Reception points for mercury thermometers
Not every city, much less a town or village, has collection points for mercury thermometers. Such points operate only in large cities. For example, in the capital of our Motherland and other cities there are such points, but it is unlikely that a person will specifically go to Moscow or a regional center to return a broken thermometer.
It is prohibited to throw away a broken thermometer with household waste, since mercury is a particularly dangerous substance. Therefore, the problem of recycling devices containing mercury is dealt with by special companies that have received a license for this activity.
According to the law, thermometers are required to be accepted for disposal:
- Pharmacy points;
- Medical institutions;
- Special organizations for mercury recycling.
Disposal of unusable thermometers and lamps
Any item containing mercury is strictly prohibited from being thrown into regular trash containers. They should be disposed of in one of the following ways:
- Throwing it into a special container that is designed to receive items containing mercury. There are 200 such waste disposal units installed in Moscow.
- By providing the item to NPP "EKOTROM" (Moscow, Dorozhnaya str. 3, building 16). To hand over the subject, you must pre-register by calling +7 (499) 610-00-01 (or multi-channel number).
- By providing the item to the fire and rescue service (at 29 Nizhnie Polya Street).
You can also donate mercury-containing items to the following environmental companies:
- "Inter Green" - Moscow 1st Dubrovskaya street, 13Ac2,,;
- "FID-Dubna" - municipal district of Dubna, st. Academician Baldina, 7, building 1a, (for calls), 8, 8 (963) 764-41-56 (for communication via Viber or WatsApp);
- "Mercom" - Municipal District of Lytkarino, Turaevo, NIIP, MERCOM, (495) 587-1350; (495) 552-389;
- "Econ" - Moscow st. Novoposelkovaya, 6, bldg. 217.
There are a number of other organizations in Moscow that offer all kinds of environmental services, including the disposal of items containing mercury. You can find their official websites in any browser search engine.
Capital reception points
Not all enterprises that utilize mercury do not carry out demercurization, that is, removal of mercury from residential premises. In this regard, it is necessary to find a company that will pick up the broken device and demercurize the premises.
EKO-Expert is a metropolitan enterprise that is engaged in the recycling and cleaning of hazardous metals from premises. The company has a license for this type of activity, and its employees are professionals with chemical education.
In addition, there are a number of metropolitan enterprises that accept mercury measuring devices for disposal:
- Fire center, which operates around the clock;
- Research and production enterprise "Ekotrom";
- State corporations "Ecorecycle" and "Waste Management".
2) In theory, mercury-containing devices should accept DEZ.
Some DEZs actually take thermometers. But not all.
It's best to call first before going.
The list of Moscow health centers that must accept mercury-containing waste (thermometers, energy-saving lamps) is available on our website here.
But, unfortunately, this is not the case in all DEZ. Often, handing over a thermometer to the DEZ turns out to be an impossible task. If they still somehow accept energy-saving lamps (after all, there is an Order of the Moscow Government on this issue), then they refuse to accept thermometers and refer to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. The Ministry of Emergency Situations says that this is not their competence.
The danger of a broken thermometer
Mercury is a dangerous, harmful substance. Being a liquid metal, it collects into small balls that can roll from place to place. Therefore, if the thermometer is damaged, it is very important to immediately call specialists who will eliminate the cause of the danger.
Mercury beads can get into cracks, carpet piles, and even pet fur.
You may not see a small dangerous ball, but feel a deterioration in your health, that is, exposure to a dangerous metal. After all, the harmfulness of mercury metal lies precisely in its vapors.
Once the fumes enter the human body, they immediately begin to affect the health of a person or animal. A person feels the effects of harmful fumes after just a few hours.
Recycling mercury at home
Spilled mercury should not be collected with a vacuum cleaner or broom. The best solution would be professional mercury disposal: the price and quality of services are comparable. But if it is not possible to call specialists, disposal of mercury from a thermometer at home is carried out as follows.
The liquid metal is collected with a brush and then with damp filter paper. Work in the cracks with pieces of wire. The collected mercury and used paper with wire are placed in a hermetically sealed container, and the room is treated with substances that react with mercury vapor with the subsequent formation of oxides or soluble salts. Carry out wet cleaning.
Sometimes it is suggested to use regular laundry soap. An aqueous solution of potassium permanganate with hydrochloric acid and chlorine-containing liquids are more suitable. However, these substances are not safe and do not have the same effect as the high-quality products used by the mercury disposal service (Moscow).
The collected mercury from the thermometer must be neutralized. Don't call the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Recycling mercury on such a scale is the sphere of interest of SES, management companies or DEZ. They have special containers for transporting such substances.
Why are mercury vapors dangerous?
Europeans and Americans have already abandoned mercury measuring instruments, preferring electronic ones. In our country, mercury thermometers remain more popular than electronic devices.
The fact is that mercury devices are more accurate than electronic ones. Although the danger to a living creature if mercury is in open space is obvious. First of all, the kidneys, organs of the digestive system and, of course, the lungs suffer from dangerous fumes.
Mercury enters the body through the lungs and carries harmful vapors throughout the body through the blood. A few grams of hazardous metal can pollute six thousand cubic meters of area.
Symptoms of poisoning are as follows:
- Insomnia;
- Deterioration of memory and concentration;
- Malfunctions of the heart and blood vessels;
- Nausea.
