How to collect mercury if the thermometer is broken. How to remove mercury if a thermometer breaks

Mercury is a heavy metal, silver in color, which belongs to the first hazard class, it is used in medicine, metallurgy, mechanics, and most often we encounter it in Everyday life when using a thermometer and fluorescent lamps. If you break a thermometer and drops of mercury roll out in small balls across the surface, in this case you need to know how to remove mercury so as not to harm your health and the surrounding area. This is extremely necessary, since this element of the periodic table is extremely poisonous and mercury vapor poisoning can lead to hospitalization.

Why do you need to carefully remove mercury from a broken thermometer?

When evaporated, mercury releases toxic vapor, which affects the central nervous system and kidney function. She also amazes respiratory system and gastrointestinal tract. If you encounter such a nuisance as a broken thermometer, as a rule, in this situation you need to contact specialists from the sanitary and epidemiological station. But if this is not possible, do not despair! In the absence of special substances, you can cope with this problem even with the help of improvised means. Below you will find a number of recommendations on how to remove mercury from your apartment. different ways.

Where to begin?

Before removing the mercury from the thermometer from the floor, take the following measures:

Evacuate the apartment residents while the problem is being removed so that they do not spread mercury on their soles throughout the room.
Organize good ventilation and reduce the air temperature in the place where the incident occurred, but under no circumstances create a draft.
Wear protective clothing, preferably synthetic, which you dispose of with your tools after use, since the substance does not erode or wash off.
Put on a cotton-gauze bandage soaked in a soda solution.
Limit the contamination area with wet newspapers.
Prepare products and tools to remove mercury.
After the procedure, collect all things and objects that came into contact with or onto which mercury came into contact with plastic bags and take them out into the open air.

Important! Since the process of removing mercury takes long time, periodically go to Fresh air to avoid vapor poisoning.

What not to do if a mercury thermometer breaks

Do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean mercury - after this procedure it will no longer be possible to use it for its intended purpose.
Do not broom the silver balls, this will only crush them and make cleaning more difficult.
Clothing that has been in contact with mercury should not be washed in washing machine, and even more so with your hands.
You should absolutely not throw a broken thermometer down the garbage disposal, as just 2g of mercury can pollute 6,000 cubic meters of air. If you do this, harmful fumes, mixed with waste decomposition products released, will poison everyone living in this house for a long time.
Under no circumstances should mercury be flushed down the drain; it settles in the pipes, and it is very difficult to remove it from there.

How to remove mercury from a thermometer from the floor?

If you decide not to hire a service that specializes in cleaning up mercury spills, then in this article we offer you the following tools and methods on how to clean up mercury. Follow the recommendations and use the remedies that are most available to you to resolve this problem.

You will need:

glass jar with a tight-fitting lid;
table lamp, flashlight;
sheets of paper;
brush;
paper napkins;
wet cotton wool;
plasticine;
vegetable oil;
suction devices: medical bulb, syringe with a thick needle, pipette;
plaster, tape;
mercury neutralizer – “sulfur color”;
disinfectant and bleaching chemicals that contain chlorine;
sodium permanganate;
plastic bags.

Important! You will not need the entire list of funds, but only some of them. Therefore, look at what methods exist, what exactly you have at hand, and then act according to the plan.

How to remove a broken mercury thermometer?

Please note that you can remove mercury from a broken thermometer yourself only if you strictly adhere to all the recommendations in the proposed instructions. When performing work, you must also be very attentive and careful. If you are unable to do this, call immediately special service so that they solve the problem of how to remove mercury from the floor in the apartment.

Method 1

If the thermometer breaks and the mercury does not flow out:

Prepare a glass container with water.
Carefully slide a sheet of paper under the broken thermometer.
Place the item in the water.
Contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations - they are obliged to take disposal measures.

Method 2

Remove a broken thermometer and spilled mercury in several stages.

Stage 1: Preparation:

Prepare a room for collecting mercury.
Close the door to prevent the substance from spreading through the air throughout the house.
Place a rag soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate on the threshold.
To prevent mercury vapors from accumulating indoors, open the windows.
Protect yourself with personal protective equipment.

Stage 2. Cleaning process:

Turn on the lamp or flashlight and carefully examine the infestation site.
Collect the fragments of the broken thermometer and put them in a plastic bag.
Collect mercury using the devices described above.
On open surfaces:
- Take two sheets of paper and push the mercury balls together so that they stick together into one large one, you can use a shaving brush in the same way.
- Small drops of mercury can be collected with adhesives. Apply pieces of plaster, plasticine, tape, bread crumbs, wet wipes, and rags to the mercury areas. This method can also be used to collect invisible glass fragments from a thermometer.
- Place used products in an airtight container.
WITH hard to reach places clean up chemical element using suction tools. Alternatively, you can use a knitting needle and cotton wool:
- Wrap the cotton wool around the tip of the knitting needle in a thin layer.
- Prepare a disinfectant.
- Soak cotton wool in it.
- After it has absorbed the mercury, replace the tip with a new one.
- Repeat the process until the dirt is completely removed.

Stage 3. Surface disinfection:

Prepare a special solution to neutralize mercury vapor and wash the surface of traces of the substance. In this case, you can use the following substances: laundry soap, “Belizna”, sulfur, potassium permanganate.
Dilute the product in strong concentration with water.
Using a spray bottle, brush, brush, apply the solution to the areas that you have cleaned of mercury, Special attention paying attention to the cracks.
Treat the surface several times.
Leave until dry.
Wash with soapy water.
Re-treat the cleaned area with a solution of potassium permanganate, alternating with plain water.
Lead wet cleaning the entire room.

Stage 4. Disposal:

Place the used materials in a jar filled with water, so the mercury will not evaporate.
Close the bags with mercury waste tightly and temporarily place them in a non-residential place, away from a heat source.
Call a specialized service to come and pick it up collected mercury.

05/28/2017 1 12 155 views

How to remove mercury from a broken thermometer at home? - a question that requires the fastest possible solution. Currently, the choice of thermometers is very large; you can choose an absolutely safe electronic or infrared one. But many families still prefer the old, proven thermometers with mercury. Such a device at home requires special storage, because it is very fragile. What to do if the thermometer falls and breaks, how to safely dispose of mercury balls and minimize risks for household members.

What are the dangers of a broken mercury thermometer?

Mercury is a liquid metal that belongs to the first class of highly hazardous substances. Eighteen degrees above zero is enough for it to begin to evaporate, releasing dangerous toxins into the air. This is why it is so important to remove all mercury balls from the floor as quickly as possible if the thermometer breaks.

Consequences for humans after inhaling mercury fumes:

dizziness;
headache;
disruption of the gastrointestinal tract;
stomatitis;
kidney dysfunction;
arrhythmia;
convulsions;
changes in mental state;
dermatitis;
decrease in hemoglobin level in the blood.

If the above symptoms are detected, you should immediately consult a doctor.

What should you not do if there is a mercury spill?

After it is discovered that the thermometer has broken, most often people begin to panic, fearing for the health of themselves and their loved ones. In such a situation, instead of calming down, they begin to panic and do the wrong things, which can further aggravate the situation.

A few things you should absolutely not do if you crash mercury thermometer:

It is forbidden to touch mercury balls with bare hands;
it is strictly forbidden to throw away collected balls into the garbage chute or trash heap common use. The mercury in the thermometer will be enough to pollute seven thousand cubic meters of air;
You cannot use a vacuum cleaner to collect mercury from the floor. By removing the balls in this way, you will only facilitate the evaporation of mercury and its distribution throughout the apartment;
You cannot use a broom. Using thin rods you can damage the balls and the mercury will begin to evaporate, contaminating the surrounding air;
When trying to get rid of mercury balls as quickly as possible, you should not wash them down the drain. The liquid metal will remain in the pipes, from where it will be impossible to clean it out. Thus, the source of hazardous substances will always be nearby;
A magnet is not suitable for collecting mercury balls. Using it, you are more likely to achieve the opposite effect. Mercury will not be magnetized, but, on the contrary, repelled;
If mercury gets on your clothes, they should not be washed in washing machine, especially together with other underwear;
It is strictly forbidden to ventilate the room in which the incident recently occurred. Air currents will only accelerate the spread of evaporated mercury throughout the apartment.

How to protect yourself when cleaning the thermometer?

If it so happens that a mercury thermometer breaks in a living room, then the first thing you need to do is calm down. Excess nervousness will only interfere, clouding your mind. It is very important to maintain sobriety. Correct and consistent actions will help avoid serious consequences.

