How to neutralize mercury and its vapor from a broken thermometer at home

What is mercury and why is it dangerous?

Mercury is one of the elements of the periodic table (zinc group metal). This substance has been assigned the first degree of danger. It poses a threat to human health and life.

Mercury is dangerous directly due to its vapors, which, when entering the human body through the respiratory tract, cause poisoning, the severity of which directly depends on how long and in what quantities the vapors are inhaled.

In an open space, for example, if you break a thermometer, mercury takes the form of balls of different sizes, which remain on the surface and are practically not absorbed into any materials. The balls are silver-gray in color and, when pressed, can disintegrate into even smaller particles.

Getting into open space from a broken thermometer, the substance begins to evaporate. Moreover, evaporation appears already at an air temperature of 18 °C.

When evaporating, the particles of this metal have neither odor nor color. That is, you can detect mercury only by seeing its balls. If you do not notice at least 1 ball from a broken thermometer, it can evaporate unnoticed for months, causing enormous harm to health.

How to detect mercury

To protect the room and all people in it, after a mercury thermometer has broken, it is necessary to check whether all the mercury has been collected. But due to the fact that its vapors are invisible, this is difficult to do.

However, there is a way to detect mercury vapor in the air; for this it is necessary to make an improvised indicator:

You will need filter paper (you can buy it in special online stores), copper sulfate, potassium iodide and sodium thiosulfate.
We cut the paper into small strips, dip it in a solution of copper sulfate, wait for it to dry and moisten it in a solution of potassium (the paper will change color to brown).
We moisten brown paper in sodium thiosulfate, it loses its color, then rinse the strips with water and dry.

Disposal and destruction of contaminated items

All things that have had contact with mercury should either be thrown away or at least ventilated. Moreover, it is recommended to keep them in the air for at least 3 months. After that, you can try to wash them and use them again.

The jar of mercury and the remains of the thermometer are handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Sometimes they can be sent from there to a management company or pharmacy, but still, only the Ministry of Emergency Situations or special services can resolve issues with the disposal of this heavy metal.

Disposal of a broken thermometer

First steps

If mercury has leaked from the thermometer, you can try to collect it yourself. It is important to follow all necessary safety rules, as well as relevant recommendations:

It is necessary to remove all people and animals from the premises.
Before removing mercury from a broken thermometer, fence off an area of the area so that the balls do not roll out throughout the room or get into hard-to-reach places.
Close all doors to prevent fumes from entering adjacent rooms until you collect the balls.
Open the window to keep the room well ventilated, but make sure there are no drafts.
Soak a large rag in the potassium permanganate solution and place it near the entrance to the room.
Try to reduce the air temperature in the room so that it is below 18 °C. To do this, you can turn on the air conditioner.
Before cleaning, be sure to put on rubber gloves and a gauze bandage (the latter can be replaced with a thick scarf, scarf, etc.), and put plastic bags on your feet. These are the main safety rules in such situations.
You need to collect mercury quickly but carefully. Any pressure or uncoordinated movements will cause you to crush the balls, and they will disintegrate into even smaller particles. Do not step on mercury under any circumstances, otherwise you will have to throw away your shoes.

Disposal of mercury from a burst thermometer, provided there is no leakage, is carried out in the same way. It is completely placed in a glass jar, sealed and given to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

What to do if the contents of a broken thermometer have been lying on the carpet for a long time?

If mercury has been left on the carpet for a long time, then the situation becomes much more serious. On the feet of people and pets it could spread throughout the apartment.

In such a situation , you need to send the children to relatives or neighbors and call a specialized service that provides paid services for collecting toxic metal, measuring its vapors in the apartment and carrying out full treatment.

If you don’t have money for professional services, you need to start cleaning yourself.
First, collect visible drops according to the instructions described above. Then all surfaces, including furniture, must be treated with a solution of bleach or potassium permanganate. The apartment is undergoing general wet cleaning .
The room needs to be ventilated for several weeks. Windows must remain open. The health status of all apartment residents should be monitored. If symptoms of intoxication appear, you should consult a doctor. The first signs of poisoning are headaches and chronic fatigue.

Principles of neutralization

The process of neutralizing mercury at home involves collecting this metal as quickly as possible in compliance with several rules.

The balls can only be collected in glass containers; ideally, it should be a jar with a tight-fitting glass lid (or at least a plastic one). You can pour a solution of potassium permanganate or water into the jar.
Use a flashlight to search for balls.
Neutralization of mercury by collecting it occurs in the direction from the edges to the middle.
It is important to collect all the balls; for this it is better to use a soft brush, rolling them onto a sheet of paper, which then needs to be wrapped in a plastic bag.
A medical syringe or syringe (rubber bulb) is suitable as an auxiliary device.

Under no circumstances should collected mercury be thrown into the garbage chute or flushed down the sink or toilet. The jar of mercury is tightly closed, wrapped in 1-2 bags to prevent leakage and taken to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, where it is disposed of.

It is also worth understanding that depending on where the mercury thermometer was broken and what surface the mercury fell on, the methods for collecting it will be very different.

