If a thermometer with mercury at home breaks. What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks

Mercury sealed in a glass flask will be your faithful friend and assistant, measuring your temperature and accurately showing changes in your health. But only until you release this “genie” to freedom. Then he turns from a friend into a dangerous enemy. What should you do first if a thermometer suddenly breaks in your apartment?

What troubles can a broken thermometer cause?

A broken thermometer releases mercury, a first-class toxin.

Falling on the floor, the liquid metal is crushed into many silvery balls, gets on carpeting, furniture upholstery, animal hair, and is carried by the soles of the feet throughout the apartment. And fills the air we breathe with vapors.

Important! It is not mercury itself that is dangerous, but its vapor.

If you inhale toxic fumes for several months, this will lead to serious illnesses. The first blow is delivered to the central nervous system and kidneys, but almost all organs can be affected: lungs, liver, stomach, thyroid gland, respiratory tract, heart.

How to determine that poisoning has occurred? The first signs of mercury intoxication are an unstable emotional state, attacks of nausea, dizziness, a metallic taste in the mouth, weight loss, drowsiness, and weakness.

Do not neglect these signs, attributing them to fatigue and overwork. Then tremor of the hands, eyelids, lips and the whole body appears. Sweating increases, the sensitivity of the skin, smell, and taste decreases, blood pressure decreases, and cardiac activity is disrupted.

Contact with mercury is especially dangerous for children, pregnant women and animals. A child will get poisoned if the norm (maximum concentration) is exceeded by 1.5 times, while a broken thermometer increases it by 100-200 times. During pregnancy, the metal penetrates the placenta and can affect the development of the fetus.

It is much more difficult to determine poisoning in animals than in humans, because they cannot complain about how they feel. But the animals themselves will become a source of danger if mercury remains in their fur.

To avoid serious consequences, it is important to carefully remove all spilled mercury, dispose of it correctly and demercurize the premises in order to reduce the level of the maximum permissible vapor concentration. Good ventilation allows you to reduce it to 50-80 MPC after 3 days and the air completely disappears in 1-3 months.

If the thermometer breaks at home - what to do

First, about what to do is unacceptable.

1. Throw away broken thermometers, tools and equipment for collecting mercury into the garbage disposal. Two grams of this metal can infect 6 thousand cubic meters of the atmosphere.
2. Pour the toxin into the toilet or sink. The metal will settle on the walls and will poison the lives of you and your neighbors for many years.
3. For the same reason, you should not wash items stained with mercury in a washing machine. The current of water will carry the toxin into the sewer, and some will settle in the machine itself. And your washing machine will infect everything that gets into it.
4. Collect the substance with a vacuum cleaner; the heated air in it will accelerate evaporation. The particles will settle in the hose and on the metal parts of the device, turning it into a time bomb.
5. Sweep the mercury with a broom. The rods will break the balls into small particles and spread them across the floor, increasing the area of ​​contamination.

What to do first in an infected apartment

First of all, the room needs to be insulated and ventilated.

Stage 1 - ventilation and insulation of the room

If the thermometer breaks, provide ventilation and isolate the room where the mercury spilled. Mercury is extremely mobile and is found in hard-to-reach places. Don't waste time!

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Stage 2 - mercury collection

1. Before you begin, put shoe covers or plastic bags on your feet to prevent metal from getting on your shoes. Protect your hands with household or latex gloves; contact of the substance with the skin is unacceptable. A mask made of gauze moistened with a solution of soda or water will help prevent inhalation of vapors.

   Protect your hands, feet and respiratory system

2. Fill the jar with bleach solution. It is important that the jar closes tightly.
3. Prepare everything you need to collect mercury:
   • adhesive tape (duct tape, adhesive tape);
   • syringe;
   • rubber bulb (syringe);
   • two sheets of wet paper;
   • a moistened soft brush;
   • damp cotton pad;
   • plasticine;
   • aluminum or copper wire.
4. Using a flashlight or table lamp, mark the areas of contamination with chalk. This will help you avoid stepping on them.
5. Collect balls from smooth surfaces with sheets of paper, using one as a broom and the other as a dustpan. For convenience, collect small balls into larger ones; when they touch, they merge. You can use a damp brush or cotton pad.
6. Remove from fleecy surfaces (upholstery, carpets) with a syringe or syringe.
7. It is convenient to collect small particles with adhesive tape or well-mashed plasticine.
8. Remove the substance that has got into the cracks with a syringe with a thick needle, copper or aluminum wire.
9. To remove particles trapped under the floorboards or baseboards, the floor will have to be dismantled.
10. Place the collected substance in a jar with a solution.