What to do if the thermometer breaks:

Remove elderly people, pregnant women, children and animals from the premises.
Close the door tightly where the incident occurred, open the window. You cannot create a draft, so the door must be closed.
Remove any thermometer fragments found.
Use a flashlight for better visibility. Examine every centimeter of the room, especially fleece surfaces, because mercury is the most difficult to remove from carpet, so it is very important not to leave even one ball.

What you must use when cleaning mercury:

Never start cleaning without taking care of your safety.
Clean the room only while wearing thick rubber gloves.
A respirator should be worn on the face to prevent accidental inhalation of evaporating mercury. If you don’t have one at home and don’t have time to buy it, you can replace it with a cotton-gauze bandage soaked in a soda solution.
You must put shoe covers on your feet, which must be disposed of after cleaning. This is necessary so as not to accidentally spread mercury throughout the apartment on your feet.

How to remove mercury from a broken thermometer?

So, having decided on the scale of the work and calmed down, it’s time to start cleaning up the spilled hazardous substance. If at first we found out what not to use, now it’s time to choose the safest cleaning method. In everyone’s home you can find everything you need to quickly and without consequences remove mercury.

Rubber syringe

If you find that small balls of mercury have fallen onto the tufted carpet, then a regular syringe will help remove them.

Using a flashlight, walk carefully over every centimeter of the carpet, using a syringe to suck up particles of the hazardous substance. Once everything has been removed, take the carpet out into the fresh air and leave it for several hours to allow the spilled mercury to completely evaporate from the surface.

Knitting needles

You need to start cleaning mercury with larger balls, this way you will prevent them from becoming too small. Having decided where the substance is located, bend a thick sheet of paper and, using knitting needles, carefully roll a ball of mercury onto it. Under no circumstances throw the package outside, as mercury will continue to be released from the soil for a very long time, contaminating everything around it.

copper plate

Instead of knitting needles, you can use a copper plate, which will serve as a hand to drive the mercury balls onto the paper. If you need to collect a substance from a sofa, check all the cracks and folds and the inside of the sofa. So that there are no traces of mercury left anywhere.

Take your time while cleaning. Go slowly but surely. Make sure that all mercury balls have been collected before you can begin disposing of the hazardous substance.

Syringe

All mercury beads have been detected and you are ready to start working. You can remove the substance from the surface of a carpet or floor covering with a syringe, gently drawing it in. When the remaining mercury is inside, be sure to close the spout tightly so that nothing gets out.

If the balls of the substance get into hard-to-reach places, first try to pry them out with a cotton swab dipped in potassium permanganate, then pull the ball in with a syringe.

Wet cotton

Did mercury beads get on the carpet? Place the vacuum cleaner away from in this case he is your enemy. To remove each ball from the flooring pile, use wet cotton wool, which will act as a magnet. Then remove the substance that appears with a syringe or a syringe without a needle.

Band-Aid

You can use adhesive tape as an adhesive tape to attach the mercury balls. But first you need to get the substance out of all hard-to-reach places. To do this, you can use a cotton swab dipped in iodine; it will act as a magnetic agent. As soon as all the balls are visible, carefully apply the patch so that they stick to it, after which it must be disposed of.

Scotch tape

Don't have a patch at home? It doesn’t matter, you can use regular tape instead. To begin with, we find all the mercury balls, carefully magnetize them with wet cotton wool or a stick dipped in potassium permanganate or iodine, and then apply tape with the sticky side. Once all mercury particles have been collected, the tape is carefully rolled up and disposed of safely.

Wet newspaper

If you are afraid to use cardboard or other thick paper because the mercury balls may simply roll back onto the floor, then another product will do. Take a regular newspaper, fold it several times and moisten it a little, but do not tear it. Once on it, the balls will not roll down, sticking to wet surface. This way you will protect yourself from re-scattering mercury on the floor.

Glass jar with water

After you have made sure that there are no mercury particles left on the floor and other places, it’s time to think about what to do with it collected material and all the tools that were used for this. A glass jar filled with water is suitable for this. Immerse cotton swabs, cotton wool, a syringe and everything that you used to collect the substance into it. Once the jar is filled, close the lid tightly to prevent the mercury from spreading through the air.

Video: how to remove mercury from a broken thermometer at home?

The main cleaning work has been completed. Now it’s time to think about where to put the remaining mercury and everything that was used to assemble it.

