What are the dangers of broken mercury? How to collect mercury from a thermometer from the floor - important rules. Collecting mercury with bare hands is especially dangerous.

Something bad happened at home - the thermometer broke, what to do and how to minimize the consequences of this incident.

In every apartment in home medicine cabinet There is a medical thermometer, also known as a thermometer for measuring body temperature. It is used when a family member is ill. In most families, these measuring instruments are traditionally mercury.

Sometimes, as a result of careless handling, a thermometer with mercury breaks. Over the decades, especially in big family There may be several cases when a thermometer breaks at home. Only not large quantity people are available electronic thermometers, not containing free mercury in the design.

What are the dangers of free mercury?

Mercury is in normal conditions the only liquid metal high density, reaching 13.3 kg/l. Of all the metals available to an ordinary person, this is the hardest.

The use of mercury in thermometers is explained by the fact that the increase in the volume of mercury when heated by 1 degree is almost the same at low and high temperatures. That is, its coefficient of thermal expansion is practically independent of temperature, which means high measurement accuracy is ensured.

A medical thermometer (thermometer) contains no more than 2 grams of this metal.

According to the degree of danger, mercury belongs to the class of substances that have extremely high toxicity.

Metallic mercury itself, when correct handling with her, little harm.

Why is a broken thermometer dangerous?

Mercury vapor is a cumulative toxic substance, therefore, once it enters the human body, it is not removed from it for a long time, and from some organs it is not removed at all. Mercury vapor, which has neither odor nor taste, accumulates, that is, accumulates in human organs. This process can go on for many years with an increasing result of the toxic effect. This property is one of the reasons for the high susceptibility of mercury, its vapors and compounds.

Even in small quantities, for example, when a thermometer in an apartment breaks, it causes great problems with a person’s health.

The effect is on the immune, digestive and nervous systems. Affects the kidneys, liver, bronchi, lungs, esophagus, stomach, intestinal tract, organs of vision, skin and many more etc.

Metal vapors and its soluble compounds are especially dangerous. Small balls of mercury that are not collected or collected in unsealed containers evaporate quite quickly.

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They are still the simplest and precise means for measuring temperature. Unfortunately, they have a significant drawback. If this device breaks, chronic and even acute damage from the thermometer is quite possible.

Symptoms and severity will depend on several factors:

• Age and health status of persons exposed to the poison. Pregnant women, elderly people over 65 years of age, children under 18 years of age and persons suffering from liver, kidney, respiratory system.
• The method of penetration of poison into the body. Mercury is therefore almost not absorbed from the intestines, passing through in transit. Mercury vapor is most dangerous when inhaled.
• The dose of the substance and the time of its exposure.

In what cases can you be poisoned by mercury from a thermometer?

The most dangerous are mercury vapors from a thermometer. Poisoning medium degree severity may occur in the following cases:

• The room is hot - mercury evaporates quickly.
• If the contaminated room has a small volume, the result is a high concentration.
• Mercury from the thermometer got onto the heating device. The sublimation temperature of this metal is about +40 degrees, so if it gets on, for example, a heating radiator, mercury instantly goes into a gaseous state.

Mild degree of poisoning or chronic course illnesses are usually observed if the rules for collecting spilled mercury were violated. This often happens if balls of metal have quietly rolled under furniture or under the baseboard.

At high concentrations, mercury can be absorbed into the blood through the skin and mucous membranes.

Symptoms of acute poisoning

The effect of mercury on the body manifests itself after inhalation of metal vapors and its entry into the blood. The poison affects the brain and causes toxic damage to the respiratory system. Mercury is excreted unchanged by the kidneys, so severe disturbances in the functioning of the urinary system develop, and protein and blood are detected in the urine. Also, a significant amount of metal is released with saliva, which leads to gum inflammation. Such signs are typical if acute mercury poisoning from a thermometer has occurred.

Symptoms of chronic poisoning

Chronic poisoning may be asymptomatic. At the same time, it is noted increased fatigue, weakness, headaches, If mercury poisoning occurs from a thermometer, the symptoms form a classic triad:

Signs of mercury poisoning from a thermometer in severe cases:

• chest pain, cough;
• abdominal pain, diarrhea, vomiting;
• increased body temperature;
• drooling, loose gums, pain when swallowing.

IN as a last resort pneumonia develops bloody diarrhea and after 2-3 days death occurs.

If mercury poisoning occurs from a thermometer, the symptoms are usually erased or appear slightly, which indicates mild degree defeats. With prolonged exposure to poison on the body, a decrease in skin sensitivity, sweating, and disturbances are possible. menstrual cycle in women, enlargement of the thyroid gland.

Treatment

To clarify the diagnosis, measure the mercury level in the room. Such poisonings are usually widespread. If the average happened or severe poisoning mercury from a thermometer, treatment is carried out in a hospital. Carry out general measures for antitoxic therapy, supportive procedures and medications are prescribed. A specific antidote is administered - sodium thiosulfate.

How to remove mercury without consequences?

If a thermometer breaks in the house, then to prevent harmful effects mercury exposure to the body, a number of measures are taken:

1. Do not allow the poison to spread to other premises. Mercury sticks to shoe soles and metal surfaces.
2. Close the door to the room and open the window for ventilation. Do not allow drafts, since mercury is a light substance and is carried by air flow.
3. Rubber gloves are put on your hands and shoe covers on your feet. To protect the respiratory system, use a gauze bandage soaked in water.
4. Balls of mercury are driven off with a sheet of paper and poured into a jar with cold water. Small drops can be collected with tape, adhesive tape or wet newspaper. Mercury is sucked out of hard-to-reach places with a syringe or syringe. Skirting boards are dismantled if necessary.
5. All things that came into contact with mercury are placed in a plastic bag and disposed of. Paul and others smooth surfaces wipe with a solution of bleach or potassium permanganate.
6. The jar of mercury is handed over to the relevant authorities (call the Ministry of Emergency Situations for clarification).

If the cleaning time is prolonged, then every 15 minutes you should take a break and leave the contaminated room for fresh air.

IN major cities There are licensed companies involved in the elimination of toxic pollution in residential premises.

What should you not do if the thermometer breaks?

The consequences of mercury poisoning from a thermometer will be minimal if you follow the rules for collecting toxic waste. You should absolutely not do the following things.

Correct actions to remove mercury from a broken thermometer will protect you and your loved ones from poisoning. After all manipulations, take 2-3 tablets activated carbon, rinse your mouth with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, brush your teeth and drink more fluids. If you experience symptoms of mercury poisoning - nausea, headaches, gum disease, muscle tremors - consult a doctor.

Almost every home has mercury thermometers, because they last longer than electronic ones. But the fact is that if you accidentally break this thermometer, you can incur various kinds of problems.

It is very easy to break a mercury thermometer, because it is extremely fragile. Sometimes parents give a thermometer to their children to measure their temperature, but the children, unknowingly, do not handle it very carefully and break it. Also, sometimes a thermometer can break if you squeeze it too hard.

Mercury vapor is very dangerous to human health, because it takes quite a long time for it to be eliminated from the body. They will accumulate in the human body for an extremely long time. Such a stable poisoning process will greatly affect health. Therefore, even in minimal doses, in the case of breaking a thermometer, this is very big influence per person, his health may be at risk.

Mercury vapor can weaken the immune system and may also cause problems with digestive and nervous systems. The stomach, skin, liver, and many other organs may be affected. If you do not collect the mercury balls in time, they may evaporate, and in this case it will be a little more difficult to remove mercury vapor from the apartment, and also in such a situation they bring more harm human health.

If a mercury thermometer breaks in an apartment, you need to follow some recommendations:

Solution

If a child accidentally breaks a thermometer and the mercury was never found, there is no need to scold him, because in an identical situation the next time he will be afraid that he will be scolded and will not tell adults about this act, but will hide the thermometer himself. In this case, all family members may suffer. It is worth isolating this room and also keeping animals out, which can spread mercury throughout the house.

The child should leave the room; it is better to send him to fresh air. The room needs to be treated with bleach, this will help prevent the volatility of mercury vapor in the air. You should not try to collect mercury with a broom or vacuum cleaner, this will only make matters worse. It is better to report this to special services, because if mercury is not found, it is extremely difficult to cope with its influence.

Sometimes the thermometer breaks on the carpet. If you are dealing with a lint-free carpet, in this case you can sweep the fragments onto the cardboard with a brush, and also try to sweep away as much mercury as possible. What remains must be removed with a syringe.

In the video, what to do if you break a thermometer with mercury at home:

When the carpet is piled, and the mercury falls into the long pile, the efforts made to remove the mercury and thermometer fragments will be maximum:

• It is necessary to roll it from the edges to where the mercury and fragments are located.
• Then the carpet, wrapped in a large piece of film, should be taken outside to the place where carpets are usually beaten. You need to put the carpet on the ground, first laying a film there, bandage your face with gauze soaked in a soda solution, and also put on a respirator. Then you need to knock out the carpet and leave it to air.
• The film on which drops of mercury are found should be rolled up and placed in a bag, so that later it can be handed in along with the thermometer.

If the thermometer breaks on a bed, in an apartment or in a room at home you need to wipe the room with a solution of potassium permanganate, carefully collect bed sheets and then submit it to the service for processing. Under no circumstances should you vacuum, because in this case the vacuum cleaner will need to be thrown away. You need to ventilate the room and also not enter it for a while.

If a thermometer is broken by a pregnant woman, you should not deal with this problem yourself, because this can harm the unborn child. It will be better if the woman leaves the room so that someone else can remove the mercury and thermometer or call special services. You need to thoroughly remove the mercury, wash the floor with a solution of soda or manganese, then get rid of the mercury using a syringe and glass jar. Be sure to ventilate the room and avoid visiting it for several weeks.

When a mercury thermometer breaks, the most important thing is not to panic, it’s important to get together and start fixing this situation. You should call special service, or he will cope with the problem on his own (at home), but very carefully so as not to increase the scale of the problem. In order to ensure that there are no mercury balls left in the apartment, you should check everything very carefully, every depression and recess in the floor, otherwise you can miss a certain amount of mercury, which will lead to certain consequences.

Video shows what to do when a child breaks a thermometer: