Get rid of a broken thermometer. What to do if the thermometer breaks

Yes, a broken mercury thermometer really poses a great danger to human health. According to the Great Medical Encyclopedia, mercury is a highly toxic poison belonging to the first class of extremely dangerous substances. A medical mercury thermometer contains from 1 to 2 grams of mercury; if the substance is in the room, it begins to evaporate. The concentration of mercury vapor in this case can exceed the maximum permissible limit by up to 1000 times. If the source of intoxication is not eliminated in time, mercury vapor will not disappear on its own; it will remain in the room for many years. For this reason, the production of mercury thermometers is banned in many countries.

What harm is caused to health?

A few hours after mercury enters a room, acute poisoning can occur. According to the official website of the Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, it is manifested by lack of appetite, headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. There may be a metallic taste in the mouth, it becomes painful to swallow, drooling and bleeding gums.

If the mercury particles are not completely eliminated, the fumes will continue to affect the nervous system. With regular contact with the substance, chronic poisoning occurs after 5-10 years. The Great Medical Encyclopedia indicates that it is accompanied by frequent headaches, dizziness, increased fatigue, general weakness, sleep disturbances, irritability, and respiratory diseases. Anxiety, suspiciousness, and depression appear.

Intoxication with low concentrations of mercury, which is called micromercurialism, manifests itself after two to four years of constant contact with mercury vapor. It is characterized by increased excitability and disturbances in the emotional sphere.

In general, mercury vapor intoxication affects not only the nervous system, but also the cardiovascular system and endocrine glands. The kidneys also suffer greatly; it is through these organs that large amounts of mercury are excreted from the body.

Inhaling mercury vapor is especially dangerous for children, the elderly and pregnant women. Their body has less ability to resist toxic fumes. Symptoms of poisoning begin to appear more quickly in these groups of people.

How to treat poisoning?

In case of acute poisoning, you should immediately consult a doctor. You cannot self-medicate; treatment must take place in a hospital setting.

If the poisoning has reached the chronic stage, then you should also contact specialists, follow their recommendations and take the medications they prescribe

Today, there is probably no such person whose body temperature does not rise. In order to accurately determine how much it has increased or decreased, there are special devices. Despite the fact that today electronic thermometers are sold literally at every step, many people nevertheless continue to use thermometers containing mercury. This is due to the fact that the latter are more reliable and make mistakes much less often. But such thermometers have one big drawback - they contain mercury inside, which can cause severe intoxication. Therefore, everyone should have an idea of what to do if a mercury thermometer in an apartment breaks.

First actions

Breaking a thermometer containing mercury in a residential area is not a pleasant situation, but if this happens, you should remain calm. The toxic substance can be collected without causing absolutely any harm to your health. The thing is that poisoning does not happen instantly. Typically, mercury vapor can cause harm to the body after a few hours. The first signs of poisoning with a dangerous substance are severe weakness, headache, and heavy breathing. In addition, an unpleasant metallic taste may appear in the mouth.

Therefore, if a thermometer breaks at home, you should not be careless, as this can end very badly. Some people simply scoop up the mercury balls and throw them into a bucket, then breathe in the toxic fumes. Additionally, there is no guarantee that you will be able to collect all the mercury.

So what should you do if a mercury thermometer in your apartment breaks? What to do and how to properly collect a dangerous substance? The most important thing is to calm down. This will allow you to properly coordinate and take the necessary measures.

Ask strangers to leave the premises

Has a mercury thermometer broken in your apartment? What to do? The first action is to ask all people to vacate the premises. This is especially true for children, pregnant women and the elderly. If you have a dog or cat at home, it is better to take them to another room so that they do not inhale toxic fumes and carry mercury into neighboring rooms.

It is not mercury itself that is harmful to health, but its vapor. This substance begins to melt at a temperature of about 40 degrees, so if the room is cooler, then there should not be any evaporation. Nevertheless, it’s better not to take another risk and open all the windows. This will cool the room at least a little and prevent the release of toxic fumes. It is important not to overdo it here, since the mercury balls can freeze and break.

