How to clean a room after a broken thermometer. A mercury thermometer broke in an apartment: what to do and how to collect the mercury

Every family must have a thermometer in their first aid kit to measure body temperature. Modern electronic or infrared thermometers are safe, but most people use Soviet mercury thermometers the old fashioned way, considering them more accurate.

But if a thermometer in your apartment breaks during an awkward movement, what should you do? Should I cope on my own or run to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, an ambulance and the sanitary and epidemiological station?

Since childhood, everyone knows that mercury is dangerous to human health, but glass things tend to break. That is why mercury temperature meters have always been treated with care and precision, perhaps because of this they are found in every second family in the post-Soviet space.

The safety rules for using mercury thermometers are as follows.

1. Keep the thermometer as far as possible from children. It is inventive children who most often become the culprits of a broken meter. Keep an eye on your child when taking his temperature.
2. The thermometer must have a hard, durable case.
3. When shaking the thermometer, be extremely careful - do not handle it with wet hands and stay away from furniture and other objects that you may touch.

What consequences are possible if the thermometer is damaged?

Before we figure out what to do if a mercury thermometer breaks in an apartment, let's find out why its contents are dangerous?

Mercury is a chemical element, the only metal in existence that remains liquid under normal conditions. This viscous silvery substance easily collects into balls. Its vapors are very poisonous and toxic.

The metal itself poses almost no threat, but has the ability to evaporate, starting from +18 degrees, and poison everything around. Be sure to instruct your household that you cannot hide the fact that the thermometer is damaged, and study the algorithm for eliminating the toxic substance.

The thermometer contains up to two grams of mercury. It might seem like a small amount, but they can cause significant harm to health. The problem is aggravated by the fact that the nimble little balls can scatter across the carpet, get behind the baseboard or into a crack in the floor. Mercury has the ability to accumulate in the body, and symptoms of poisoning will not appear soon, when you no longer remember about the broken device, which will complicate the diagnosis.

Mercury vapor can cause the following conditions.

1. Diseases of the respiratory system, pneumonia, tuberculosis.
2. Damage to the thyroid gland.
3. Diseases of the heart and blood vessels.
4. Irreversible changes in internal organs: liver, kidneys.
5. Central nervous system disorders up to paralysis.

Poisoning is extremely dangerous for children, the elderly, and pregnant women.

What to do if the thermometer at home breaks? Calm down and don't worry. Act quickly, clearly and competently. Trembling hands and a state of shock will not help you.

Step 1. Clearing the premises from strangers

First of all, get all the people out of the room. This is especially true for children, pregnant women and the elderly. Pets should also be protected from danger.

Step 2. Airing the room

Remember that mercury evaporates at temperatures above 18 degrees. If possible, cool the air by opening a window. Avoid drafts - mercury balls can “scatter” around the apartment. Turn on the air conditioner, turn off the heating devices.

Step 3. Mercury collection

Change into clothes that you can throw away later. The ideal option would be an ordinary cellophane raincoat. Put on rubber gloves, shoe covers, and a damp gauze bandage on your face.

Prepare a glass container with an airtight lid, cold water, manganese or bleach solution, a medical syringe or a syringe without a needle.

Place the thermometer fragments in a jar of water or manganese solution. Send all collected mercury balls there too.

Silvery metal gleams in bright light, so get bright lighting to make it easier to collect the mercury. Carefully inspect all the cracks and cracks, highlight them with a flashlight.

Suck up the found balls with a syringe or syringe bulb and drop them into a jar with a thermometer. If you don’t have a syringe and a bulb at hand, you can collect mercury on a sheet of paper with a cotton swab dipped in potassium permanganate, tape or adhesive tape.

Step 4. Demercurization

The alchemical name for mercury is mercury, after the planet closest to the Sun. Demercurization is the neutralization of a toxic substance.

After you have carefully and carefully found and collected the liquid metal from the broken thermometer, placed the waste in a bottle of water and sealed it with a lid, it must be refrigerated for subsequent disposal.

The site of a mercury spill should be neutralized using chemical neutralizers. Dilute potassium permanganate to a dark purple state, add a tablespoon of vinegar and salt per liter of liquid and begin treating all surfaces in the room.

Instead of manganese, you can use a bleach solution; the easiest way is to take ordinary “Whiteness”. A mixture of water, soda and laundry soap is also a good demercurizer.

Solutions must be caustic and concentrated. They should be poured generously onto the floor and left for at least a day. Cleaning with their help should be carried out daily for several weeks after collecting mercury.

Step 5. Disposing of a thermometer

The jar with mercury waste must be taken to the SES or the Ministry of Emergency Situations, where it will be disposed of by specialists. Also collect and take along with the jar the clothes you worked in and all the helper items: a syringe, a syringe, gloves, a gauze bandage.

If it is impossible to contact the authorities for the disposal of mercury, you will have to do it yourself. Take toxic waste to a landfill or off-site and bury it deep in the ground.

Be sure to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, they will instruct you on how to act correctly. Usually they are reluctant to respond to such calls, but they will recommend which authority to contact. You can also always contact the SES to have them check the level of mercury vapor concentration.

You cannot do without qualified help if:

• suspicions remained that not all mercury balls were collected;
• mercury got on heating appliances. At a temperature of about 40 degrees, this metal boils, which means evaporation occurs almost instantly;
• you are at risk: pregnant, under 18 or over 65 years old, suffering from diseases of the urinary or nervous system.

If you break a thermometer in your room, what should you do to avoid poisoning?

Symptoms

It is very difficult to make a correct diagnosis; the symptoms are similar to many diseases. Depending on the amount of mercury vapor entering the body, illness can begin either a few hours after the incident or after weeks or even months.

Symptoms of poisoning:

• general weakness;
• nausea and vomiting;
• headache;
• drowsiness;
• tremor;
• metallic taste in the mouth;
• diarrhea;
• stomach pain.

With prolonged intoxication the situation worsens. Body temperature rises, cough, chest pain, frequent urination and bleeding gums appear.

If there are acute signs of poisoning, especially if you suspect mercury, you should call an ambulance and hospitalize the victim.

Before the arrival of doctors, you can alleviate the patient’s condition with the help of sorbents: white or activated carbon, Enterosgel. Raw egg whites and natural milk remove toxins from the body well.

In the hospital, the patient’s stomach will be pumped out, an antidote will be administered, and the blood will be purified with IVs. If treatment is timely, the recovery period will take 2-3 weeks.

Prevention of poisoning

To avoid mercury poisoning, it is necessary to carefully remove all mercury from the room if the thermometer does break.

Buy a modern thermometer, then the risk of poisoning will be reduced to a minimum.

The following actions cannot be taken.

1. Touch mercury beads with unprotected bare hands. Why take risks and expose yourself to danger?
2. Treat the mercury spill site with household chemicals. For these purposes, there is manganese, chlorine solution or soap and soda.
3. If you wash the clothes you worked in in a washing machine, the smallest particles of poison will settle in the mechanism.
4. Use a vacuum cleaner or broom. Do you think that by sucking up mercury particles with a vacuum cleaner, you have made your work easier? No, you only made the situation worse. The mercury, having broken into tiny droplets, has spread over a large area of ​​the room, and it is now impossible to remove it mechanically. And the vacuum cleaner will now have to be thrown away, since its internal parts have retained some of the mercury. The broom also breaks the balls into smaller ones.
5. Flush down the drain. You worsen the condition of the water and the atmosphere in the toilet room, because mercury will settle on the internal surfaces of the sewer pipes. Your housemates will also be exposed to toxic fumes.
6. Dispose of in a trash can or garbage disposal. Why poison the air in the entrance and on the street? Someone might get hurt.

When you're done with the hassle of collecting poisonous metal, don't forget about yourself. Wash thoroughly with laundry soap, brush your teeth and rinse your mouth with a pink solution of manganese. Drink as much liquid as possible, preferably milk, as if you are poisoned. Take sorbents.

Conclusion

If a mercury disaster did happen, but you carried out demercurization correctly and competently, got rid of all things and objects that were in contact with the toxic metal, you can breathe a sigh of relief.

And for complete peace of mind, purchase a mercury vapor analyzer - test strips that change color. This is much cheaper and more accessible than calling specialists for an inspection.