Read also: Poisoning the body with protein

On a wooden floor

The balls can roll into the crack and under the baseboard. You can remove them from such hard-to-reach places if you pour sand into it, and then carefully sweep out all the particles with a soft brush. A cotton swab soaked in vegetable oil will also work. It can be assembled neatly

mercury and place it all in a jar. To extract mercury from deep crevices, a syringe with a needle or a syringe with a thin long tip is suitable.

On the bed

In this case, some of the mercury will be absorbed into the bed linen and mattress. Large particles can and should be collected using the methods already described. Damaged bedding will have to be collected in bags and sent to the Ministry of Emergency Situations for disposal.

On the carpet

With carpets, things are somewhat simpler, since they are thinner than bed mattresses. Mercury is collected from the carpet using a syringe; the balls can also be collected with adhesive tape (duct tape, tape, plaster). You can get small particles out with a powerful magnet, if you have one at home.

Next, wash the carpet in a soapy solution, adding soda to the water (this combination neutralizes mercury well). Then the carpet is hung outside and not brought into the house for 30–40 days, during which time all the fumes will disappear and they will not cause harm in the fresh air.

From the toilet

If you unknowingly put mercury down the toilet, you must not flush it! Take a syringe, preferably a large one, carefully collect the balls, place the collected mercury in a jar.

If mercury enters the body

To help a person with mercury poisoning, you first need to call an ambulance. Then induce vomiting in the victim by pressing on the root of the tongue, rinse the stomach, and give a glass of milk to drink. It is better to wait outside for the doctors to arrive.

There are several points to remember when collecting mercury from the floor:

You can use a regular syringe to collect the mercury beads. After this, you need to place them in a container with water. This tool is perfect for pulling mercury out of cracks in the floor, corners and other secluded spaces. Do not forget to immediately dispose of the syringe after this, also “locking” it in a jar with a lid.
Dampen paper towels (or rolled up several layers of toilet paper) with liquid oil - the mercury will stick perfectly to the paper. If you don't have paper towels on hand, use paper or cotton pads soaked in water.
Poisonous mercury balls can be easily collected using adhesive tape or adhesive tape.

After you have collected all the mercury, you need to thoroughly treat the room. To do this, prepare a solution of chlorine, manganese and soapy water and wash the floor with it several times. When it comes to the kitchen, you need to be more careful - it’s better to wash all the dishes, “just in case.”

How to neutralize mercury

In some cases, such as carpet or wood floors, it is important to know what you can do to neutralize mercury at home. To do this, consider the most effective chemicals for demercurization:

Read also: Poisoning in humans with honey mushrooms

Neutralization with water beaten with soap and soda, where 200 grams of soap and 250 grams of soda are diluted in 5 liters of water.
Fill the wooden floor, gaps in the floorboards and under the baseboards with glycerin or any product containing chlorine.
Potassium permanganate allows you to neutralize mercury. You will need a “cool” solution, that is, a rich pink color. All surfaces are treated with it, vinegar is added to enhance the effect.
There is also a method of neutralizing mercury with nitric acid nitrate. It is enough to place the liquid metal in acid; it will become less dangerous, as it will lose the ability to evaporate.

All these methods allow not only to treat surfaces, but are also used for demercurization of premises. Potassium permanganate is especially good; without washing it off surfaces after treatment for 2–3 days, neutralizing mercury vapor will be many times more effective.

When in contact with metals, mercury can enter into a chemical reaction with them, the outcome of which is unpredictable, do not allow this to happen!

Final stage

It is important to understand that not only the jar of mercury is subject to disposal, but also the gloves, mask and bags (possibly shoes) in which the cleaning was carried out.

In addition, even if vapor poisoning is minor, a number of preventive actions need to be taken:

Drink some kind of absorbent (activated carbon, Atoxil, etc.).
Drink plenty of fluids, water and milk.
After cleaning, rinse your mouth and throat with a weak solution of manganese.

Avoid mistakes

There are a number of common mistakes when cleaning up mercury:

Using a vacuum cleaner.
Collect balls with a broom, stiff brush, or rag.
Throwing mercury into the garbage chute, onto the street, or flushing it into the water supply system.
It is very dangerous to leave items of clothing or linen at home that have been in contact with mercury.

If you break a mercury thermometer at home, do not panic. Follow the rules described and everything will be fine. If you are not sure of the correctness of your actions, it is better to immediately contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Don't just throw it away, but recycle it

After collecting the mercury in a sealed container, it is not enough to throw it in the trash. The container may be damaged, after which the metal will erode out and cause many problems to other people. To prevent this from happening, you need to contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations, explaining the situation. Rescuers will definitely give the necessary recommendations.

Special eco-boxes can be used as a receiver. But they can only be used if the mercury balls are placed in a small container PHOTO: 56nv.ru

In almost every locality there are collection points for waste containing mercury. Go there and give away all things that came into contact with harmful metal.

It is better to choose a transparent jar for collecting toxic substances PHOTO: ladyspecial.ru