Preparatory work

The mercury thermometer in the apartment broke, what should I do?

The steps are as follows:

put on shoe covers (if you don’t have them at hand, you can use plastic bags);
wear clothes made of synthetics (artificial materials absorb toxic fumes much less);
put on a protective mask with wet gauze under it. Alternatively, you can use a wet towel;
Wear rubber gloves.

It is worth noting that all clothing and protective equipment will have to be thrown away after cleaning the room, so use only old things that you won’t mind throwing away.

In addition to uniforms, you will need the following equipment:

several album sheets;
soft brush;
a glass container that can be hermetically sealed - it should be filled with manganese solution;
syringe;
wet newspaper;
scotch;
rag.

So, what to do if a mercury thermometer in an apartment breaks? If everything you need is at hand, then you can begin to eliminate the threat. To contain the spread of toxic fumes, close all doors and place a wet cloth under them. You can also call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and ask for advice on what measures should be taken in the current situation.

A mercury thermometer broke in an apartment - what to do and how to clean it? Everything is very easy and simple if you follow certain tips and recommendations. Take a landscape sheet and a soft brush, moisten it in a manganese solution and carefully roll the mercury ball onto the paper. Very small balls are removed with tape.

Take a good look at every nook and cranny. If mercury is found in them, you can collect it with a syringe. If a toxic substance gets under the floor covering or baseboard, then they need to be removed and the mercury collected, because if it remains there, the dangerous fumes will poison everyone in the room.

What to do if a mercury thermometer in an apartment breaks and mercury gets on the carpet or upholstered furniture? In this case, it will be quite difficult to collect the substance on your own. The best option is to take things out of town and burn them. In addition, you can take the furniture to the dacha and leave it outside for several months. During this time, the mercury should completely evaporate under the influence of sunlight.

When collecting mercury, do not use a vacuum cleaner or broom. The thing is that a vacuum cleaner can spread toxic fumes throughout the apartment, and if you use a broom, the rods will break the balls into small particles, which will be impossible to collect.

When clearing a room of mercury, you must periodically go out into the fresh air to breathe. It is not recommended to breathe toxic fumes for more than 15 minutes. This is especially true if the room is hot and it is not possible to cool it down at least a little. When leaving the room, be sure to remove shoe covers so as not to spread mercury throughout the apartment.

Final stage

The mercury thermometer in the apartment broke, what should I do? We have already looked at how to collect mercury balls, but how to finally clear the room of this substance? To completely eliminate the threat, it is necessary to treat all surfaces in the room. To do this, use a special solution, for the preparation of which you will need to dilute 20 grams of potassium permaganate in 10 liters of warm water. If suddenly you don’t have any of this, then use regular “Whiteness”.

Take a dishwashing sponge, soak it in the solution and thoroughly scrub all surfaces. Don't leave any gap unattended. Hard-to-reach places should be treated with a spray bottle.

When the treatment is complete, open all windows for a while to ventilate the room. In this case, the interior doors must be closed so that the draft does not carry toxic fumes throughout the apartment.

Mercury disposal

So, the mercury thermometer in the apartment has broken, what should you do? We have already talked about what is needed to clean mercury, as well as how the actual process of cleaning the room occurs. But what to do with the collected mercury? All clothing, protective equipment and equipment should be placed in a plastic bag and disposed of properly. Never throw things into a landfill.

If a mercury thermometer in an apartment breaks, what should you do? Reviews from people who have encountered a similar situation say that it is best to hand over the thermometer and collected mercury for disposal to a special service. It is worth noting that employees of this service do not always agree to take mercury, but you should insist on your decision. If all else fails, you can contact private companies that dispose of mercury for a fee.

Has a mercury thermometer broken in your apartment? We already know what to do. But what is not recommended to do in this case?