Advice! If processing takes longer, take a break every 15 minutes.

Stage 3 - demercurization

This treatment will help reduce the maximum permissible concentration to health-safe levels of 2-4.

Stage 4 - disposal

1. Close the jar with the collected substance tightly and place it in a cool place out of reach of children and animals.
2. Collect all tools used for processing in thick plastic bags. Do the same with gloves, shoe covers, masks, clothing and equipment, all of this must be recycled.
3. If mercury gets on the carpet, carefully roll it up, wrap it in plastic and take it out to the balcony.
4. All this will need to be handed over to an organization involved in the disposal of mercury; information about it will be provided by the Ministry of Emergency Situations or the Emergency Department. There is another option: call demercurization specialists to your home. They will also treat carpets and furniture if mercury gets on its upholstery.

How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer - video

After finishing the treatment of the room, take measures to prevent poisoning.

Stage 5 - prevention of poisoning

1. Prepare a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate. Rinse your mouth and throat with it.
2. Brush your teeth.
3. Take 2-3 tablets of activated carbon.
4. Drink diuretic fluids as much as possible. This will help remove mercury from the kidneys.

What to do if: problematic situations

Body temperature thermometers with a mercury tip are very fragile. The problem of a broken thermometer is not uncommon among families. First of all, you need to draw up a clear action plan.

Dangerous situation

Anyone who has encountered a similar problem knows that small particles of mercury tend to get stuck in room crevices, from which it is almost impossible to get them out. It is microscopic particles of mercury that can evaporate toxic chemical compounds for a long time.

Important! The evaporation temperature of mercury is 18 degrees Celsius. In this case, the resulting vapors penetrate into the human body with inhaled air. If a person is located at the epicenter of evaporation for a long time, then his body absorbs toxic substances through the skin pores and mucous membranes.

Of course, the amount of toxic substance found in a household thermometer is not capable of causing severe poisoning of the body. However, prolonged inhalation of even small doses of mercury leads to the phenomenon of general intoxication of the body.

Possible side effects of mercury poisoning include:

• Toxic damage to the respiratory tract with the development of pneumonia;
• Gingivitis;
• Damage to the circulatory system and thyroid tissue;
• Hand tremors;
• Disruption of the central and autonomic nervous system (increased nervous excitability, insomnia, paralysis and depression);
• Formation of severe liver and kidney diseases.

This chemical compound poses the greatest danger to the child’s body and the body of a pregnant woman. Poisoning by toxic vapors threatens the development of the following complications:

• Prolonged inhalation of chemical vapors threatens a pregnant woman with toxic damage to the fetus;
• Due to mercury poisoning in children, the respiratory system and kidneys malfunction.

Algorithm of actions

If a mercury thermometer breaks in a living room, then in order to collect mercury particles, you should stock up on the following items:

• Awl or knitting needle;
• Concentrated solution of potassium permanganate or soda-soap solution;
• 2 sheets of plain paper;
• 3 liter glass jar with a tight-fitting lid. The glass container must be filled with a solution of potassium permanganate or cold water, and the jar must be 2/3 full;
• Flashlight;
• Brush or piece of cotton wool;
• Rubber syringe or medical syringe;
• Electrical tape or tape.

Once the items are prepared, you need to begin implementing your mercury disposal plan. This plan consists of the following points:

1. First of all, it is necessary to remove family members and pets from the room where the mercury is located. Close the door of this room;
2. Put plastic bags, shoe covers or rubber slippers on your feet;
3. The face must be protected with a wet gauze bandage. Wear medical latex gloves on your hands;
4. In a pre-prepared concentrated solution of potassium permanganate, you need to moisten a rag and spread it at the entrance to the room;
5. Next, you need to close the windows in other rooms, and open the window in the “emergency” room;
6. Using gentle movements, you need to lift the remains of the broken product and place them in a jar of water;
7. Scattered balls of mercury should be carefully combined into large particles using sheets of paper. After this, large balls are placed in a jar of water;
8. Small particles of a chemical element are collected using tape;
9. Mercury balls are removed from small cracks using a rubber syringe or a shoe awl;
10. The jar with the remains of the thermometer is tightly closed with a lid;
11. The surface on which the mercury was located is wiped with a rag soaked in a soap solution or a solution of potassium permanganate.

In order to protect yourself and the people around you, after eliminating the consequences of a broken thermometer, call the Ministry of Emergency Situations for recommendations regarding the disposal of the jar with the thermometer.

After completing all activities, rinse your mouth with a solution of baking soda and take a shower.

When eliminating the consequences of a broken thermometer, be careful. It is necessary to keep this room closed for 1 week, continuously ventilating it. The floor in this room should be wiped daily with a cloth soaked in a soda-soap solution.

What not to do

There is a list of actions that are strictly prohibited when eliminating the consequences of a broken thermometer with mercury. Such actions include:

• It is strictly forbidden to dispose of a jar of water and the remains of a thermometer in ordinary trash containers or pour the contents into the central sewer. The container with the toxic compound must be transferred to the appropriate organization (Ministry of Emergency Situations);
• When collecting mercury particles, it is strictly forbidden to use a broom, vacuum cleaner or rag. Each of these devices will accelerate the spread of mercury in the home;
• Until all mercury particles have been collected, it is prohibited to create a draft effect in the living room.

Shoes and clothing that were used when disposing of the thermometer are strictly prohibited from being washed in a washing machine. These attributes are handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

If fragments of a toxic substance get on soft toys or carpet, then these items must be disposed of immediately.

If, through negligence, toxic units come into contact with a heat source, then it is strictly prohibited to independently eliminate the consequences of this accident. In this case, it is important to immediately leave the premises, close the door tightly and seek help from the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

If there is a small child in the house who has accidentally swallowed a fragment of mercury, then the parents must immediately show the child to a medical specialist. This situation does not entail massive poisoning, however, along with mercury, the child could swallow a glass fragment of a thermometer.

From a safety standpoint, purchase an electronic body temperature thermometer that is just as accurate but safe.

Since childhood, our parents and grandparents told us that playing with a mercury thermometer is very dangerous. Time has passed, progress does not stand still, but most families still prefer to use a traditional mercury thermometer to measure temperature. Both adults and children can drop a thermometer through carelessness, so it is important to know what to do first if a mercury thermometer breaks.

Why is a broken thermometer dangerous?

It's no secret that mercury is a very dangerous chemical found in the tip of a thermometer. The greatest danger is caused by mercury vapor, which affects the respiratory organs. In order to know how to act correctly if a thermometer breaks, each of us must understand how dangerous the presence of mercury vapor in the air can be.

The mercury balls are very mobile and move easily. They can get stuck in cracks, flooring, and animal hair. If you do not immediately take safety measures, it will be very difficult to find mercury residues in the future. The mercury begins to release vapors. Toxic vapor products enter the human body through the respiratory tract. The lungs absorb about 80% of the toxic substance.

If evaporation is prolonged or there is a large amount of mercury material in the air, then it can enter the human body through the skin and mucous membranes. First of all, the kidneys, gums and central nervous system are affected.

Of course, if a mercury thermometer were so dangerous, it would not be on the market. Of course, intoxication in the acute phase will not occur when mercury leaks out, but serious consequences can still occur and undermine the health of all family members.

Depending on how long it takes for mercury to evaporate from a broken thermometer, and a person inhales mercury vapor, the following symptoms and pathologies may appear:

• insomnia;
• trembling of the limbs of the hands;
• anxiety;
• paralysis;
• depression;
• decreased reaction and memory;
• damage to the thyroid gland, kidneys and liver;
• dysfunction of the respiratory and cardiovascular systems.

It is especially dangerous for pregnant women to inhale mercury vapor, since not only the functioning of the kidneys and liver of the expectant mother, but also the fetus itself can be affected. To prevent serious consequences from occurring, each of us should know what actions to take if a mercury thermometer breaks at home.

Mercury vapor is a hazard class I poison. Even in small quantities, mercury vapor causes irreversible harm to humans and animals. Residents of Moscow and the Moscow region, if your mercury thermometer breaks or spills, provide ventilation, leave the room contaminated with mercury vapor and urgently call the mercury collection service.

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A mercury thermometer has broken: when should you contact emergency departments?

Every person who uses a mercury thermometer in everyday life should know what immediate measures should be taken if it breaks. In most cases, you can handle this situation on your own. But there are situations when contacting the Ministry of Emergency Situations is vital.

