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Once I broke an ordinary mercury thermometer. It happened unexpectedly, but without special effects. I collected mercury balls on a sheet, threw them into a bottle of water, and already calmed down, but an unknown force made me look on the Internet, asking a search query: “I broke the thermometer, what should I do?”.

Frankly, I wanted to get adequate advice, all of a sudden I forgot something or there are some actions that are useful in the situation, except for those that have already been done. But there was no smell of adequacy in the Yandex TOP for this request. If I were a more impressionable nature, then after reading the first pages, I would destroy the entire family wardrobe, open all the windows in 20-degree frost, move out to a hotel or even immigrate from countries. The simplest thing that came to mind after reading the first links was to sell the apartment on the same day, call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and surrender to the FSB as a person who caused irreparable damage to the microdistrict.

In anticipation of the rescue and special services, run around the neighbors and warn that it will be dangerous to live in this house in the next 50-60 years. life imprisonment to the hero of the occasion, namely me, for careless handling of such a dangerous device. At least, the top Yandex almost shouted about this to all users on request about a broken thermometer.

But since I am not so impressionable, I smiled and decided to deal with the issue in more detail.
So, what scarecrows do the "sellers of fear" resort to when talking about the danger of a broken thermometer?

A broken thermometer infects 6,000 cubic meters of air – wow, it’s good that all sorts of villains don’t have access to the Internet. And they, thinking about the destruction of the world, are not aware that a nuclear bomb is no longer needed. It is enough to buy thermometers and break them around the perimeter of the city. That's it, the inhabitants cannot be saved. I just see another masterpiece with Bruce Willis, how he saves a pharmacy from terrorists with a large number of mercury thermometers. I think that Chuck Norris can be involved in such a dangerous job. In a word - nonsense and again nonsense.

Mercury from a broken thermometer will infect your apartment for years to come. - Is it true? That is, 1 - 2 grams of mercury, from which it will be possible to collect the largest balls, and this is at least 80% able to spoil the whole atmosphere in an average apartment? Mercury itself is inert and not so dangerous, the danger is its combination with various chemicals. But you're not going to sprinkle the remains of uncollected mercury with any harmful chemicals, are you? Therefore, calmness and only calmness.

Clothing and shoes in which you collected mercury must be destroyed , since small particles will be on it and spread around the apartment - everyone who has broken a thermometer and seen balls of mercury knows very well that it is extremely difficult to hook them and even just drive them onto a piece of paper. How can they stay on clothes and even more so on shoes? Another nonsense from the "sellers of fear."

Call emergency personnel immediately - By the way, this is very reasonable advice for especially impressionable people.

The guys will come and explain that the one who called them is a fabulous idiot, but they must come on a call. I think after talking with them, the thoughts of an urgent sale of an apartment and an escape from the country will pass for many.
Mercury can roll under the plinth or between the floorboards and the apartment will “glow” for many years - another horror story. In fact, a number of environmental organizations conducted research on this topic and in apartments in which one or even two standard thermometers were broken during the year, no anomalies in the air were detected. There is too little in the thermometer to somehow affect the air in the apartment, and the evaporation period is quite short.

Mercury will evaporate, its vapors will fill the entire apartment and will enter the human body with air - mercury is a metal, have you ever seen a flying metal, except for airplanes? Once again, we carefully read: mercury itself, as a substance, is relatively inert and harmless to humans. The danger is represented by its chemical compounds with substances that should either not be in your apartment at all or you obviously will not scatter them on the floor in your right mind.
Urgently notify the neighbors about the danger - for sure, let them finally find out who in their house claims to be the main idiot.

This is the main thing, there are more than one page of advice from the “experienced” on the little things.

Well, now, what is still worth doing if the thermometer suddenly crashed.

Do not panic, calm down and roughly understand the area where the balls and glass rolled.
Remove children so that they do not roll mercury balls and prevent you from collecting them, as well as animals for the same reason, since they have tails and hair.