It is better not to take the following actions:

Ventilate the room with open doors to the adjacent room. A draft can carry small droplets of mercury throughout your home, making it very difficult to find and collect them.
Never collect mercury with a broom. The rods will only break the balls into smaller ones, which will only make the situation worse.
Do not use a vacuum cleaner to collect mercury. Air currents will spread mercury throughout the room, which can lead to catastrophic consequences.
Items that have absorbed mercury should not be used or stored in the apartment. They should be burned.
Disposing of mercury in a landfill or sewer is prohibited. It must be disposed of without fail.

Preventive measures

If a mercury thermometer in an apartment breaks, what should you do to protect yourself from poisoning and other negative consequences? After the room has been completely cleared of mercury and treated with disinfecting solutions, you must take off all the clothes you were wearing, take a shower, put on clean clothes, and rinse your mouth with a weak soda solution. In addition, try to drink as much as possible, especially herbal teas and milk. This will help the kidneys remove toxins from the body.

In what cases can you not do without the help of specialists?

A mercury thermometer broke in an apartment - what to do if you can’t find the tip? The best way out is to call qualified specialists. This also applies to cases where the thermometer was broken in small, unventilated rooms. If you try to collect mercury yourself, you may inhale toxic fumes and get very severe poisoning.

Mercury begins to boil and release fumes at a temperature slightly above 38 degrees, so if it gets on a hot surface, the room will almost instantly be filled with toxic fumes.

Also, if you suspect that there may be mercury balls left somewhere, then you should not take the risk. Immediately call the sanitary and epidemiological station and call professionals to carry out the necessary measures to disinfect the living space. The mercury thermometer in the apartment broke, what should I do? In St. Petersburg, Moscow and other large cities there is an alternative course of action, namely, an environmental assessment. Specialists will check the level of mercury vapor in the room, and also dispose of broken thermometers and mercury balls.

Self-cleaning of mercury from a room is not recommended for people at high risk.

These include:

women carrying a fetus;
children and elderly people;
people who have any chronic diseases of the genitourinary system and central nervous system.

All other people can collect mercury balls on their own, provided they follow all the rules and recommendations listed earlier in this article.

What to do in case of poisoning?

Has a mercury thermometer broken in your apartment? What to do in this case has already been discussed earlier, but what to do if poisoning with toxic fumes does occur?

The main signs of poisoning are:

severe migraines;
weakness of the body;
increased irritability;
trembling in the limbs;
nausea;
sudden loss of body weight;
metallic taste in the mouth.

Signs of poisoning in most cases appear approximately 5-6 hours after a person has inhaled toxic fumes. If this does happen, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible for examination.

Mercury thermometers contain a very dangerous substance inside that can lead to very severe poisoning. Therefore, in order to eliminate the possibility of intoxication, from 2020 in Russia mercury thermometers will be completely withdrawn from sale, and their use in medical institutions will be prohibited. These measures are completely justified, since cases of people going to the hospital with mercury vapor poisoning are quite frequent.

If you use a mercury thermometer, it is very important to follow certain rules for their storage and operation. The thermometer should be stored exclusively in a protective case out of the reach of children. It is necessary to lower the temperature away from furniture and walls, so as not to accidentally hit the thermometer on them and break it. If your child is sick and you want to measure his temperature, then do not leave your baby a single step so that he does not accidentally drop the thermometer.

Electronic thermometers, although not always, still allow you to measure accurate body temperature. Therefore, to completely eliminate the possibility of mercury contamination, stop using mercury thermometers. Use electronic measuring instruments and your family will be completely safe.

Conclusion

It is quite easy to break a glass thermometer containing mercury, so try to be extremely careful when using them. If suddenly you break it, then try not to panic. To completely clear a room of mercury, it is better to leave your home for a while and leave everything to professionals who have the necessary experience and skills in disinfecting rooms from mercury and its fumes.

