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How to dispose of and where to return a mercury thermometer? Where to throw away a thermometer with mercury? Disposal rules Where to put a broken thermometer.

The thermometer is irreplaceable thing for every person, but when using it you must be extremely careful. However, it is not uncommon for a thermometer to break due to negligence or an innocent child’s prank. Then logical questions arise: what needs to be done in this situation and where to put the outdated thermometer?

Why is mercury dangerous?

Mercury, or more precisely, its vapors, is dangerous to human life. The substance from a broken thermometer usually enters the body in two ways: either through the mouth or through inhalation of toxic fumes. The first option is rare, except Small child decides to taste the funny “silver balls”. In this case, your actions should be immediate. Immediately induce vomiting in your child and dial the emergency number. Otherwise, the consequences can be sad.

But the second option is a common phenomenon, and this happens most often due to banal negligence and reluctance or ignorance of how and where to properly dispose of a broken thermometer.

As a result, the person gets mercury poisoning. The danger also lies in the fact that at first it is almost impossible to determine whether the substance has entered the body or not, since poisoning for a long time may occur without visible symptoms. Later, irritability, increased fatigue, and sudden weight loss appear. As a rule, many attribute it all to a busy schedule and difficult work. However, at this time, mercury slowly reaches the central nervous system and kidneys.

A broken thermometer must be removed as quickly and thoroughly as possible, and this must be done correctly, without neglecting the rules of personal safety.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks?

What should be your actions if you break a thermometer, where should you take it after and how to properly remove traces of mercury? If such a situation occurs, do not panic, follow the following instructions and everything will be fine.

Open a window or window, but be sure to close the door to adjacent rooms so that toxic fumes do not spread throughout the house. Ventilation time is one hour or more.
Do not go too close to the “accident” site; mercury easily spreads and sticks to your soles. If you are careless, you may destroy dangerous substance throughout the room.
Before you start cleaning up mercury and throwing it away, take care of your personal safety. Wear rubber gloves on your hands and protect your feet with plastic bags. Don’t forget about your respiratory organs; to protect them, use a bandage soaked in soda solution.
Prepare glass jar With cold water where you will collect mercury. Water is absolutely necessary; this will prevent the mercury from evaporating.
Carefully, without fuss or panic, collect as much of the toxic substance as possible. Most often, poisoning occurs due to negligence, so in order to avoid unnecessary worries, take this process seriously.
The smallest mercury balls can be removed using tape, plasticine or a syringe.
If fees toxic substance If you take too long, don’t forget to go outside every 15 minutes, otherwise you will get mercury poisoning.
Screw on the lid of the jar with mercury, do not allow it to be near heating devices. It is strictly forbidden to throw away the jar!

Where and how should mercury be deposited?

So, let's say you have already successfully completed the task of removing the thermometer and collecting all the mercury. What to do next, since storing a toxic substance at home is unsafe? Where should I return the container or just throw it away and forget? In no case!

If you break the thermometer and remove the mercury according to the instructions above, your next action should be to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, where you should report the incident. After the team arrives, you need to give them a jar of the substance, as well as a thermometer and all the materials that you used during cleaning: gloves, syringes, bags, etc. The responsibilities of the Ministry of Emergency Situations include mandatory disinfection of the premises.

After disinfection is completed, pay attention to your health, even if you are sure that mercury did not affect you. For prevention, take a weak solution of potassium permanganate and rinse with it. oral cavity, throat, brush your teeth. It also wouldn't hurt to take a few pills activated carbon. Over the next couple of days, consume as much as possible. clean water, since all mercury formations are effectively eliminated through the kidneys.

If you are sure that you were able to completely clear the room of mercury on your own, then you can avoid calling the Ministry of Emergency Situations team. Where should the toxic substance be disposed of in this case?

Take a jar of mercury, as well as a thermometer and all the instruments that were used during the cleaning process, the clothes that you were wearing (if there is a suspicion of mercury on them). All this should be handed over to a special enterprise that deals with the disposal of waste containing mercury. And, again, after this, do not forget to take care of your personal health, because it is better to be safe than to suffer later. Be sure to ventilate the room well by opening a window.

Where to take a jar of mercury if you don’t have similar enterprises nearby? You can contact an organization that distributes various medications. As a rule, they must have special containers for disposal of mercury-containing and other life-threatening chemical waste. To find out if there are such organizations in your community, contact the help desk.

If this point does not suit you, then you can take the thermometer to a state pharmacy or sanitary and epidemiological station. There you will need to fill out a special application. By law, these institutions do not have the right to refuse you and are obliged to accept the things you bring.

If you break a thermometer, be careful not to take rash actions, since, without knowing it, you can significantly aggravate the situation and get serious mercury poisoning.

So, what should not be done in this case?

There should be no draft in the room where the accident occurred until the mercury has been collected.
When cleaning the substance, do not use a broom; this will only aggravate the situation and spread mercury balls over the entire surface. It is also not recommended to use a vacuum cleaner, as this helps toxic fumes spread throughout the room.
It is strictly forbidden to wash or rinse in the sink, washing machine things used when cleaning up the substance. They must be handed in along with the collected mercury.

A mercury thermometer should always be handled with care. Store it only in a safe place, using a special capsule, and do not give it to children, since most often it is small, curious children who become the cause of worries that parents have - a broken mercury thermometer. Of course, it is better to avoid such a situation, but even if you have to face a similar problem, you know how to protect your health and where to donate mercury balls.

Every person should know how to dispose of a mercury thermometer. Mercury is very dangerous for humans; touching it is fraught with serious consequences, especially for children. There are thermometers with it in almost every home.

1

It is best to always be aware of the potential danger and avoid the possibility of damaging the thermometer and spreading mercury. But sometimes disaster does happen, and a number of questions immediately arise: where to dispose of mercury, where to throw away thermometer fragments, and so on. You need to know the answers in advance.

Broken thermometer

Mercury is strong toxic substance. Getting out of the enclosed space of the thermometer into the air, at room temperature it immediately begins to evaporate. Inhalation of these vapors is extremely dangerous and entails serious consequences. If inhaled or swallowed for a long time (as can be expected from a small child), failure to take immediate action can be fatal.

When inhaled, mercury vapor enters the lungs and then into the blood, further damaging those internal organs into which this blood enters. Mercury compounds are very difficult to remove from the body, so it is necessary to take all measures to prevent these compounds from entering it.

2

Your first instinct may be to throw it away. mercury thermometer in the trash, but you need to know that you should never do this! In the trash, the thermometer will most likely crack, the mercury will leak, and it is very likely that it will have time to cause irreparable harm to a person or animal before it evaporates. You may also think about disposing of the mercury thermometer yourself: burying it or breaking it and throwing it into the sewer. All these actions will probably protect former owner from danger, but will not protect others.

Used thermometer

A thermometer that has served its useful life needs to be disposed of. In this case, a used thermometer that has aroused suspicion must first be carefully wrapped in a plastic bag and placed in a glass jar with a solution of soda or potassium permanganate (potassium permanganate). Then the jar must be tightly closed with a nylon lid. It is recommended that the thermometer isolated in this way be taken to a pharmacy, where it is accepted and placed in a special container. You can always find out where to return the thermometer and where the nearest pharmacy is located at the help center. Or the thermometer can be taken to special center demercurization, if its location in the city is known.

3

As soon as a fact broken thermometer installed, it is necessary to urgently take security measures:

Remove all people and animals from the room; it is advisable to remove children from the apartment.
In the room where the thermometer has broken, if possible, open the windows and close the doors to the room tightly.
The gap under the door must be tightly plugged with a cloth soaked in a solution of soda or potassium permanganate. The remaining doors must also be closed to prevent drafts.
Call the Ministry of Emergency Situations team and entrust the mercury disposal procedure to professionals.

Mercury after a broken thermometer

If for some reason it is impossible to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations, as well as to keep the windows open for a long time (so that the mercury completely evaporates and disappears), it is necessary to put the broken thermometer in a jar, as indicated above, collect droplets of mercury in it and tightly close it with a nylon lid. You can collect mercury on a piece of thick paper or using a syringe or bulb. It is imperative to use gloves and a gauze bandage, try to hold your breath if possible and not bring your hands and face close, as mercury vapor settles on the skin. The thermometer fragments are collected on adhesive tape or carefully with a rag. All this (including the rag) cannot be thrown away and must also be disposed of. The mercury collected in the container must be handed over to employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations or to the demercurization center.

In some exceptional cases, when it is impossible to hand over fragments of a thermometer containing mercury elements somewhere (for example, in areas remote from regional centers), it is necessary to temporarily preserve everything collected. A tightly closed glass container, which for safety can also be placed in an iron container (for example, a metal can with a lid), needs to be buried. It is necessary to choose a burial place so that you can easily find it and get to the buried one yourself, but random people or animals should not do this.

As soon as possible, the specified contents must be handed over for disposal or handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations. You should not leave such “treasures” in the ground or throw them away somewhere - you need to protect all living things and nature as a whole.

Mercury is a heavy liquid metal, the main danger to humans is its fumes. The vapors are extremely toxic. Even the small amount of mercury contained in a thermometer can cause serious poisoning. The substance can enter the body in two ways - by inhalation or directly through the mouth.

Mercury is a heavy liquid metal, the main danger to humans is its fumes.

It goes without saying that an adult will not eat mercury spilled from a thermometer. But for children, especially early age, it’s very interesting what kind of silver balls these are, and what taste they have. It should be noted that such poisoning is incredibly dangerous - measures to eliminate its consequences must be taken immediately, since otherwise even death is possible.

The insidiousness of poisoning by inhalation of toxic vapors lies in the fact that at its early stage it is completely impossible to determine whether the substance has entered the body, since it long time may occur without causing any symptoms. But later the person begins to feel much worse, there is loss of appetite, sudden weight loss, increased fatigue and irritability. These symptoms are characteristic of many other diseases and even ordinary stress. Therefore, only a specialized specialist can determine the fact of mercury poisoning.

The release of vapors of this liquid metal is quite common. The fact is that many people completely unfairly ignore the rules proper disposal thermometers.

The release of vapors of this liquid metal is quite common.

At the same time, it is necessary to remove a broken or even cracked thermometer from the house as quickly as possible, while strictly observing the rules of personal safety.

What to do if the thermometer breaks

The actions that are taken in the event of a broken mercury thermometer are mainly aimed at localizing the scene of the accident, as well as protecting people from the toxic effects of the substance. Naturally, you need to understand that the measures used are much more complex than, for example,. If such a problem occurs, it is strongly recommended to adhere to the following recommendations:

Under no circumstances should you get too close to the place where the mercury has been spilled. The splashes from it may be unnoticeable, but at the same time they stick well to the sole of the shoe, subsequently “infecting” other areas of the house;
You should thoroughly ventilate the room - to do this you need to open a window or the entire window at once. It is important that ventilation should not be combined with the creation of a draft, and therefore the doors to the room must be closed. Otherwise, toxic fumes will spread throughout the house;
The spilled hazardous substance must be collected. This should be done only after creating reliable personal protection. It means the use of dense and exclusively whole rubber gloves, as well as a respirator. Since it is not always possible to find professional means for protecting the respiratory tract at home, you can do it yourself, for example, by moistening a gauze bandage aqueous solution with the addition of soda. It is also recommended to put shoe covers on your shoes - you can use ordinary ones as them. plastic bags(they must also be whole).

After carrying out the above measures, they begin directly to collect the spilled hazardous substance. Many people are interested in what to do with mercury from a broken thermometer so that it does not continue to evaporate? The optimal solution to this issue is a standard jar of cold water. It is water that will prevent mercury from continuing its dangerous work, namely, saturating the air with toxic fumes.

Liquid metal can be collected using various tools. The largest balls are removed from the surface using a conventional syringe. The smallest ones are effectively removed using various sticky materials - for example, plasticine or tape.

The largest balls are removed from the surface using a conventional syringe.

Attention - all materials and tools used during the assembly process will automatically be considered contaminated, which means they will need to be disposed of in the same way as collected mercury.

Poisoning by vapors of a toxic substance, as a rule, occurs due to negligence. This important event must be approached as carefully as possible, without panicking or making fussy and sudden movements. Accuracy and precision of actions and absolute calm are a guarantee that unnecessary troubles can be avoided.

If too much mercury has been spilled and the process of collecting it is significantly delayed, it is recommended to leave the room every 10-15 minutes and go out into the fresh air. Even despite the use of a high-quality respirator, certain fumes will still enter the body, and therefore breaks are needed in order to avoid their critical accumulation, followed by poisoning.

The jar in which the metal is placed must be screwed as tightly and hermetically as possible. Do not keep it near heating objects, such as radiators. Disposing of a hazardous container in the nearest landfill is not only ethically unacceptable, but also illegal.

After disinfecting the premises, you need to take care of your health. This must be done even in cases where there is complete confidence that even minimal poisoning has been avoided. However, it is strongly recommended to take a weak solution of potassium permanganate and thoroughly rinse your mouth with it, and then brush your teeth.

Take a few tablets of activated carbon (if there are initial signs of poisoning, such as dizziness, weakness or nausea, you need to eat a whole pack), and wash them down big amount clean, cold water. In the next few days, you will need to drink this kind of water very often - this is due to the fact that mercury accumulations are most effectively eliminated through the urinary system. In addition, regular consumption of water will avoid the concentration of hazardous substances in the kidneys.

Where to put a broken mercury thermometer

After completing all activities related to cleaning up spilled mercury, the question arises about its further disposal. This is very important, since it is strictly not recommended to store such a dangerous substance in the house even for a short time. The need to hand over a thermometer somewhere arises not only in case of mechanical damage, but also, for example, if you want to remove a temperature meter from your home, which, in the owner’s opinion, shows incorrect data or has simply expired.

First of all, you need to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations. This is true if the thermometer has been broken. A mercury spill is an emergency. You must report to the Ministry of Emergency Situations what happened and wait for the brigade to arrive. After her arrival, service employees are given a container of liquid metal, as well as all materials and tools used during cleaning - gloves, shoe covers, syringe, tape, and so on. Rescuers, in turn, must carry out professional disinfection of the premises, and also determine whether toxic fumes have spread outside the spill area, for example, to other rooms.

You must report to the Ministry of Emergency Situations what happened and wait for the brigade to arrive.

If you are fully confident that the collection of the substance was carried out in accordance with all the rules, which means that it is safe to be in the premises, you do not need to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Enterprise for recycling mercury containing materials

A can of metal, the materials used, the clothes that you were wearing at the time of disinfection measures - all this is collected together and sent for disposal to a special facility. Today there are a sufficient number of similar enterprises in our country. They use special equipment that allows them to dispose of mercury-containing materials without any difficulty and at a high level.

However, this applies to a greater extent only to developed cities, mainly with populations of over a million people. Residents of small settlements, not to mention villages, will need to look for other options to solve this problem.

These are companies that act as intermediaries between drug manufacturers and retail outlets where they are sold. Usually, similar organizations have at their disposal special containers for the safe storage of hazardous materials chemical substances, which includes mercury.

Such organizations have at their disposal special containers for the safe storage of chemicals hazardous to human life, which include mercury.

To find out if there is such a company in your locality, you can use the Internet or ask the help desk.

Pharmacy or sanitary epidemiological station

Where to put a broken thermometer if all of the above organizations are unavailable for some reason? In this case, it is strongly recommended to seek help from the sanitary and epidemiological station or even the nearest pharmacy. Despite the fact that such institutions are not involved in the collection, storage, and especially disposal of hazardous substances, they do not have the right to refuse citizens to accept the things they have brought. However, you will first need to write a corresponding application.

What is prohibited to do

It is strictly not recommended to take rash actions, especially if the spilled mercury has not yet been collected and disposed of along with the broken thermometer. This can lead to a significant complication of the situation, including serious poisoning. Such actions mean:

creating a draft in the room where liquid metal was spilled. The free movement of air also freely carries its toxic fumes throughout the house;
use a broom for cleaning - energetic movements of these tools provoke the spread of small mercury balls throughout the room, which will complicate their high-quality collection;
use a vacuum cleaner - strong air pressure promotes the spread of toxic fumes throughout the house;
wash by hand or in a machine items that were used during the assembly process. All of them are not subject to cleaning, but exclusively to disposal, along with mercury.

To ensure that the need to throw away a mercury thermometer arises as rarely as possible, you just need to carefully handle this fragile and very useful item.

Thermometer- this is a very important device, with the help of which you can actually find out the exact body temperature in just 5 minutes. Although you can easily find a thermometer in almost every home medicine cabinet, its contents remain dangerous.

Mercury is a harmful liquid metal that can harm humans.

If the thermometer breaks, small crystals will quickly spread throughout the apartment, and toxic fumes will enter the lungs.

With the help of this article, you will find out the exact answer to the question of how to dispose of a mercury thermometer and what needs to be done first?

IN Lately The mercury thermometer was no longer used in Western Europe and in North America. The case consists entirely of glass, which tends to break. People have abandoned such thermometers, as they remain very dangerous.

In the CIS countries, men and women have not yet switched to newfangled electronic methods of measuring temperature. Thus, mercury disposal is actual problem.

The chemical properties of this substance are considered unique; it melts at a temperature of 39 degrees. At home, metal always remains liquid; all measurements taken with a thermometer will be very accurate.

If a person breaks a thermometer, then if poisoned by a large amount of mercury vapor, the process of acute intoxication may begin. An individual will also suffer from being in the same room with mercury crystals for a long period of time.

The substance gradually penetrates the body through respiratory system, and then spread throughout the body circulatory system. The kidneys, stomach, intestines and lungs will be most affected.

Disposing of mercury thermometers is very important problem, since couples can lead to the following disorders:

sleep quality disturbance;
headaches, problems with memory and attention;
tachycardia, heart pain;
dysfunction of the respiratory system.

You need to collect waste very carefully. For example, you can dial the number of the sanitary and epidemiological service. Qualified workers will explain to you the complete algorithm of correct actions.

How to throw away a thermometer

Disposing of broken thermometers is a responsible process. Movements must be correct and accurate.

It is important not to panic, and also to soberly assess your situation. Don't miss a single ball of mercury! If a child breaks a temperature measuring device, you must remove him from the room. Pregnant women and the elderly will be greatly affected.

If mercury has leaked, immediately remove everyone from the room, open the windows and cover front door. Don't forget about cats and dogs, as even animals can get sick. Pets will also quickly spread small crystals throughout all rooms.

With help fresh air really get rid of unpleasant fumes faster. Remember not to allow drafts. Wet a small piece of cloth with the baking soda solution and then place it near the door.

Start collecting balls as early as possible; you can do it yourself. Put rubber gloves on your hands and cover your face with gauze.

In certain situations, shoe covers may be needed. It will be great if you wear synthetic items. This material does not absorb hazardous fumes well.

In cases where the dangerous substance has not leaked out, the algorithm of actions is slightly different. Inspect the case, the crystals should remain inside.

If not all the balls remain in the thermometer, then the likelihood of poisoning increases several times. You must find big jar, which can be tightly screwed on with a lid.

Carefully move the old and broken thermometer to its bottom (the mercury should not spill). After this, you need to find out the address of the service whose specialists will dispose of your thermometer.

It is very important to know that you should not throw away hazardous substances along with household waste.

Note! If a person throws the broken case into a regular trash container, then such actions will entail an administrative violation.

Amount of fine- about a thousand rubles. For large companies, the monetary penalty is much larger. You must know exactly where to dispose of your mercury thermometer.

You should also not make the following mistakes that men and women make:

do not sweep up mercury balls with a regular household broom (as you will only crush small balls) and do not use a vacuum cleaner;
Do not flush the substance down the drain. Hazardous material will settle on the pipes, and it will be almost impossible to remove it in the future;
Many people are interested in the question of how to dispose of a thermometer. The process should be carried out exclusively by specialists; do not try to bury the broken cover in the ground or throw it into the water yourself;
If mercury has come into contact with your clothes, these items must be washed separately. In certain cases, you may need to throw them away or have them dry cleaned.

Features of the recycling process

Many men and women have broken thermometers, but few know how to dispose of mercury. There are two most common ways to fix the problem.

The hydrometallurgical method means that the thermometer will first be crushed and washed in a unique substance.

Using a ball mill, the mercury will be completely separated from the glass. The process itself at a temperature of 60 degrees will take approximately 3 hours.

After some time, you need to add a reagent, which consists of sodium chloride and potassium iodide. Demercurization takes place very quickly, the final result is that the reagent will no longer contain mercury salts that are dangerous to humans.

The second method is also considered very common. The glass thermometer will first be crushed. The resulting glass will be heated with lamps until the mercury turns into steam.

The substance will be redirected to a special air purification unit, after which the vapors will be purified.

It is very important to hand over broken thermometers; you must hand over the broken thermometer to a special authority. Find out her address and carefully take the jar of mercury to the specialists.

Summarize

Disposing of a broken thermometer is very important process. Do everything as quickly as possible to minimize hazardous exposure to mercury vapor.

If you do not take care of this problem, mercury will gradually destroy all organs and systems of the body. The lungs, stomach and heart will be affected.