how to dispose of liquid mercury

How do you dispose of mercury? Mercury is highly toxic, and even short-term exposure due to a spillage or cracked thermometer can lead to harmful effects. wikiHow is a “wiki,” similar to Wikipedia, which means that many of our articles are co-written by multiple authors. Liquid mercury should be contained in a glass jar or plastic freezer type bag, then and delivered to the Environmental Service Center or nearest Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility for proper disposal. The recycling and disposal of electrical waste includes mercury tilt switches, manometers and fluorescent light bulbs. How can I dispose of mercury from a broken thermometer? This article has been viewed 196,472 times. Once you've packaged your mercury, take it to your nearest hazardous waste center. When exposed to the environment, it easily evaporates into a very toxic and odorless gas. The steps for how this service works is quite simple. If you have safety goggles, put them on. How To Responsibly Dispose Of Mercury Thermometer. Deposit the breakage into a glass jar with a lid or a sealable plastic bag. look up your country's poison control center here, http://productstewardship.net/products/mercury/resources/programs/business, consider supporting our work with a contribution to wikiHow. How do I dispose of it? Liquid Crystal Display monitors (LCD) on television or computer screens, Button batteries in toys or phones (but not lithium button batteries). Mercury is toxic so needs to be handled with care. Open a window and allow the room to air out at least 15 minutes. However, it is fairly easy to tell if your thermostat has mercury by looking for information on its label like “contains mercury” or “Hg” (which is the chemical symbol for mercury). Pack the container with kitty litter or newspapers to prevent breakage. Do not apply shaving cream directly to a mercury-contaminated brush. 6. Do not spend time in areas where mercury has been spilled until you are prepared to clean it up. This article has been viewed 196,472 times. Place the mercury thermometer inside a small disposable plastic or glass container. All employees who handle or manage mercury-added products shall be informed of proper handling and emergency procedures. Don't sweep or vacuum spilled mercury up! Because of the serious nature of this situation, it is best if you are able to access the government link at the bottom of this page to go to it and get detailed, specific instructions on the procedure for gathering the spilled material! … Step 3 Pour kitty litter, oil-absorbent, dirt or sand into the container around the thermometer. Wordfence is a security plugin installed on over 3 million WordPress sites. Many people have a mercury thermometer in their home. Avoid putting mercury-containing products in the trash or down the drain. Let everyone in the area know that the room is off-limits, or leave a sign on the door. Contact your town or county officials for information about hazardous waste disposal … If that’s not a question you’ve ever thought about, then it’s time you did. Until material i… For smaller amounts, use an eyedropper to pick up the mercury beads and squeeze them into a paper towel. Products containing liquid mercury should be replaced with safer alternatives. By using our site, you agree to our. Generated by Wordfence at Mon, 28 Dec 2020 1:15:37 GMT.Your computer's time: document.write(new Date().toUTCString());. Properly dispose of a mercury thermometer or any used mercury-containing items by following the steps below. Liquid mercury is not readily absorbed through skin, but it does vaporise at room temperature and inhalation of this airborne vapour can be harmful to human health. Mercury is a neurotoxin that can cause serious effects in tiny concentrations. Jan 20, 2020. Many household products contain mercury, from CFLs to button batteries to some thermometers. When products containing mercury are placed in the trash, the mercury doesn't disappear, it finds its way into the environment. Prior of the passage of MEBA, the United States was the world’s leading net exporter of elemental mercury. For more tips, including how to dispose of carpet or other fabrics covered in mercury, read on. Include your email address to get a message when this question is answered. There is usually no charge for disposal of this type of waste. Since mercury is very toxic and harmful to the environment, it’s important to dispose of it safely. Mercury in Your Home: Health Risks, Identification, and Proper Disposal. I believe the USPS does not list mercury as a hazardous shipping material if properly contained and secured for shipping. It is a common element in rocks but is also highly present in soil and water, meaning people are very likely to encounter some exposure to mercury. We operate the only approved mercury retort in Canada which allows us to safely capture elemental mercury from lamps and other material that can subsequently be recycled. {"smallUrl":"https:\/\/www.wikihow.com\/images\/thumb\/1\/1e\/Dispose-of-Mercury-Step-1-Version-4.jpg\/v4-460px-Dispose-of-Mercury-Step-1-Version-4.jpg","bigUrl":"\/images\/thumb\/1\/1e\/Dispose-of-Mercury-Step-1-Version-4.jpg\/aid128867-v4-728px-Dispose-of-Mercury-Step-1-Version-4.jpg","smallWidth":460,"smallHeight":345,"bigWidth":"728","bigHeight":"546","licensing":"