Mother of two children. I have been running a house for more than 7 years - this is my main job. I like to experiment, I constantly try different means, methods, techniques that can make our life easier, more modern, more fulfilling. I love my family.

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

Until recently, almost every home and every family had a mercury thermometer in their first aid kit, as a first aid for any manifestation of any disease. Few people think about how dangerous this item is and the dangers of careless handling of a temperature meter. So, the thermometer in the apartment has broken - what to do?

The thermometer broke - is it dangerous?

The danger lies in the contents - mercury. Or rather, in its pairs. As long as the thermometer is in good condition and the mercury is where it should be, then there is no danger. However, what to do if the mercury thermometer at home is broken? If suddenly for some reason the glass breaks and the contents leak out of the mini-cone, then it’s time to sound the alarm.

In its liquid state, mercury will not cause harm, unless, of course, you eat or drink it. Mercury vapor is dangerous.

If you break a thermometer at home, what to do immediately to avoid poisoning, read below:

• open the windows or at least the vents wide, tightly closing the entrance door to the room where the thermometer was broken - such measures will help avoid the leakage of vapors into other rooms;
• report the incident to special services or Mercury Collection and Elimination Employees by phone;
• do not allow anyone into the room where there was a leak of mercury contents, since mercury easily sticks to the sole of shoes, and there is a risk of transferring it to other rooms.

Collecting mercury yourself

It so happened that the mercury thermometer was broken. What to do, where to start? Mercury is a dangerous substance. Before you start collecting it, equip yourself to protect the skin of your hands and face, as well as your eyes. Use rubber gloves and regular plastic bags on your feet. To prevent mercury from entering the body through the mouth or nose, make a gauze bandage and moisten it well with a soda solution or, if it is not available, with clean water.

You can collect mercury using simple devices: a wet sheet of paper or newspaper, to which small balls of liquid mercury stick very well. A plaster, plasticine or tape, and wet cotton wool will also help.

If you have a syringe at hand, then by removing the needle you can use it to collect small droplets. All collected mercury must be poured into a glass vessel filled with cold water and closed with a lid.

Check all the cracks and cracks by drawing out the contents with a syringe or bulb. Removable skirting boards can be removed to collect any “escaped” residues. The collection time of spread mercury should not exceed 15 minutes. Otherwise, be sure to take a short break and go outside to get some clean air.

Keep the trap jar tightly closed, always away from radiators and other heating devices. Hand it over to special services or Mercury Collection and Elimination Employees.

To avoid negative consequences, treat the area where the mercury leak occurred with a solution of potassium permanganate or bleach.

If everything is done carefully, all cracks and cracks are carefully checked, the mercury is transferred to specialists, then the consequences of a broken thermometer can be considered harmless and you do not have to worry about your health and the health of others.

Of course, as practice shows, EMERCOM employees do not always arrive at the scene of an incident such as a broken thermometer. However, it would still be better to achieve your goal and entrust the collection of mercury to specialists. In this case, there is no need to worry about what to do with broken mercury thermometers - hand them over to specialists.

Prohibited actions

Mercury in its normal state is liquid. But what to do if you break a mercury thermometer at home - at high temperatures, that is, in a warm room, it easily evaporates, forming toxic fumes. Therefore, you should avoid performing actions that may provoke the spread of mercury vapor into other rooms if the thermometer in the apartment is broken. What to do and what complications should be feared is stated above.

Ventilate the room, but do not create drafts - this will only help mercury vapor get safely into other rooms along with the air. In strong drafts, air currents can also carry small balls of liquid mercury.

What to do if you break a mercury thermometer at home, where should you put it? Leftover thermometers must not be disposed of in the garbage disposal. The fact is that even a small amount of mercury vapor can pollute up to 6 thousand cubic meters of air in a closed room (and the garbage chute is located in a closed entrance).

It is impossible to remove mercury using a broom or vacuum cleaner, since the elastic rods of the broom will not collect, but rather will scatter balls of mercury around the room, while the vacuum cleaner, drawing in mercury, will become a new source of infection and, the best thing that can be done is to throw it away his.

If mercury is spilled on a fleecy surface, for example, on a carpet or rug, then you will not be able to collect it completely yourself. Call specialists who know what to do with mercury-containing waste. Knowing how long it takes for mercury to evaporate from a broken thermometer, you will understand how important this is.

You cannot put the clothes you just wore while collecting mercury, the rags you used to work with, into the washing machine or try to wash them in the sink. Say goodbye to them by packing them in a tightly sealed plastic bag and handing them over to the hands of specialists along with a jar of mercury.

Follow these rules to stay healthy.

Actions after collecting mercury and cleaning the room

Prepare a dark brown solution of potassium permanganate and a solution of soda and soap.
Treat all surfaces where mercury may have been present. Rinse the entire room if necessary. It is good if the solution remains on the surfaces for more than 6 hours. Rinse the shoes you wore in it.
Please note that permanent stains from potassium permanganate will remain on the surface.

After this treatment, proceed to washing with a soap-soda solution, in the proportions: 40 g of soap and approximately 50 g of soda per liter of water.

This surface cleaning operation must be done over the next few days. The potassium permanganate solution can be kept for an hour. Daily wet cleaning of the room and constant ventilation of the room where the thermometer was broken are encouraged. The consequences of cleaning - stains, dampness - are not so terrible.

After work, it is better to dispose of gloves along with clothing. The oral cavity, including the throat, should be rinsed with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate and the teeth should be brushed with special care.

Keep activated charcoal handy in your first aid kit; you need to take about three tablets.

Mercury formations that may appear in your body are excreted along with urine, so activate your kidneys with diuretics, tea, juices and other drinks.

How does mercury vapor poisoning manifest?

• Symptoms of mercury poisoning:
• increased fatigue;
• constant drowsiness;
• weakness, lethargy, apathy;
• headaches and dizziness;
• emotional imbalance, expressed in depression, irritability;
• weakening of memory;
• inhibition of reactions;
• decreased performance.

If you began to ask the question “Why do you dream about a broken thermometer?”, then perhaps this is the first sign of poisoning and dementia as a consequence of this process. It’s a joke, of course, but it doesn’t hurt to monitor your body’s reactions.

What is the danger of a broken mercury thermometer? The first is mercury vapor, which causes poisoning. The second is the duration of exposure, the persistence of danger in the apartment where the measuring device was broken.

In cases of mercury vapor poisoning over a long period, trembling of the limbs and nervous tics of the eyelids can be noted. Sensitivity to external influences of the skin decreases, taste and smell change.

Increased sweating and increased and frequent urination are possible. Medical tests reveal an increase in the thyroid gland, changes in heart rhythms, and a decrease in blood pressure. Despite the fact that these symptoms also appear in other diseases, you should still check the body for the content of mercury formations. This will help to avoid problems and begin timely treatment.

If poisoning becomes chronic, there is a risk of diseases such as tuberculosis, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. The liver and biliary organs are also affected.

For women, poisoning is fraught with changes in the menstrual cycle and mastopathy. Changes can result in premature births and the birth of children with a low level of vitality.

Pay attention!

What is most unpleasant is that the consequences of exposure to mercury vapor do not appear immediately, but years after interaction with mercury.

Questions and answers

Dr. Komarovsky answers the questions on this topic in detail on his website.
A mercury thermometer broke: what to do and what not to do – your questions and answers from experts:

1. Where to put a broken mercury thermometer?
   Forget about the garbage chute - you can't go there! The best option is to hand it along with the mercury to specialists for disposal according to safety rules.
2. How to remove mercury from a thermometer from the floor?
   Collect as above, without using a vacuum cleaner or broom.
3. The thermometer in the apartment broke, how long does it take for mercury to disappear?
   This depends on the degree of ventilation, room temperature and other factors.
4. If you break your thermometer at home, what should you do?
   Restrict access to the room and call Mercury Collection and Elimination staff. Next follow the instructions above.
5. A child broke a thermometer in the room - what to do?
   Isolate the child from the room, after making sure that he has not had contact with mercury. Call an ambulance to avoid poisoning.

In any case, there is no need to be scared or panic, follow the rules. And buy an electronic measuring device, you will be calm.

*Special services - the Ministry of Emergency Situations of your locality (tel.: 01 or 001).