Although mercury is a liquid at room temperature, it can quickly and easily evaporate into a gas. The gas will be odorless. That gas, or vapor, is toxic if it is inhaled. There are a few documented cases where children have become ill after being exposed for a long time to the vapor of a single broken mercury thermometer.Bring your mercury thermometer to a municipal household hazardous waste collection facility or hazardous waste collection day. You can find more information about local waste collections from your local health department, located in the government listings in the phone book.
It is not safe to throw a mercury thermometer in the garbage, down the sink or down the toilet.
The mercury will become toxic to human and the environment through air emissions or water contamination. Disposing of a broken thermometer requires particular care:
- Do not use a vacuum to clean up a mercury spill. The vacuum cleaner will become contaminated and the heat from the vacuum will create higher levels of mercury vapor.
- Never use a broom to clean up mercury. It will just break up the mercury into smaller beads, and will contaminate the broom.
- If a mercury thermometer is broken, keep all people and pets away from the spill area and open the windows in that room. Do not turn up the heat while you are cleaning the spill.
5 Steps To Transport It To A Waste Facility / Waste Clean-up Day
- Find a household hazardous waste collection facility or pick-up service near your home. Many communities hold annual clean-up day events.
- Place the mercury thermometer inside a small disposable non-porus container. Choose a container that the thermometer will fit into and allow a filler to be added.
- Pour kitty litter, oil-absorbent, dirt or sand into the container around the thermometer. Fill the entire container and cover it with a tight-fitting lid.
- Place a piece of tape on the container and write “mercury–do not open,” on the container with a permanent marker and place the container in a cardboard box.
- Take the container to a hazardous waste collection center in the trunk of a car or the bed of a truck. If it will be some time until the next hazardous waste day or pick up, place the container in a safe, well-ventilated area out of reach of children and pets.
Tags: disposal, mercury, thermometer
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