Algorithm of actions
If the thermometer breaks and mercury leaks out, you must:
- All family members leave the room and remove animals from the premises.
- Call emergency services or a recycling company.
- If you have to clean up the consequences of a broken thermometer yourself, you need to open the window in the room where the measuring device broke. Then put on gloves and a mask.
- Wet a rag with soda solution and place it on the threshold.
- It is best to remove mercury in synthetic clothing, as it absorbs harmful fumes more slowly.
- Avoid drafts in the room where mercury balls have spread, so that they do not scatter throughout the house.
Mercury beads can be collected with a douche, syringe or adhesive tape. Place the balls in a tightly sealed glass container. After collecting hazardous metal, it is necessary to ventilate the room for several hours.
If the thermometer is damaged, but the mercury has not leaked out:
- Wear gloves and a mask. Carefully take the thermometer and place it in a glass container.
- Call a specialized organization to hand over the thermometer for disposal.
Golden rules
- It is prohibited to dispose of the thermometer with household waste.
- Do not sweep or collect mercury balls with a vacuum cleaner. Dangerous vapors remain on the brooms and inside the vacuum cleaner; they cannot be used after such cleaning.
- Do not flush hazardous metal down the toilet.
- You cannot wash clothes in the machine that were worn by the person who removed the mercury. It is best to throw these clothes away.
- Give the thermometer in a glass container with a very tightly closed lid.
Where is mercury found in the home?
Every home contains an item that contains a certain amount of mercury and poses a real threat to humans. These include:
- Energy-saving light bulbs - contain approximately 0.5 g of deadly metal. Despite the small amount of mercury in light bulbs, if they break, the substance can cause severe poisoning.
- Computer equipment (especially printers) - their elements contain a small, but no less dangerous substance.
- Glass thermometers are the most dangerous of all mercury-containing items, since they contain approximately 2 g of the deadly metal, and the area of its distribution if released into the air is 6 thousand m³.
In addition, mercury is contained in scientific equipment (barometer, vacuum pumps, etc.), some refrigerators (in the cooling system), electrical devices (switches, rectifiers). In such manifestations, mercury is less dangerous for humans, since it is contained in small quantities and its possible combination with air is reliably protected.
Recycling points
Moscow is the capital of our Motherland, so there is a collection point for damaged thermometers and more than one.
However, there are specialized collection points for mercury thermometers in other large cities of Russia:
- In the northern capital, the city of St. Petersburg, recycling is carried out by a company located on Volkhonskoye Highway.
- Industrial Waste Safety Center LLC is an Ekaterinburg recycling company located on Pushkin Street.
- The Chelyabinsk enterprise "Shield" is located on Mekhanicheskaya Street.
- “Ecological Perspective” in Perm is located on Reshetnikovsky Spusk.
- Arkhangelsk LLC "TECH-service" is located on the street of the 50th anniversary of October.
- The civil defense enterprise in Irkutsk is located on Tchaikovsky Street.
- The environmental center in the city of Vladivostok is located on Irtyshskaya Street.
- in Kazan is located on Adel Kutuya Street.
- Omsk University of Environmental Problems is located on 5th Kordnaya Street.
If the locality does not have a specialized collection point for damaged thermometers, then the device can be handed over to the sanitary-epidemiological service or a medical institution.
Effects of mercury on the body
The most toxic is considered to be ingestion of mercury through the lungs. Symptoms of poisoning are similar to those of a viral disease. As a rule, after two days these symptoms disappear, and harmful fumes are carried throughout the body.
- A vapor of harmful metal can negatively affect the nervous system, which can lead to tremors, irritability, loss of sleep and memory. Contact of mercury with skin is asymptomatic.
- With prolonged contact, there may be an allergic reaction and symptoms may appear, as if the vapor enters the lungs. Metal does not cause irritation to the mucous membranes of the eyes.
When the first symptoms of mercury poisoning appear, you should immediately seek medical help. Prolonged exposure to mercury vapor is fatal to any living organism.
Mercury poisoning
It is quite easy to get mercury poisoning. This is preceded by failure to comply with the rules for self-disposal of the substance or untimely detection of the spread of metal. At the same time, at the first symptoms, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible and begin a course of treatment. Initial symptoms of poisoning include:
- uncharacteristic appearance of drowsiness;
- increased frequency of headaches and dizziness;
- the appearance of unusual fatigue;
- increased weakness of the body;
- decreased sense of smell.
As a rule, the first signs appear within the first few hours after poisoning. However, there are cases where mercury poisoning was detected only a year after the substance entered the human respiratory tract. The main thing is not to give up on them and not to blame their appearance on a simple cold. Untimely treatment for mercury poisoning can lead to quite sad consequences and even death (due to damage to internal organs by the substance). For pregnant women, mercury poisoning is dangerous due to the possible threat of miscarriage or the birth of an unhealthy child.
In any dangerous situation that causes mercury to enter the air, you must remain calm and attentive. You should not urgently remove metal using improvised means (rags, brooms). It is better to spend a little more time preparing solutions and thoroughly cleaning the substance. In any case, you should contact specialists to dispose of the collected mercury or to test the air in the room for hazardous metal content. You can get detailed information about actions and ask for help by calling the Ministry of Emergency Situations 101.
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