Take a flashlight, a piece of paper, a plastic or glass bottle half filled with water. Make a kind of scoop out of a leaf, put a flashlight so that it shines along the floor, in this position it will be easier for you to see small mercury balls and start collecting them together with glass and putting them in a bottle. Try to collect the maximum amount, and it will be cleaner and calmer if someone still reads the Internet.

After collecting the balls, wash the floor and go about your business.

For complacency and if the weather allows, ventilate the room.

For those who are still impressed and cannot accept the fact that a broken thermometer is not dangerous, and even if you do not collect mercury from it at all, there will be no health hazard, I suggest thinking about the following topics. Imagine how many thermometers are broken in any average hospital or maternity hospital, for example? If all the horror stories are true, then they urgently need to be demolished. And secondly, if everything is so dangerous, then why are classic mercury thermometers still sold in pharmacies?

In conclusion, if you do not turn it into a weekly entertainment, then a broken thermometer is absolutely safe and will not harm your health and the health of your loved ones in any way. Believe me, in any apartment there are many other things and dangers that you should think about. Well, a broken thermometer is just an unfortunate misunderstanding and a little effort when collecting glass and mercury balls. But in any case, take care of yourself and your loved ones.

The thermometer crashed - a catastrophe of an "apartment" scale with possible serious consequences. The article describes all the steps for self-elimination of mercury at the household level.

What is dangerous mercury from a thermometer: symptoms of mercurialism

In the 19th century, mercury was used in the production of felt for hats, and the eccentric behavior of hatters became the source of many anecdotes and funny stories. Over time, when the source of the deterioration in the mental and physical health of the hatters was identified, chronic mercury vapor poisoning was called "the hatter's disease."

Interesting fact. Lewis Carroll created the image of his character - the Mad Hatter - by studying the anamnesis of real patients-hatters of one of the medical institutions.

Symptoms of the "hatter's disease":

uncontrollable rhythmic hand movement (hand tremor),
sudden mood swings: from depression to joy,
obsessive ideas,
deterioration of the general physical condition, including dysfunction of the heart, kidneys, lungs.

In science, for the "disease of the hatter" there is a term - "mercurism" (in the table of chemical elements, mercury is listed as Mercury).

Risk of experiencing symptoms mercurialism exists for everyone:

having an ordinary medical thermometer in the home first-aid kit,
mercury tonometer,
using fluorescent lamps.

As soon as the glass capsule breaks, movable mercury balls break free, you are in a panic looking for the answer to the question: “What to do ?!”

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks at home?

Don't ignore the event!

Calm down, act quickly and collected.

Step 1. Remove children, the elderly and pets from the premises and open windows.

Important! Do not arrange through ventilation! A draft can scatter mercury balls all over the room!

Step 2. Prepare a solution of potassium permanganate.

It is prepared like this:

Dissolve 2 g of potassium permanganate powder ("potassium permanganate") in a small amount of hot water.
Add 1 liter of cold water and 1 tablespoon of ordinary table vinegar to the resulting potassium permanganate concentrate.
To stir thoroughly.

Reference: 1 teaspoon of potassium permanganate powder is equal to 15 g.

Important: Undissolved crystals of potassium permanganate, getting on the skin and mucous membranes, can cause a burn!

In addition, for demercurization (removal of mercury) you will need:

glass jar with a tight lid. The jar should be partially filled with ordinary water,
rubber pear (syringe) or medical syringe,
wide adhesive tape.

Step 3. Put on a damp gauze bandage and rubber gloves. You can replace gloves and shoe covers with plastic bags or plastic stretch film.

Important. The dressing must be damp, not wet!

Step 4. Collect mercury.

How much mercury is in a thermometer?

Remember: in a medical thermometer there is only 2 g of a toxic substance.

How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer from the floor?

What can't be done?

Touching the balls of mercury with unprotected hands
step on mercury
Sweep with a broom or brush
Vacuuming with a vacuum cleaner

The easiest and most effective way to self-demercurize is with the help of adhesive tape.

Gently stick 20 cm long adhesive tape on the surface with mercury balls and thermometer fragments.

Remove the tape in a smooth slow motion, avoiding sharp jerks of the tape.
Carefully glue the tape into a ball and place in a jar of water.

The operation must be repeated several times until you have collected all the relatively large mercury balls.

Small balls can be collected with a pear or syringe.

Important: Use the pear correctly. Do not press it like a pump, but only suck in air along with mercury.

If the metal ball rolls out of the container, try narrowing the hole with a needle.

As soon as the first ball is "caught" - send it to a jar of water. When all the mercury has been collected, seal the jar with a plastic lid. Place the jar in a cool dark place.

Thoroughly rinse the floor with a solution of potassium permanganate using a cloth (wash the floor with this solution for several days).

Place a napkin, gloves, shoe covers in a hermetically sealed container and fill with a demercurization solution of potassium permanganate (water-manganese solution).

Important: Do not use additional chemicals for wet cleaning after demercurization!

Where to throw away a broken mercury thermometer?

Collected mercury, a container with gloves and other items that have been in contact with mercury balls, take to a mercury collection point. The address of the point can be found in the department of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Important!!! Do not pour water with mercury down the drain or in the yard! Do not throw away the jar of mercury in the trash!

What to do if the thermometer crashed on the carpet, how to collect mercury?

Video at the end of the article Deadly mistakes in collecting mercury. How to collect mercury correctly!» will tell you how to remove mercury from the carpet without compromising your health.
After cleaning up mercury:

roll the carpet from the edges to the center,

pack as tightly as possible in plastic wrap,
take it outside the living quarters.

Important!!! Items that have come into contact with mercury must be handed over to the "Point for the Reception of Mercury-Containing Waste"!

Where to take mercury from a broken thermometer: disposal of mercury from a thermometer

Collect the mercury as described above.
Fill the place of localization of mercury balls with a solution of potassium permanganate.

Soap and soda solution will also help slow down the process of mercury vapor release. To prepare it you will need:

1 l hot water
30 g soda
40 g grated soap

Mix all ingredients thoroughly until the soap dissolves. Treat the place of localization of mercury with a solution ( after the mercury is collected!).

3. Gather the bed linen carefully (collect by rolling from the edges to the center to prevent small balls from rolling) and place it in a tight plastic bag.
4. Call the representatives of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (phone number "01").

How much to ventilate the room where the mercury thermometer crashed?

IMPORTANT: The room where the mercury device crashed should be ventilated for 7 days after demercurization.

If it is a dwelling, stay in it should be limited to children and the elderly.

Is it dangerous to keep a broken thermometer at home?

Many consider talk about the dangers of mercury as empty air shaking. At the same time, childhood and stories about mercury balls constantly rolling in desk drawers or about pranks with the replacement of coins are always remembered.
The conclusion of all these stories is the same: I lost all my childhood with mercury and is still alive!

However, at the same time, no one talks about the general deterioration of the environment, which leads to a deterioration in the health of not only adults, but also children. The world around us is full of toxic plastic, poisoned water, genetically modified products.

It is quite difficult for a weakened human immunity to endure a blow with mercury vapor.

How quickly does mercury evaporate from a broken thermometer?

Important: With a maximum allowable concentration of mercury vapor in the atmosphere of 300 ng / m³, within a few minutes after breaking the thermometer, this figure rises to 4783 ng / m³

Fact: 2 g of mercury, evaporating, pollute 6000 m³ of air.

Mercury poisoning from a broken thermometer: symptoms and signs

Mercury is a highly volatile substance. Metal vapors, together with air, enter the lungs. Then, about 80% of the toxic substance, together with the blood, penetrates into all organs of the body and poisons the body.

As a result, a person feels: