and drink 6-8 crushed tablets activated carbon. And, of course, drink plenty of fluids to prevent poisoning. Mercury, as already noted, collects in the kidneys, and it is through them that you will excrete this toxic metal.

If mercury gets on the carpet

What to do if the thermometer breaks on the carpet? Carefully roll the covering from the edge to the center so that the balls do not roll out onto the floor. Place it in a whole plastic bag. Movements should also be from the periphery to the center.

It is better if the product is thrown away.

What to do in case of emergency? Who should I contact?

Mercury vapor is a class I poison. Even in small quantities they cause irreversible harm to humans and animals.

If your mercury thermometer breaks or mercury spills, provide ventilation, leave the contaminated room and urgently call the mercury collection service.

Entrust the search and demercurization to certified professionals. Specialists go to the scene of an emergency with all the necessary equipment.

The mercury complex is included in the State Register of Measuring Instruments. After diagnosing the degree of contamination, thorough demercurization. We guarantee complete elimination of mercury contamination. Specialists carry out work according to the readings of the device until the room is completely cleared of toxic mercury vapor. Control measurement - free!!!

Work is carried out in residential and non-residential premises, offices, country houses, as well as in open areas. Soil samples. Preventive air analysis for mercury vapor content.

MERCURY RECYCLING SERVICE 24 HOUR HOTLINE: +7 495 968 10 86

We specialize in carrying out a full range of waste disposal work I-IV classes danger.

Complies with the requirements of the GOST R ISO 14001-2007 (ISO14001:2004) standard

Disposal and destruction of contaminated items

Things that have been in contact with mercury must be ventilated for three months. Only after this can they be washed and continued to be used, but it is better to throw them away.

But a jar of mercury, the remains of a thermometer and all the devices with which you collected metal should be voluntarily handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Don't be surprised if you are politely redirected to a pharmacy or housing office. Be stubborn and persistent, demand the disposal of this toxic metal.

Never pour liquid from silver balls into the sewer, toilet and do not throw the thermometer and contaminated things into the garbage chute: do not pollute the environment.

After all this headache, be sure to visit your nearest pharmacy and purchase a safe electronic thermometer.

Almost every home has a mercury thermometer, which must be handled with extreme care, because it contains a particularly dangerous metal, mercury.

If it breaks, how to neutralize mercury at home? We'll talk about this and much more in our article.

Safety precautions

We learned how to neutralize mercury, let's talk a little about safety precautions.

This is a difficult process that can take several hours. Therefore, every fifteen minutes it is worth taking a break, going out into the fresh air. You need to drink plenty of fluids, as the metal is excreted from the body by the kidneys.

What you should pay attention to:

  1. Do not wash clothing that has come into contact with mercury in a washing machine.
  2. It is strictly forbidden to throw silver balls into the toilet; they will fall onto the walls of the pipes and continue to produce toxic fumes and poison the inhabitants of the entire multi-storey building. The same goes for the garbage disposal.
  3. When treating an infected room, do not turn on the air conditioner; particles will settle on the filters.
  4. Do not throw mercury balls into the furnace; toxic substances escape into the atmosphere with smoke.

To avoid this problem, you need to store the thermometer in a secluded place inaccessible to children. It's better to use electronic versions.

Final steps

After all stages of cleaning the room from mercury, you need to perform the following steps:

  1. Using a weak solution of potassium permanganate, gargle and brush your teeth.
  2. Drink plenty of any liquid.
  3. Take a few tablets of activated carbon.
  4. Do not forget to ventilate the room and treat the walls and floor with the above products.
  5. If liquid metal gets on the surface of the skin, the affected area should be treated with lime mortar. It may leave a small burn, but this is minor damage to health compared to poisoning.

Remember, a broken thermometer is very dangerous!

A tiny ball can evaporate for about a year. Speed this process will directly depend on the following factors:

  1. Room air temperature.
  2. From the amount of mercury poured.
  3. The area of ​​the room in which the accident occurred.

Even small amounts of this metal can cause serious health problems. After all, it can accumulate inside our body, which causes chronic poisoning.

Signs are not immediately apparent. They appear later, this is an irritable state, problems with sleep and the nervous system.

And finally, how to neutralize mercury if it gets inside

  1. The first thing to do is to induce vomiting in the poisoned person.
  2. Rinse the stomach with a solution of activated carbon or egg white.
  3. Then drink a glass of milk.
  4. And wait for the ambulance.

If a person is poisoned by vapors, he must be taken outside until doctors arrive.