How to dispose of mercury thermometers correctly?

2024 Author: Priscilla Miln | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 00:21

Not so long ago, we could only use mercury thermometers to measure body temperature, but now electronic and even infrared devices have appeared that allow you to find out the result in just a couple of seconds. Modern thermometers are very convenient, especially if the patient is a child who cannot sit still for ten minutes (which is how long doctors recommend keeping a mercury thermometer in the armpit), but in most cases they show the result with an error.

The most accurate measuring instruments are thermometers containing mercury. In addition, the medical mercury thermometer can be easily disinfected. To do this, you just need to immerse it in a special solution. Therefore, in hospitals and clinics, such devices will not be abandoned very soon.

However, mercury is a dangerous substance, so you need to know how to dispose of mercury thermometers. Such a device is unlikely to simply stop measuringtemperature. This can only happen if the mercury thermometer has broken, which means that the liquid metal has spilled.

It is not so much mercury itself that is dangerous, but the vapors it emits. They can cause severe poisoning, so you need to collect metal balls as soon as possible. If you do not know how to dispose of mercury thermometers, it is best to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, they should give detailed instructions. Ideally, rescuers should come and clean the home, but in reality this happens in rare cases (mainly in large cities).

How to dispose of mercury thermometers?

Children, adults and animals must be taken out of the room in which the thermometer has broken, so that they do not trample and spread mercury balls around the apartment. The door should be closed, and the windows and vents should be opened if there is no draft and the room is warmer than outside. Cold air will slow down the evaporation process.

Now you need to proceed directly to the collection of poisonous substances. Protect yourself from exposure to mercury by wearing rubber household gloves and shoe covers. To avoid inhaling the fumes, use a gauze bandage soaked in cold water.

Large balls of mercury are easily collected using two sheets of paper, a scoop and a brush or shaving brush, a medical bulb or a syringe without a needle. Don't use a broom, its stiff twigs will break up the mercury into tiny particles. And it is difficult to collect small balls, you have to tinker. To do this, you need adhesive tape, plasticine, plaster, wet cotton wool. Can not usea vacuum cleaner! Mercury will remain inside the device, so it will have to be thrown away. Clothing and carpets that have been contaminated with mercury will also need to be disposed of.

All collected mercury must be placed in a glass container with cold water and tightly closed with a lid. All items that have come into contact with it must be collected and wrapped in foil or placed in a bag and closed. Places that have been hit by poisonous metal should be washed several times with soapy water or a solution of potassium permanganate, and the room should be thoroughly ventilated.

Now you know how to dispose of mercury thermometers, it remains to figure out where to put a jar of poisonous substance? To do this, you will have to call different authorities. It is possible that you will never get a clear answer. In any case, it is extremely dangerous to dispose of mercury and any items you have used while cleaning down the chute, incinerate them, or drain the liquid metal down the drain.