I once broke an ordinary mercury thermometer. It happened unexpectedly, but without special effects. I collected mercury balls on a piece of paper, threw them into a bottle of water, and was about to calm down, but an unknown force forced me to look on the Internet, asking the search query: “I broke my thermometer, what should I do?”

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

While waiting for the rescue and special services employees, run around the neighbors and warn that living in this house will be dangerous in the next 50 - 60 years. In general, an ordinary everyday situation turned into a completely non-drill alarm with myocardial infarction of all neighbors who had reached the age of 20 and life imprisonment for the hero of the occasion, namely me, for careless handling of such a dangerous device. At least, this is what the top Yandex user almost shouted about when they asked about a broken thermometer.

But since I am not so impressionable, I smiled and decided to look into the question in more detail.
So, what kind of scares 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 kinds of villains don’t have access to the Internet. And they, thinking about destroying the world, are not aware that a nuclear bomb is no longer needed. It is enough to buy thermometers and place them around the perimeter of the city. That's it, the residents can't escape. I can just see another masterpiece with Bruce Willis, how he saves a pharmacy with a large number of mercury thermometers from terrorists. I think Chuck Norris could be involved in such dangerous work. In a word - nonsense and more nonsense.

Mercury from a broken thermometer will contaminate your apartment for many years - Is it true? That is, 1 - 2 grams of mercury, of which it will be possible to collect the largest balls, and this at least 80% will be able to ruin the entire atmosphere in the average apartment? Mercury itself is inert and not so dangerous; its combinations with various chemicals are dangerous. But you’re not going to sprinkle the remains of uncollected mercury with all sorts of harmful chemicals, are you? Therefore, calm and only calm.

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

Call the Ministry of Emergency Situations immediately - this, by the way, is very reasonable advice for those who are especially impressionable.

The guys will arrive and explain that the one who called them is a fabulous idiot, but they must come when called. I think after talking with them, many people will go away from thinking about urgently selling their apartment and escaping the country.
Mercury can roll under the baseboard or between the floorboards and the apartment will “foul” 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. The amount in the thermometer is too small to have any effect on the air in the apartment, and the evaporation period is quite short.

The mercury will evaporate, its vapors will fill the entire apartment and will enter the human body with the air. – mercury is a metal, have you ever seen flying metal, except for airplanes? Once again we carefully read: mercury itself, as a substance, is relatively inert and harmless to humans. The danger comes from its chemical compounds with substances that either shouldn’t be in your apartment at all or you obviously wouldn’t scatter them all over the floor in your right mind.
Urgently notify your 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 is more than one page of advice from “experienced” people about the little things.

Well, now what should you do if the thermometer suddenly breaks?

Don’t panic, calm down and roughly understand the area where the balls and glass rolled.
Remove children so that they don’t roll mercury balls and prevent you from collecting them, as well as animals for the same reason, since they have tails and fur.

Take a flashlight, a piece of paper, a plastic or glass bottle half filled with water. Make a kind of scoop out of a piece of paper, place 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 the glass and putting them in a bottle. Try to collect the maximum amount, it will be cleaner and calmer if someone still reads a lot on the Internet.

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

For peace of mind and if the weather permits, ventilate the room.

For those who are still under the impression 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 danger to health, I suggest you think 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 do pharmacies still sell classic mercury thermometers?

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

Every home has a thermometer for measuring temperature - infrared, electronic or the usual mercury. If the first two do not pose a potential danger, then mercury can create a problem - what to do if a thermometer breaks at home and the contents spill.

Design, advantages and disadvantages of a mercury thermometer

The design of a traditional thermometer is based on the properties of mercury to expand as the temperature rises. The metal is soldered into a capillary tube, the air from which is pumped out.

The tube is mounted on a graduated scale with a range of one degree. The minimum is 32°C, the maximum is 42°.

Mercury only moves up. Such a device, unlike a room or street thermometer, records body temperature, stopping the mercury column at a certain point. Entry level installation requires vigorous shaking.

Despite the advent of modern electronic and infrared thermometers, their mercury predecessor remains popular. Its advantages:

accuracy of readings;
lack of response to changes in ambient temperature;
possibility of disinfection in a special solution;
affordability.

The disadvantage is the long period of time required to establish the temperature (5–10 minutes). The main disadvantage is the fragility of the glass tube and the possibility of mercury leaking if, for example, a mother accidentally breaks the thermometer while preparing to measure the child’s temperature.

How to use it correctly

The thermometer should be stored at home in a protective case. Other simple rules:

When shaking, do not squeeze the device with your fingers;
do not measure the temperature with a mercury thermometer for more than 10 minutes, so as not to forget about the manipulation or fall asleep;
After each use, wipe the device with a cotton swab soaked in hydrogen peroxide;
Keep the thermometer out of the reach of children.

This will reduce the risk of damage to the device.

What is the danger of mercury

If a mercury thermometer breaks, you should understand the degree of danger that has arisen. Mercury itself is not toxic. Even if accidentally swallowed, it will not cause harm to the body, since it will be excreted in feces without being absorbed into the intestines. Mercury vapor is dangerous because it easily penetrates into the lungs when inhaled. With the bloodstream they enter the heart, kidneys, stomach, brain and are able to cause pathologies:

gastrointestinal (gastrointestinal) disorder with cutting pain, diarrhea;
stomatitis;
debilitating headaches;
rapid pulse;
neuroses;
attacks of nausea and vomiting;
swelling and bleeding gums;
dermatitis;
kidney dysfunction.

The body weakens, anemia develops, convulsions appear, and the temperature rises. A painful, prolonged cough begins with a sore throat. This condition is dangerous as it causes pulmonary edema. Severe mercury poisoning can be fatal.

Pre-cleaning

Having discovered that a mercury household thermometer has been accidentally broken, the first thing to do is remove children and pets from the apartment. Adults not involved in collecting spilled mercury also leave the room. Remember: this metal is extremely dangerous for pregnant women.

The room in which the broken thermometer was found is ventilated, but without drafts: the windows are opened with the doors closed.

To prevent mercury vapor from having a negative impact, personal protective equipment should be worn before demercurization (neutralization of mercury) begins. Clothes chosen are synthetic, with long sleeves and trousers. Boots or sneakers covered with shoe covers are put on your feet.

Step-by-step instructions (Fig. 1): 1. Cover your nose and mouth with a damp cloth; 2.Open the window and ventilate the room with the doors closed; 3. Put rubber gloves on your hands.

The bronchi and lungs are protected from mercury poisoning with a respirator or a cotton-gauze bandage moistened with a soda solution or just water. Before removing a broken thermometer, protect your hands with rubber gloves and your eyes with goggles. Prepare a flashlight or portable lamp.

Self-collection of mercury

It is important to know what to do if a mercury thermometer is broken at home, since the safety of people in the room depends on it.

Mercury leaked from a thermometer is most dangerous when its vapors are inhaled, so a container with cold water is prepared for collection.

Usually, if a thermometer breaks, the mercury scatters in the form of balls. You cannot lift them with your hands (and it is impossible to do this). The sequence of actions is as follows.

If metal balls have rolled under the plinth with a deep gap underneath, and it is not possible to remove them from there, the plinth is removed and thoroughly processed.

You cannot deal with a broken thermometer continuously. They work for 10–15 minutes, then go into another room or onto the balcony.

In a situation where a child breaks a thermometer and mercury gets on clothes, toys, and other objects, a decision is quickly made. If things are not valuable, they are wrapped in cellophane and taken to the garbage chute. If an item is necessary, carefully remove all mercury balls from it using adhesive tape or a syringe and take it out into the fresh air for ventilation.

The final stage of cleaning

Everything that will be collected after a broken thermometer, including glass fragments, is carefully poured into a container of water. Cotton swabs, tape or adhesive tape and other items used to collect mercury are also placed there.

What to do next if the thermometer at home is broken. All surfaces with possible mercury residues are sprinkled with powdered magnesium sulfate purchased at the pharmacy. When interacting with mercury, an insoluble salt is formed that does not emit toxic fumes.

After 5-6 hours, the particles of the substance are carefully collected with a damp rag, poured into the same container with water. Close hermetically and place in a cool place out of reach of children. The container is not thrown away, but, according to the rules, is handed over to the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Used large items - brushes, gloves, shoe covers - are placed in plastic bags, sealed tightly and taken out to the trash container.

To treat surfaces damaged by spilled mercury if a thermometer was broken, you can make a saturated solution of potassium permanganate at home. Vinegar essence is poured into it - a teaspoon per liter of liquid, and salt is added - a tablespoon. In such situations, potassium permanganate, diluted to a brown color in a liter of water with the addition of soda (a tablespoon) and grated soap (1.5 tablespoons), is a good disinfectant in such situations.

First, all surfaces are wiped with wet newspaper, then moistened several times with the prepared solution, preventing complete drying. This treatment lasts about eight hours.

After disinfection, traces of solutions are washed off with clean water and a thorough wet cleaning is done with the usual cleaning compounds. Repeat it daily for a week.

To prepare a disinfectant solution, substances with chlorine are used - White, chloramine. Use ferric chloride with caution, making a 20% solution. Chloride of lime is diluted in water in a ratio of 1:5.

At the household level in residential buildings, this method is rarely used. Used in educational, preschool, and medical institutions.

Attention!

The room in which the thermometer containing mercury was broken and then disinfected is used only after daily ventilation.

Actions after cleaning

Having finished cleaning, take off protective clothing and, placing it in a plastic bag, throw it into the garbage chute. Or they are treated with bleach solutions, then hung in fresh air until the odors disappear.

Rinse your mouth with a weak solution of potassium permanganate and brush your teeth. For prevention, take activated carbon (4-5 tablets). Drink plenty of fluids throughout the day.

Call 01 to inform the Ministry of Emergency Situations about the incident and ask them to pick up the container with toxic contaminants.

Step-by-step instructions (Fig. 2): 4. Place the mercury in a jar of water and close the lid. 5. Treat the areas where there was mercury with potassium permanganate with the addition of vinegar and salt. Chlorine-containing solutions are also used. 6. Call 01 and inform the Ministry of Emergency Situations about the incident.

What not to do

When working with a broken thermometer, it is prohibited:

create drafts in the room until traces of mercury are eliminated;
throw away the remains of a broken thermometer into the garbage disposal or pour the collected mercury into the toilet;
use a broom or a rough broom when collecting, since under their influence the balls will disintegrate and it will be more difficult to find them;
use a vacuum cleaner, since the mercury will receive additional heat and begin to evaporate more intensely, and the vacuum cleaner itself will become contaminated with particles that will settle on its elements and emit vapors each time it is turned on;
use a magnet, since mercury reacts poorly to attraction;
wash items damaged by mercury;
touch mercury beads with unprotected hands.

If upholstered furniture or long-pile carpet is contaminated with mercury droplets, you will need to call workers who specialize in demercurization.

Who can help

If, after completing the work, there is no confidence that the premises will be completely cleaned, employees of the sanitary and epidemiological service are invited, who will use special instruments to determine the concentration of harmful vapors in the air and carry out a comprehensive treatment.

If, when mercury contamination is detected, it is not possible to cope with the problem on your own, call the Ministry of Emergency Situations for the coordinates of specialized centers for demercurization of houses.

Analyzing whether it is dangerous to accidentally break a mercury thermometer, we can confidently say that such a situation requires immediate action to prevent poisoning from toxic fumes.