What to do if you break a thermometer
Educational Program Survival / / December 19, 2019
Why is mercury dangerous
At room temperature, the mercury emits toxic fumes, which through the respiratory tract into the body.
If no measures are taken after the crash thermometer, the liquid metal will poison the air and gradually accumulate in the body. The problem is compounded by the fact that mercury breaks up into small droplets, which are easily overlooked in the crevices of the floor, pile carpet, for baseboards.
Symptoms of mercury poisoning can be a long time unnoticed.
health problems can appear in a couple of months after the direct contact with the mercury. Main symptoms: fatigue, malaise, loss of appetite, taste of metal in mouth, headache and sore throat, increased salivation, nausea and vomiting. As you can see, they can easily be attributed to stress, fatigue from work or banal poisoning.
But if the mercury continues to accumulate, there are more serious problems: trembling fingers, eyelids, then the arms and legs, susceptibility to mental diseases, tuberculosis, atherosclerotic phenomena, liver and gall bladder, hypertension.
How to collect mercury
If we break the thermometer, first print out of the room of children and pets, and close the door to mercury vapors do not go into the next room. So that no one suffered drops of mercury on their shoes before entering, lay down a soft cloth soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate.
In 1 liter of water, add 2 g of potassium permanganate and mix.
If it's cold outside, open a window. This will help to slow down the evaporation. For one thing: in any case should not be allowed draft, due to which mercury can scatter throughout the room.
Put the shoe on the foot or plastic bags, and hand - rubber gloves. Airways also need protection. For example, disposable face mask with a gauze soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate.
Take the glass jar with a lid (or any other air-tight container), pour it into water or potassium permanganate solution and fold fragments thermometer.
Take two sheets of paper and cotton wool soaked in solution of potassium permanganate. Start collecting the mercury drops to corners of the room to the center. Vatochkoy push drops on paper and whisk them into the jar. Instead of cotton, you can use an ordinary adhesive tape: attach it to the floor, where there is mercury, and tear off.
To collect all the mercury residue and without access to the smallest droplets in the cracks, use a syringe, medical pear with a thin tip or brush to paint.
Jar of mercury close the lid and put in a cool place, preferably on a balcony. You can not throw it in the garbage disposal or pour its contents into the toilet.
How to handle the room and protect themselves
To the room no trace of mercury remains, treat the place where it was spilled. First - potassium permanganate solution: 20 g of potassium permanganate in 10 liters of water. Apply it with a cloth or with a spray gun. An hour later, same spot wipe the soap-soda solution.
Treat with potassium permanganate or soap-soda solution will have 2-3 times a day for several days.
Grate soap bar on a grater, pour hot water and stir until shaving soap is completely dissolved. Instead of the usual soaps you can use the liquid. Pour the mixture of 10 liters of water. Add 100 grams of baking soda. Stir.
Since you yourself have long been in an unsafe room, do the following:
- Rinse the potassium permanganate and soap-soda solution gloves, shoes.
- Rinse mouth with a very weak solution of potassium permanganate.
- Thoroughly brush your teeth.
- Take 2-3 tablets of activated charcoal.
- Drink plenty of fluids (tea, juice, coffee).
Don'ts
- Do not sweep mercury with a broom. Rigid rods only izmelchat droplets of mercury into a fine dust and will spread throughout the room.
- Do not collect mercury vacuum cleaner. During the blowing of hot air mercury begins to evaporate more intensively. In addition, its particles remain on engine parts and will spread around the apartment during the harvest.
- Do not throw away the thermometer in the garbage disposal. Mercury contaminates the air throughout the house.
- Do not pour mercury into the toilet. She settles into the sewers, and to take her out to be very difficult.
- Clothes, which got the mercury should be discarded. When washing the metal fine particles settle in washing machine.
- No need to wash the rags and other materials at hand in the sink. About sewer pipes, we have already spoken. Just collect all in a tight plastic bag and tie it tightly. it is impossible to carry on trash.
Where to hand over the broken thermometer
Neither the broken thermometer or objects with which you collected mercury can not just throw in the trash. You need to send them to the company, which can be disposed of mercury.
Call the number 112 in the Ministry of Emergencies and report that you crashed a thermometer. Write down your address, say, what to do, or come to your home if you are not sure that we could completely clear the room. It's free.
However, Emergency Situations Ministry are often loaded with other things and not always able to quickly help with a broken thermometer. In this case, you can call a paid service demercurisation in your city.
If you deal with the cleaning of mercury without assistance, call your local sanitary and epidemiological stations. Experts will prompt you the address to which you can pass mercury.