You can always contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations and receive a number of instructions on how to collect and dispose of a dangerous substance. If mercury substance gets on a hot surface, for example, a heating device, then you should definitely call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, since at temperatures above 40°C mercury begins to evaporate instantly.

It is not advisable to try to get rid of the consequences yourself in cases where you have not found mercury. It is strongly recommended not to collect mercury residues for pregnant women, persons under the age of 18 and over 65 years, as well as people suffering from chronic diseases of the urinary and nervous system. In such cases, you must immediately leave the room where the thermometer broke and call the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

How to eliminate the consequences yourself if a mercury thermometer breaks?

When a thermometer breaks in a living room, first of all, you should remain calm. All actions related to the elimination of particularly dangerous consequences must be performed without haste and correctly.

Procedure in cases where a mercury thermometer breaks:

1. All people must leave the room. Also, animals should not be left in the room.
2. The door closes tightly and all windows open.
3. A rag pre-moistened in a soda solution should be laid out on the threshold (potassium permanganate can be used).
4. The person who will clean up the remains of a broken thermometer must wear protective gloves and a bandage (respirator). A cotton-gauze bandage should be made as follows: fold the gauze into 2-3 layers and treat it with water or soda solution.
5. Experts recommend wearing clothes made of synthetic fabric. It is best to throw away these clothes after cleaning the room.

What to do if the tip of the thermometer remains intact and the mercury has not leaked out?

There are cases when, when broken, the tip of the thermometer remains visually intact and no remains of mercury balls are visible next to it. In this case, carefully inspect the thermometer, but do not lift it without gloves and a cotton-gauze bandage. Once you are sure that the contents are in the tip, you need to carefully take the thermometer so that the mercury substance does not leak out, and move it into a container with water, which must be tightly closed.

It is strictly forbidden to throw away mercury waste under the guise of ordinary garbage. Hide the jar in a non-residential premises and notify the Ministry of Emergency Situations employees about the incident or contact a specialized company for the disposal of mercury substances.

How should you collect mercury from a thermometer from various surfaces?

If a mercury thermometer breaks and drops of the contents remain on the floor covering, table, shelf or any other element of the furniture set, then you will have to work hard to completely eliminate the mercury.

Procedure:

1. Prepare a glass vessel that is half filled with water.
2. Using two sheets of regular office paper, collect all the remains of the thermometer in one place. This can be done with a razor brush or a small piece of cotton wool.
3. Larger mercury balls are placed on a sheet using a shaving brush or cotton wool and carefully placed in a prepared container with water.
4. Small particles can be collected using tape or adhesive tape. Then these strips, along with the adhering residues, must be placed in a container.
5. If mercury gets into hard-to-reach places, for example, corners or crevices, you can use a medical syringe or knitting needle to remove it.
6. If mercury gets under the baseboard, the latter must be immediately dismantled.
7. All items and tools that were used during the mercury collection procedure are placed in a tight plastic bag and transferred for disposal.
8. The container with residual mercury must be tightly closed and taken out of the room. Until disposal, it is best to store it in a dark place away from people, at a low temperature.
9. If mercury substance gets on upholstered furniture, clothes, carpets or toys, then trying to get rid of it with a vacuum cleaner is useless. Such things must be destroyed immediately. If you are too attached to these things, then they can be placed in the open sun away from people and aired for at least a couple of months so that the mercury completely evaporates.

A broken mercury thermometer must be disposed of. This is done by specialized enterprises, the location of which can be told to you by the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

In practice, there are situations when a mercury thermometer breaks, but no traces of mercury are found. In this case, you must take all measures to disinfect the room with a solution of soda, iodine or potassium permanganate. You can use regular white.

Banned: what actions cannot be performed if a mercury thermometer is broken?

Under no circumstances use a broom or vacuum cleaner to remove mercury balls, as all the toxic substances will swirl in the air. It is also prohibited:

• throw away the remaining mercury in the garbage chute;
• pour into the sewer;
• dispose of yourself;
• keep.

Preventive measures to prevent mercury intoxication

People who are in the room where the mercury thermometer has broken should, upon completion of cleaning, take a shower and rinse their mouths with manganese or soda solution. To prevent mercury vapor poisoning, which primarily affects the urinary system, it is recommended to drink more fluids.

