Just broke a mercuary thermometer.

SkyFli3r

Hello. I just broke a thermometer that has mercuary in it. I'm shaking here, help please. How bad is it? What should I do? Who should I call? :eek:

andreac

Dont think theres much to worry about, unless you broke it inside you or something. I broke one before, before taking a horses temperature, smashed it into pieces.

MissFlitworth

Wipe up whatever (tiny amount of) mercury came out and throw it in the bin? Unless you start rubbing it in your gums you're probably fine...

SkyFli3r

Thanks all, but see... I think I broke it 2 hours ago and I didn't even realize. I measured my body temperature and then closed it in a little box, but the box was a bit smaller than the thermometer, so somehow I closed it and it broke inside the box. Then my sister saw little silver balls and she told my mother. I'm not sure what to do now because the little balls could have spread all over the room and my parents were there that whole time. My parents cleaned most of it. We opened all the windows.

OMFG! What to do? Is there anyone I could call? I need one of those things that measures radiation or something. MY GOD!

Taltos

OP - relax.

Mercury is not radioactive. It is however a heavy metal & as a result toxic if inhaled or ingested.

Opening the windows - right thing to do.
Collecting it all up - great
Disposal - well not sure a bin is proper disposal but not seeing what choice you have.

Keep the windows open for a bit more, give the room a once over.
Make sure you wash hands / wear gloves. But most importantly chill.

If you do ingest seek immediate medical attention though.
A quick google search should pull back all you need to know on this.

Wagon

You'll have to fumigate your parents!

Set them on fire, open all the windows, make a cup of tea and eat a packet of Tayto's. I often find this helps me when i smash a mercury thermometer after taking my temperature in a little box with glowing silver balls of death on them...

MistyCheese

Okay - calm down. You're in more danger from hyperventilating than from mercury poisoning. There generally isn't enough in a thermometer to do serious harm to a healthy adult.

The most important points to remember when cleaning up a mercury spill are not to handle it with broken skin, not to let it enter your body (eg by swallowing), not to vacuum it up and not to flush it down the drain as that could contaminate the water supply.

The best thing to do is keep the room well ventilated, as you have done, keep the windows open for a few hours. If you must call someone contact the National Posions Information Centre 01 809 2566 / 01 837 9964. They will most likely run you through the steps to clear it up safely.

Ickle Magoo

Wagon, you know better than to respond to a thread in PI like that.

OP - wipe it up and throw it out, buy yourself a beginners guide to chemistry book and if you have any serious concerns - contact your GP.