Since mercury is very toxic and harmful to the environment, it’s important to dispose of it safely. Clean liquid mercury from absorbent surfaces. wikiHow's. A silver, metallic liquid will be visible from inside the bulb or vial if the thermometer contains mercury. Place kitty litter or oil-absorbent matter around … The recycling and disposal of electrical waste includes mercury tilt switches, manometers and fluorescent light bulbs. The broken glass should be placed in a sharps container to prevent injury. Mercury in the Household By learning which products and items contain mercury and handling them properly, we can all help limit the risk of mercury exposure. Mercury thermometers are still commonly found in many medicine cabinets. For more information specific to your state, enter your location's ZIP code into the Earth911.com recycling locatorExitto contact your local waste collection agency; the agency can tell you if such requirement exists in your state or locality. All of the non-mercury thermometers listed meet NIST standards. For homes still living in the dark ages and using mercury thermometers, you’re operating with a huge risk in the house. Mercury is highly toxic, and even short-term exposure due to a spillage or cracked thermometer can lead to harmful effects. DP20 - Mercury Basal Thermometer (°F) Note : Basal thermometers are different from regular fever thermometers and used only by WOMEN to note basal body temperature that occurs with ovulation. To prevent possible contamination, stop using your mercury thermometer. For information about these programs, contact your local officials to find out when and where a collection will be held in your area. The mercury-in-glass or mercury thermometer was invented by physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit in Amsterdam (1714). Why Mercury Is Used In The Thermometer The role of a thermometer is an important one, and when used it home it can be the one diagnostic tool that tells us whether we’re sick or not. For example, the mercury from one fever thermometer can contaminate all of the fish in a 20-acre lake. A silver, metallic liquid will be visible from inside the bulb or vial if the thermometer contains mercury. Put thermometer in a non-breakable sealed container (e.g. United States Environmental Protection Agency, What to do if you have mercury in your home, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) recycling and disposal requirements that apply to business and industry, Packaging mercury for storage and transportation, Recycling and Disposal After a CFL Burns Out, Frequent Questions about Recycling Items Containing Mercury (Earth911.com). Thermometers and blood pressure devices are available in electronic form and many older mercury-containing thermostats can be replaced with newer digital ones. All mercury-containing devices that have been replaced should be saved for a household hazardous waste collection and should never be thrown away with the trash. Pack the thermometer in a puncture-resistant, non-breakable sealed container and then label it “MERCURY” with a permanent marker, to post a warning on anyone who will come across the container that the contents are hazardous. wikiHow's Content Management Team carefully monitors the work from our editorial staff to ensure that each article is backed by trusted research and meets our high quality standards. If you really can’t stand to see another ad again, then please consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. Mercury can cause skin irritation and it produces harmful vapors that can cause coughing, nausea, and vomiting. What to do when a mercury fever thermometer breaks/spills. We know that old thermometers were used to take people’s temperature. When the temperature changes, the mercury expands and contracts, the temperature can then be read on the scale. Whilst spills such as that from a broken thermometer do not pose a high risk, the area of the spill should be cordoned off and the spill cleaned up immediately to prevent spread and secondary exposures. It consists of a bulb containing mercury attached to a glass tube of narrow diameter; the volume of mercury in the tube is much less than the volume in the bulb. See Key Actions below to use an interactive map or search by location to find nearby collection and recycling sites.. See Additional Resources below to learn more about safe management and disposal of fluorescent bulbs, proper cleanup of broken bulbs and elemental mercury spills, and more. If you’re worried about the mercury vapor levels, you can call a contractor to test the amount of vapor in your home. Hospitals and medical clinics have other mercury-containing equipment. Place all mercury-containing products or containers of mercury inside a larger container with a tight fitting lid. Put thermometer in a non-breakable sealed container (e.g. There must be space left inside the container after placing the mercury thermostat there. Cleanup and Disposal. Don’t use a broom since you could break apart the mercury and spread it around your room more. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. more information about universal wastes and the RCRA regulations that apply to them. One common type is the fever thermometer. Warning: You can easily clean mercury off of hard flooring, but it cannot be removed well from carpet or absorbent materials. There are 15 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. plastic bleach bottle). This image may not be used by other entities without the express written consent of wikiHow, Inc.
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\n<\/p><\/div>"}, https://www.thermostat-recycle.org/zipsearch, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dsny/downloads/pdf/promotional-materials/harmful-products-brochure-06310-f.pdf, https://recyclenation.com/2015/04/how-to-recycle-mercury/, https://www.epa.gov/mercury/what-do-if-mercury-thermometer-breaks, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. RCRA designates some widely generated hazardous wastes as "universal wastes.” This term includes mercury-containing wastes like certain batteries, thermostats, barometers, manometers, temperature and pressure gauges, certain switches, and light bulbs. EH&S will dispose of all unwanted mercury thermometers for free. This image is not<\/b> licensed under the Creative Commons license applied to text content and some other images posted to the wikiHow website. Mercury is a chemical element used in many household products such as thermostats, thermometers, batteries, fluorescent lamps, paint, disinfectants, antiseptics and preservatives.

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