Place the things you were wearing in a garbage bag, tie them tightly and take them to the trash. For greater safety, you can use two bags.
Call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and find out where you need to take the jar with the collected material.
If you have any doubts about the quality of the cleaning done, invite a special person from the sanitary and epidemiological service. Using special instruments, he will check the cleanliness of the room and, if traces of mercury are found, he will eliminate them.
After cleaning is completed, take preventive measures regarding your health, because even with good protection, mercury particles could enter the body. To do this: prepare a weak solution of potassium permanganate and rinse your mouth with it. Brush your teeth thoroughly. Take several tablets of activated carbon internally, based on the calculation that one tablet is taken per kilogram of weight. Take during the day a large number of liquids.
If you notice that a child has swallowed a ball of mercury, then do not rush to panic. It is not absorbed by the intestines and is quietly excreted in the feces. However, it is still necessary to see a doctor to reassure yourself.

Knowing what needs to be done if a mercury thermometer breaks, and what not to do, you will thus protect yourself from dangerous mistakes. A situation that brings a lot of anxiety, but which can happen to anyone. If there are small children in the house, then be especially careful about where you store the thermometer. Do not leave it unattended, do not store it without a special case, do not throw it and shake it off carefully.

The best way to protect yourself and your family from hazardous substances is to avoid them altogether. Exists huge selection instruments for measuring temperature, which are highly accurate, while being absolutely safe for humans and environment. Be careful and careful.

What to do if a thermometer breaks - how to properly remove mercury?

When a thermometer breaks, the question arises of how to collect the mercury and where to put these toxic balls. People get lost especially often if there are small children in the house. Not understanding how to collect mercury, where to throw it away later, and how to properly treat the room, many commit serious mistakes, which lead to deterioration in the health of all family members. So, the thermometer is broken: what to do in such a situation?

A broken thermometer in an apartment poses a great danger not only to family members, but also to everyone who enters the room.

If mercury in the form of vapor enters the body, signs of damage to organs and systems will develop over time:

Will react first nervous system. Its defeat can manifest itself as increased fatigue, muscle weakness, lethargy, and drowsiness. Headaches and various balance and coordination problems may also occur. In case of mercury vapor poisoning, a person’s cognitive abilities are impaired: memory and the ability to concentrate deteriorate, which leads to impairment intellectual activity. Also, some people who have inhaled mercury may experience tremors in their fingers and eyelids. In terms of the psycho-emotional background, various changes occur, from mild depression to depression or irritability.
A broken thermometer with poorly removed mercury can cause ovarian cycle disorders, mastopathy, and various pregnancy complications in women. Mercury vapor also has a teratogenic effect, i.e. lead to the intrauterine formation of various deformities in the fetus.
Settled on room furniture, carpet villi, as well as in cracks in the floor, mercury balls lead to the development of pathology in other organs and systems: endocrine, cardiovascular. The organs of smell, touch and the entire metabolism in general may be affected.

To avoid such a risk, in case of damage to the integrity of the medical thermometer, it is necessary to put aside all matters and properly remove the mercury. If you don’t know how to collect the mercury rolling around the room and leave at least the smallest mercury balls, family members over time may develop diseases of the liver and biliary system, tuberculosis, arterial hypertension and even mental illness.

In order not to have to figure out how to remove mercury from a broken thermometer, you must follow the rules for storing this medical device:

To prevent the thermometer from breaking if accidentally dropped, it must be stored in a special case at all times. This is especially true if pets live in the apartment. The ubiquitous cats love to play various items, including a medical thermometer. In such cases, a tightly closing plastic case will reliable protection. If the thermometer in the case breaks, the mercury will not spill out of it.
Before measuring the temperature, shake off the thermometer away from the furniture. This way you can avoid damaging the thermometer by accidentally hitting it on a hard furniture surface.
This mercury device must be stored so that it cannot be reached by children. Not knowing how to handle such objects carefully, kids will definitely break it during the game.
It is necessary to measure the temperature of children or patients in a restless or unconscious state in the presence of adults. In this case, it is imperative that the adult himself presses the hand with the thermometer in the armpit to the child’s body.

Following simple rules for storing a thermometer and measuring the temperature of children will help to avoid breaking the seal of the mercury tube.

It should be borne in mind that mercury belongs to the first category of danger poisons. Therefore, even minor contact with this substance leads to serious consequences for the body. If the thermometer breaks and the room is not thoroughly cleaned and disinfected, children will be at greatest risk. A small ball of mercury caught in a crack in the floor can cause serious symptoms.

If a mercury thermometer breaks and the mercury is not removed, symptoms of mercury poisoning may appear within a few hours. Depending on the amount of vapor of this toxic substance, symptoms may have varying degrees of severity.

The following will be noted:

increasing weakness;
headache;
lack of appetite;
painful swallowing;
increased salivation;
metallic taste in the mouth;
The gums become swollen and begin to bleed.

From the gastrointestinal tract, nausea, vomiting, and very severe pain in the abdominal area are noted. Diarrhea occurs. Poisoning can also manifest itself as cough, shortness of breath, and chest pain.

Mercury from a broken thermometer, of course, will not lead to chronic poisoning.

But if this happens repeatedly and the room is not properly cleaned, then over time family members will begin to notice lethargy, memory impairment, and frequent headaches. A half-asleep state will also be observed.

Over time, problems with the thyroid gland, disruption of the normal functioning of the pelvic organs, and various pathological changes in heart rhythm will appear.

If a thermometer breaks in the house and similar symptoms appear after a while, you should urgently consult a doctor to be examined for mercury content in the body.

So what to do if you break a medical thermometer, and how to remove mercury from the floor? Is it possible to do this safely for yourself and others?

First you need to prepare an empty jar of water, closed with an airtight lid, a couple of small paper sheets, brush, flashlight and syringe.

Before collecting mercury from a broken thermometer, you need to carry out preliminary preparation. To do this, you need to close all the windows in the house, and in the room in which the thermometer broke, on the contrary, you should open the window. The door to this room must be tightly closed so that mercury vapor does not spread throughout the apartment. Before collecting mercury from the floor, you need to put shoe covers on your feet or, in the absence of them, plastic bags. Put whole ones on your hands latex gloves.

The respiratory tract should also be protected by wrapping the nose and mouth with a damp cloth or scarf:

First of all, quickly remove the fragments and the thermometer from the floor and place them in a jar.
Then, using two paper sheets, collect all visible mercury balls into larger ones and use a brush to move them onto a sheet of paper, and then immediately pour them into a jar. The used paper and brush should also be thrown into the same jar.
After all visible mercury balls have been removed, you need to carefully inspect the floor using a flashlight. This will help you see small lumps of poison in the cracks of the floor. You need to pull mercury out of the cracks using a syringe, which is also placed in a jar at the end.

At the end of the cleaning, the jar with poison and contaminated items must be taken to recycling points and to the sanitation station.

Proper disposal of mercury from a thermometer will preserve the health of all family members.

Do not expect that thorough cleaning will rid the room of mercury. Many people think: “I threw out the mercury, washed the floors and now the house is clean.” Just removing mercury from the thermometer is not enough. To completely remove all sources of mercury vapor, it is necessary to completely decontaminate the surfaces on which mercury may have come into contact.

To do this, you need to treat the floors, baseboards, and nearby furniture with one of the following solutions:

potassium permanganate;
ferric chloride;
any substance containing chlorine (you can use Belizna or Domestos products).

15 minutes after treatment, all these surfaces should be washed well with water, laundry soap and soda, and the room should be well ventilated. This treatment is carried out daily for a week. It is impossible to stay in this room for a long time, much less sleep. After a week, you should invite the sanitary-epidemiological service to measure the level of mercury in the room.

How to remove poison if mercury gets on the carpet? Small balls of mercury are very easily lost in the fibers of carpets, and it is almost impossible to get them out of there. In such cases, the most optimal solution will dispose of the carpet by contacting a special sanitary service. You can also turn to them for help so that they can carry out special treatment premises (demercurization), as well as carpets and upholstered furniture.

It is important to know not only how to properly remove mercury from a room, but also how to disinfect the room.

Absolutely forbidden

Not knowing how to collect mercury at home, nevertheless, everyone begins to take measures to collect it.

And at the same time they make a number of mistakes, further aggravating the situation:

First of all, few people know that even with a light touch, mercury breaks into smaller balls, which makes it much more difficult to clean up.
Under no circumstances should you touch mercury with your hands without protection!
Many people start collecting mercury from a broken thermometer with a broom. The balls quickly fragment to almost microscopic sizes and roll into crevices where they may not be visible. In addition, the smallest grains of the substance remain on the broom twigs. If the broom is not thrown away after cleaning, the toxic fumes will continue to poison family members for a long time.
People also try to collect mercury from a thermometer with a vacuum cleaner, thinking that this is safer. Poison trapped in a corrugated hose and dust bag household appliance, will forever remain in his villi. Each time you turn on the vacuum cleaner, mercury vapor will be dispersed into the indoor air. Another danger lurks when air with mercury vapor passes through the components of the device mechanism. In this case, an amalgam (a film of mercury) will settle on the parts of the components, which will forever turn this equipment into a source of toxic fumes.
You should not collect the contents of a broken thermometer with a magnet, because mercury is only repelled from the magnet, fragmenting into smaller pieces.
Not knowing where to put the collected mercury, many try to pour it down the drain. At the same time, settling on the pipes, the toxin continues to poison the room with its fumes. For the same reason, you should not throw mercury down the garbage disposal.
Also, under no circumstances should items that have touched mercury be washed in a washing machine.

If mercury is collected incorrectly, an apartment can quickly turn into a place unsafe for people to stay.

The dilemma of how to remove mercury arises for everyone when a thermometer accidentally breaks in a room. Its vapors are the most dangerous poison. If the harmful liquid is not removed, then they evaporate imperceptibly and poison the air around them. When a person breathes toxic fumes every day, mercury accumulates in the organs and mercury intoxication occurs.

How to remove mercury if a thermometer breaks?

Thoroughly inspect the surface and collect the balls using a syringe with a thin tip or a medical syringe, which is convenient for sucking them up and placing them in a jar of water. Drops of mercury can be easily removed with tape; each new ball should be collected with a clean piece of adhesive tape.
To neutralize mercury residues in the carpet, it must be treated with a solution of potassium permanganate. It is recommended to use a soap mixture: 1 tbsp. spoon of soda, 2 tbsp. spoons of laundry soap per 1 liter hot water. It is more gentle on the carpet than manganese.
If possible, the carpet should be rolled up plastic bag and take it outside for ventilation.

How to remove mercury from the sofa?

If the thermometer breaks on upholstered furniture, it is much more difficult to detect and remove poisonous balls. How to remove mercury from a broken thermometer from the sofa:

The place where mercury gets in must be treated with a solution of bleach or potassium permanganate.
It is better to remove liquid metal using moistened vegetable oil napkins - the droplets stick well to them.
It is convenient to use a flashlight when inspecting - this way the droplets will glow and be clearly visible.
After collecting visible particles, the sofa must be carefully laid out and once again walked over the entire surface with napkins or adhesive tape, to which the smallest drops of mercury stick well.
After this, it is recommended to call representatives of the laboratory service - using special equipment they will be able to determine the concentration of mercury vapor and determine whether the affected upholstered furniture needs to be disposed of.

How to remove mercury from the toilet?

It is difficult to remove mercury balls from the toilet - often they do not overcome the elbow of the plumber and get stuck there. How to remove mercury from the toilet:

You need to use an enema - suck mercury balls into it and put them in a jar of water.
The second way is to flush all the water from the toilet and shut off the flow of new water. Then collect the mercury using damp rags, throwing them into a jar of water for disposal.

Why can't you vacuum up mercury?

Before you remove mercury at home, you need to know that removing balls with a vacuum cleaner is strictly prohibited. There are three reasons for this:

The vacuum cleaner heats up during operation and this increases the evaporation of mercury vapor.
The air passes through the motor of the vacuum cleaner and a mercury film - amalgam - is formed on parts made of non-ferrous metals. Such equipment itself becomes a source of mercury vapor, even if it is thrown into a landfill.
From the return outlet, droplets of mercury are dispersed throughout the room.

How to remove mercury vapor?

After all noticeable droplets of liquid metal have been removed, especially if the mercury has not been removed properly, fumes of a toxic substance may still remain in the room. Therefore, after mechanical collection of the balls, a chemical cleaning procedure is performed:

The jar with the collected metal must be securely sealed with a lid and kept away from heating devices.
To get rid of mercury vapor, you need to perform a demercurization procedure. You need to prepare a solution in a plastic bucket - take 1 liter of “Belizna” per 8 liters of water. Using a brush, sponge, or rag, wash the floor and all contaminated surfaces, paying special attention to baseboards and crevices. Leave the applied solution for 15 minutes and rinse off clean water. Treat the cleaned floor with a solution of magrantsovka - 1 gram per 8 liters of water. These solutions are safe for linoleum and parquet, they do not change their color.
It is advisable for the person doing the cleaning to gargle with a weak pink solution of potassium permanganate and drink 2-3 tablets of activated carbon.
After the mercury has been removed, the room must be ventilated daily for 1-2 months. Then the concentration of harmful fumes is reduced to negligible values, and the air is cleared of residual mercury vapor