As you can see, breaking a mercury thermometer is very dangerous and has negative health consequences. This item must be used carefully. If the thermometer does break, it is important to follow all the rules related to cleaning the room and disposing of mercury substances.

Despite the wide selection of thermometers - mercury, electronic and infrared, non-contact and contact, disposable and with replaceable attachments, many prefer to use a traditional thermometer. The unreliable and fragile design of the case makes it easy to break the thermometer, which will inevitably lead to contamination of the room with toxic mercury. How to properly clean if it breaks in a living space?

If a person understands the danger posed by toxic fumes, he will try to carefully collect droplets of the substance and take all necessary actions to protect himself and others. As a last resort, he will invite specialists who will do this for a fee. But there is another path that most of our fellow citizens choose: collect visible droplets of mercury, throw them in the trash or toilet and no longer think about the thermometer and its contents.

Is it possible to poison the air in the entire apartment with one broken thermometer?

If a thermometer in an apartment breaks and the visible balls are removed, less than 1 gram of mercury will evaporate in a few months (provided the apartment is large and has good ventilation) without causing significant harm to the health of the residents. However, with prolonged exposure to even relatively low concentrations (hundredths and thousandths of mg/m3), signs of chronic poisoning appear. Fatal intoxication occurs when 2.5 grams of mercury vapor is inhaled. With timely cleaning of the premises, the concentration of vapors in the internal air of the apartment drops by 5-10 times.

What not to do if the thermometer breaks

Quite often on the forum there are stories of those who tried to independently collect the mercury from a broken thermometer, even called the medical service and, in the end, were left alone with the spread mercury. Here are their stories:

“My husband accidentally broke the thermometer and threw the mercury into the toilet, but naturally, it didn’t wash away, and floated on the bottom of the surface for several days.”

“I broke the thermometer, put it in a jar and called the Ministry of Emergency Situations, they told me to throw the jar in the trash, and put a plate of iodine in the place where the mercury had spread. Then a metallic sheen appeared on the surface of the iodine.”

“The thermometer broke on the TV remote control. They immediately rolled a large drop into a thermometer case with their hands, later they found another speck of dust, collected it on paper and threw it into the toilet. Having read horror stories on the Internet, we fished out droplets from the toilet with a syringe, then began crawling along the floor looking for small particles with a flashlight. As a result, everything collected from the syringe spilled onto the floor (mercury, unlike water, does not stay in the syringe) and broke into tiny droplets. We spent half an hour collecting them with tape (without much success) and with wet rubber gloves (better). Cleaned the floors with baking soda. At the bottom of the bucket they found some more tiny droplets. They ventilated the room and went to bed there. I think that we didn’t really remove anything with a rag with a soap and soda solution, but rather rolled the mercury into the cracks in the floor between the tiles and the debris.”

A vacuum cleaner won't help.

After this procedure, a regular vacuum cleaner can no longer be used for its intended purpose due to severe contamination. Washing vacuum cleaners can only be restored after thorough washing with special solutions.

When collecting with a vacuum cleaner, the concentration of vapors increases sharply, and without protective equipment you can get noticeable poisoning.

We decided to collect mercury ourselves

It is useful to have a demercurization kit in your home medicine cabinet to neutralize household mercury contamination. Such a kit will help eliminate contamination that occurs when small amounts of metallic mercury are spilled or when instruments, devices and products are destroyed. Usually the kit comes with detailed instructions. The kit can be purchased at a pharmacy. If you decide to collect mercury yourself, you need to prepare for this process.

To collect you will need:

• rubber seals;
• table lamp with extension cord;
• a jar with a tight lid filled with water (or a solution - 2 g of potassium permanganate per 1 liter of water);
• ordinary brush;
• rubber bulb;
• paper envelope or bag;
• adhesive plaster;
• wet newspapers;
• rags (rags);
• iodine solution.

It is forbidden

• touch mercury with bare hands without rubber gloves;
• throw the collected material into the sewer and garbage chute;
• sweep the mercury with a broom or use a vacuum cleaner;
• create a draft when ventilating the room;
• When washing clothes that may have come into contact with mercury, it is best to throw them away immediately.

You should start collecting mercury with the largest drops

The first thing to do if a thermometer (fluorescent lamp, energy-saving light bulb) accidentally breaks in an apartment is not to panic. Pull yourself together and get ready to work.

It is necessary to limit the access of family members to the room where the device crashed (close the doors) in order to prevent the spread of mercury and the spread of vapors into adjacent rooms of the apartment.

Cover the area where the mercury has scattered with wet newspapers, and lay a rug soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate at the entrance.

Open the windows to allow fresh air to enter and lower the temperature in the room (the warmer the apartment, the more active the evaporation of metal occurs).

Carry out a thorough inspection of things and surfaces on which drops of mercury may have fallen. All contaminated items should be placed in plastic bags and removed from the premises.

You can collect drops of mercury using a rubber bulb, a brush and thick paper sheets, previously bent on one side. To roll drops onto a sheet of paper, you can use a knitting needle or a thick needle. By moving the drop with a piece of paper, it can be connected to other drops, and then one large drop can be transferred to a jar. To make the drops better visible, the surface where the mercury has spread should be illuminated from the side with a table lamp. You can also use pieces of plaster to collect the smallest drops. Place the patch with the adhering drops in a jar. You can try to remove some drops from the cracks with a knitting needle with a cotton swab moistened with a solution of potassium permanganate or a disinfectant wrapped around it. A tampon with adhering drops is also placed in a jar. It is convenient to remove mercury from the cracks using a medical syringe with a thick needle. As soon as the mercury has entered the syringe, it must be carefully poured into a jar. If there is a suspicion that it has fallen under the baseboard, they must be removed without fail. Collection can take a long time, so you should take breaks every 10-20 minutes and go out into the fresh air. After glass fragments from the thermometer and visible droplets of mercury have been collected, you need to clean the contaminated surface using a specially prepared solution.

In the future, daily wet cleaning of the room (washing the floor with a chlorine-containing preparation or a soap-soda solution (4% soap solution in a 5% aqueous soda solution)), regular and intensive ventilation are needed.

Those who have unsuccessfully tried to find out by phone to the Ministry of Emergency Situations where you can donate mercury from a broken thermometer are advised to bury the jar somewhere away from your home or leave it near the trash can. The best option is to hand over the jar of collected mercury to representatives of the district department of civil defense and emergency situations, who are obliged to accept it and completely unreasonably refuse to do so.

Protect yourself

After the mercury has been collected and disposed of, it is necessary to:

• wash gloves and shoes with a solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate) and a soap-soda solution;
• rinse your mouth and throat with a faint pink solution of potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate);
• brush your teeth thoroughly;
• take 2-3 tablets of activated carbon.

Danger of poisoning

The most dangerous situations for human health are when mercury gets on upholstered furniture, carpet, children's toys, clothes, or rolls under the baseboard or into the cracks of the parquet; was not collected, and it was carried on the soles of slippers throughout the apartment. Mercury is a substance of hazard class I (according to GOST 17.4.1.02-83), a thiol poison. It is not mercury itself that is dangerous, but the compounds it forms. When entering the body in elevated concentrations, it has the ability to accumulate in internal organs: kidneys, heart, brain.

The main symptoms of mercury poisoning (if it enters through the esophagus) are immediately visible - bluishness of the face, shortness of breath, etc. In such a situation, first aid must be provided - induce vomiting in the patient and call an ambulance as soon as possible. A serious danger is posed by mercury that remains undetected; it poses the greatest danger because it enters the body by inhaling vapors. Intoxication occurs mainly through the respiratory tract. When inhaling mercury vapor, about 80% is retained in the body.

Acute poisoning with mercury salts manifests itself in intestinal upset, vomiting, swelling of the gums, a decline in cardiac activity is noted, the pulse becomes rare and weak, and fainting is possible. Chronic poisoning with mercury and its compounds results in a metallic taste in the mouth, loose gums, severe salivation, mild irritability, and weakened memory. The likelihood of such poisoning exists in all rooms where mercury is in contact with air. Particularly dangerous are the smallest drops of spilled mercury that have clogged up under baseboards, linoleum, in floor crevices, in the pile of carpets and upholstery. The total surface of small mercury balls is large, and evaporation is more intense. If mercury balls fall on heated floors, evaporation is significantly accelerated.

At room temperature, mercury releases toxic fumes that enter the body through the respiratory tract.

If no measures are taken after the thermometer breaks, the liquid metal will poison the air and gradually accumulate in the body. The problem is aggravated by the fact that mercury crumbles into small drops that are easy to miss in floor crevices, carpet pile, and behind baseboards.

Symptoms of mercury poisoning may not be noticeable for a long time.

Health problems may appear within a couple of months after direct contact with mercury. Main symptoms: weakness, general malaise, loss of appetite, metallic taste in the mouth, headaches and sore throat, increased salivation, nausea and vomiting. As you can see, they can easily be attributed to stress, fatigue from work, or triviality.

But if mercury continues to accumulate, more serious problems appear: trembling of the fingers, eyelids, then arms and legs, predisposition to mental illness, tuberculosis, atherosclerotic phenomena, damage to the liver and gallbladder, hypertension.

How to collect mercury

If a thermometer breaks, first of all, take children and animals out of the room and close the door so that mercury vapor does not escape into neighboring rooms. To prevent anyone from transferring droplets of mercury on their shoes, lay a rag soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate before entering.

Potassium permanganate solution

Add 2 grams of potassium permanganate to 1 liter of water and mix.

If it's cold outside, open the window. This will help slow down evaporation. One thing: under no circumstances should you allow a draft, which could cause mercury to fly throughout the room.

Put shoe covers or plastic bags on your feet and rubber gloves on your hands. The respiratory tract also needs protection. For example, a disposable mask with gauze soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate.

Take a glass jar with a lid (or any other sealed container), pour water or a solution of potassium permanganate into it and fold the fragments of the thermometer.

Take two sheets of paper and cotton wool soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. Start collecting drops of mercury from the corners of the room towards the center. Using a cotton swab, push the drops onto the paper and whisk them into the jar. Instead of cotton wool, you can use regular tape: stick it on the floor where there is mercury and tear it off.

To collect all the mercury without any residue and get to the smallest drops in the cracks, use a syringe, a medical bulb with a fine tip, or a paint brush.

Close the jar of mercury tightly with a lid and place it in a cool place, preferably on the balcony. Do not throw it down the garbage disposal or pour its contents into the toilet.

How to treat a room and protect yourself

To ensure that not a trace of mercury remains in the room, treat the area where it was spilled. First - a solution of potassium permanganate: 20 grams of potassium permanganate per 10 liters of water. Apply it with a rag or using a spray bottle. After an hour, wipe the same area with soap and soda solution.

You will have to treat with potassium permanganate and soap-soda solution 2-3 times a day for several days.

Soap and soda solution

Grate a bar of soap, add hot water and stir until the soap shavings are completely dissolved. Instead of regular soap, you can use liquid soap. Pour the mixture with 10 liters of water. Add 100 grams of baking soda. Stir.

Since you yourself have been in an unsafe room for a long time, you need to do the following:

1. Wash gloves and shoes with potassium permanganate and soap-soda solution.
2. Rinse your mouth with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate.
3. Brush your teeth thoroughly.
4. Take 2-3 tablets of activated carbon.
5. Drink more fluids (tea, juice, coffee).

What not to do

1. Do not sweep mercury with a broom. Hard rods will only grind drops of mercury into fine dust and spread throughout the room.
2. Do not vacuum up mercury. During blowing, warm air causes mercury to evaporate even more intensely. In addition, its particles will remain on the engine parts and will spread throughout the apartment during cleaning.
3. Do not throw the thermometer down the garbage disposal. Mercury will pollute the air throughout the house.
4. Do not flush mercury down the toilet. It will settle in the sewer pipes, and it will be very difficult to remove it from there.
5. Clothing that has been exposed to mercury should be thrown away. When washing, small metal particles will settle in.
6. There is no need to rinse rags and other available materials in the sink. We have already talked about sewer pipes. Just collect everything in a thick plastic bag and tie it tightly. You can't take it to the trash.

Where to return a broken thermometer

Neither the broken thermometer itself, nor the items with which you collected mercury, can be simply thrown into the trash. They need to be sent to a facility that can recycle mercury.

Call 112 to the Ministry of Emergency Situations and report that your thermometer has broken. They will write down your address, tell you what needs to be done, or come to your home if you are not sure that you were able to completely clean the premises. It's free.

True, EMERCOM employees are often busy with other matters and are not always able to promptly help with a broken thermometer. In this case, you can call a paid demercurization service in your city.

If you managed to clean up the mercury without outside help, call the nearest sanitary and epidemiological station. Experts will tell you the address where you can donate mercury.