Liquid mercury begins to flow from a broken thermometer. At home, it tends to evaporate. The vapors of this metal are a dangerous poison. From a broken device, upon impact, the metal splits into many tiny balls and spreads throughout the room. Metal very easily penetrates into any crevices of floors and baseboards. Over time, it evaporates, poisoning the air in the room. If someone regularly inhales such fumes, it accumulates in the organs. For this reason, chronic mercury intoxication begins to progress. That is why it is important to know how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer.

Why is mercury from a thermometer dangerous?

Users are wondering why mercury from a thermometer is dangerous for humans. Chemical substance, with which you can determine body temperature, is element 80 of the periodic table. It is related to the first risk class, since it is a poison. This is a single metal that is in a fluid state in the range of -19-+357 degrees Celsius, which at room temperature is in a fluid state. But already from +18 degrees the metal begins to evaporate. These are extremely dangerous fumes, which is why mercury poisoning from the thermometer occurs.

When asked how much mercury is in a thermometer, you can answer that it is about 2-5 grams. If all the metal evaporates in a room with an area of 20 square meters, the vapor concentration will be about 100 mg per cubic meter, which is 300,000 times more than the maximum permissible norm. Normal level metal in the home should not exceed 0.0003 mg per cubic meter.

People are also interested in the question of where the mercury is located in the thermometer. The thermometer body is made of transparent material. Inside there is a flask with mercury, which is hermetically sealed to the tube. The element that is in the flask is also partially in the tube.

To evaporate all the metal from the device, it takes too much heat. But if left unused, a broken thermometer will lead to an increase in the maximum permissible concentration of mercury, which is very dangerous. This element tends to accumulate in the human body. If mercury is not carefully collected, the consequences of inhaling the vapors will appear after a couple of weeks.

The first thing you need to remember is that:

the thermometer is not a toy, so it should not be in the hands of children;
store the device in a tight case out of the reach of children;
when knocking down the device you need to be very careful;
measure a child's temperature only under adult supervision.

Don’t be shy, ask our consultants questions, right here on the website. We will definitely answer

Mercury poisoning from a thermometer: symptoms

Liquid metal is unlikely to bring critical consequences. After a person has inhaled vapors, the following symptoms of mercury poisoning may occur if the thermometer is broken:

general malaise;
lack of appetite;
metallic taste in the mouth;
headaches;
discomfort when swallowing;
gagging;
lightheadedness

With late help for intoxication, all symptoms only intensify. The following signs appear:

bleeding from gums;
pain in the abdomen;
rapid rise in temperature;
loose stool mixed with blood and mucus.

The appearance of the above symptoms is a pretext for hospitalization of the victim. Without professional help, the outcome can be the most critical. Even death is possible. Such fumes are especially dangerous for children and pregnant women. In children, even a single inhalation of vapors can cause a critical condition. In pregnant women, intrauterine damage to the fetus can be caused. Therefore, babies and women carrying a fetus should in any case visit a doctor.

I broke a thermometer with mercury: what to do?

The first thing to do in the event of a broken thermometer is to remove all residents from the room. Children and animals should sit in another place during this time. Otherwise, mercury balls may be accidentally swallowed. Afterwards, in the room where the thermometer was broken, you need to open the windows to ventilate the room. But you need to make sure there are no drafts.

If the Ministry of Emergency Situations is not called and you want to solve the problem yourself, then you need to wear gloves and a cotton-gauze bandage. The bandage must be pre-soaked in a soda solution. To prepare it, dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda in a glass of liquid. It is recommended to wear shoe covers or regular bags on your feet so as not to throw away your slippers later. If you don’t have a jockstrap at home, you can make one yourself. This is done using gauze folded in several layers. Initially, you need to collect all the fragments from the device, and then proceed to the mercury.

The first thing victims ask is how to take mercury if the thermometer breaks. This can be done in several ways, depending on the place where it was broken.

How to collect mercury from the floor from a thermometer

When cleaning this dangerous substance, it is important to forget about the usual broom or rag. Moreover, kitchen sponges are not suitable. The collected metal balls must be placed in a previously prepared glass container with water. Toilet and trash can– this is not the place for such a departure. As soon as the balls fall into the jar, it must be closed very tightly.

There are several options for how to collect metal from the floor. These include:

It is possible to use a simple syringe into which the balls are drawn. Afterwards they must be released into the prepared jar. This type of tackle is perfect for removing metal from crevices and from under baseboards. After performing such manipulations, syringe in mandatory recycle. Under no circumstances should it be reused.
It is possible to soak paper napkins in oil. The metal balls will stick perfectly to the towel. If there are no such napkins, then you can use newspaper soaked in liquid or cotton balls.
Toxic metal balls stick well to tape or adhesive tape.

After all the mercury has been collected, the room must be thoroughly cleaned. To do this, use bleach and clean the floor several times. disinfectants. To remove the balls, use a rag that you don’t mind and can throw away. The room where the incident occurred must be left for a week. open windows. The floor should be disinfected on an ongoing basis using a soda solution. Now everyone knows, if a thermometer in an apartment breaks, how much mercury evaporates.

At this time, a person needs to bathe thoroughly. Rinse your mouth from time to time soda solution. It is recommended to take several tablets of activated carbon.

How to collect mercury from a carpet

Removing metal from a carpet involves a number of actions that are aimed at removing toxic poison from the carpet surface. The collection device is selected separately for each situation. But usually it is no different from the device that is chosen to collect poison from the floor. You can resort to such handy means as cotton pads, tape, adhesive tape or adhesive paper. You just need to go over the entire carpet surface with the prepared tool. Then immediately throw the tape or paper into the prepared glass jar.

Things are much more complicated if the carpet has an elongated pile. Poisonous balls can get stuck and retained inside it. First you need to remove all the balls, carefully inspecting the room. After flooring needs to be processed several times. Use a soda or soap solution for the first time. The second time, detergents will do.

It is important to remember that for the safety of the work being carried out, cleaning is carried out only with gloves. In some cases, it is recommended to take a breathing mask or gas mask.

From the cracks

Most challenging task, but at the same time feasible, is the collection of mercury from liquors. There are several options for resolving the problem:

In the first case, you can use a gypsy needle or a long knitting needle. You should wrap a cotton wool soaked in liquid on it.
In the second case, pour sand into the crack and sweep it away along with the remains of the hazardous metal.
Some are inclined to collect metal using a magnet. This is a completely doable job. Since mercury is a liquid metal, it is easily magnetic. During the session, it is important to wear thick rubber gloves. After manipulation, remove them in such a way that the magnet and the poison remain inside the glove.

Afterwards the final cleaning of the room is carried out. In the place where the device was broken, wipe with a product that will eliminate all mercury vapor. A very effective solution is ferric chloride solution. Make a 20% aqueous solution and wash the surface.

How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer from the floor at home, video:

What not to do if the thermometer at home breaks?

It is important to know not only how to remove mercury from a thermometer from the floor, but also what is strictly forbidden to do in an emergency. The following actions are prohibited:

Under no circumstances should you attempt to remove the balls dangerous metal vacuum cleaner or broom. In such situations, the poison is fragmented into many small particles. The warm motor of the vacuum cleaner promotes its rapid evaporation. Such actions will only complicate the situation.
All collected metal, even in a tightly sealed jar of potassium permanganate, must not be thrown into the garbage chute. Over time, the bank will be broken, and this is a threat to other people. Remains of the thermometer can only be disposed of by specialists from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
It is strictly forbidden to wash clothes that have been in contact with metal in a washing machine. This is prohibited even during disinfection. Disposal of this element is an extremely complex process. Washing things will make all subsequent washes more dangerous.
It is strictly forbidden to wash metal down the drain. Mercury will be deposited in the pipeline elbow. Over a long period, it will pollute the air with its fumes.

It is important not to start panicking when the thermometer is broken. Now it is clear whether mercury from a broken thermometer is dangerous; it is the most important enemy. Therefore, first of all, you need to be extremely careful and careful. You should not allow the device to be broken. If such an absurdity happens, then you must follow all safety rules. If mercury is collected incorrectly and measures are not taken in a timely manner, the consequences can be the most critical. In some cases, death is possible. This is why it is important to know how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer.

How to collect mercury if the thermometer is broken. How to remove mercury if a thermometer breaks - methods that are safe for health