What should I do if a mercury thermometer is broken? Will it cause poisoning?

Fever is a sign of infection with the new coronavirus

The main performance

Measuring body temperature

It has become the main monitoring method for observing changes in the disease

Mercury thermometer

Simple operation and cheap price

It has become a must-have for many families.

However, mercury thermometers are made of glass.

Shake the thermometer too vigorously before use

Or touch a hard object

Slipped and fell during measurement

And the thermometer that is not in the protective cover will slip off

Thermometers will break

Mercury spillage

So, can this mercury cause poisoning?

How do we deal with spilled mercury?

Next, let me explain it to you in one article

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Mercury is the common name for metallic mercury, the only metal that is liquid at room temperature. When a thermometer breaks, the mercury falls to the ground and forms many small silver balls of varying sizes. If not collected and processed in time, they will quickly evaporate into the air and become mercury vapor. Mercury vapor and mercury compounds are highly toxic.

Mercury often causes harm to the human body in three ways
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Can the mercury released from a broken thermometer cause acute poisoning in humans?

****A standard mercury thermometer used daily contains about 1g of mercury. If the mercury evaporates completely after breaking, the mercury concentration in the air of a room with an area of ​​15 square meters and a height of 3 meters can reach 22.2mg/m³ ; while the safety limit of mercury vapor concentration in China's ambient air quality standards is 50ng/m³ .

Therefore, the mercury spilled from a broken thermometer must be handled carefully, but there is no need to panic. If the scattered mercury can be collected in time and windows are opened for ventilation for a certain period of time, it will not cause any health effects to the human body.

From previous clinical practice, broken thermometers will not cause severe poisoning . If you have any questions, please call the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention's poisoning hotline (010-83132345) or go to a nearby hospital for treatment.

What should I do if I break a mercury thermometer?

Take the child away from the room where the mercury thermometer was broken and have the child avoid it.

Wear rubber or latex gloves.

First, carefully pick up the broken glass with a paper towel and put it in a sealed bag. For larger mercury particles, use paper

Be careful to collect the mercury particles on the floor carefully. Be especially careful that mercury particles roll quickly on smooth floors, so check the entire floor carefully to avoid "missing fish".

For smaller mercury particles, it is recommended to carefully collect them with a dropper, then wrap them in a paper towel and put them in a sealed bag.

For those smaller, hard-to-see mercury particles, you can apply shaving cream on a small brush and stick them on a little at a time, or use tape to stick them on, and then put the small brush and tape together in a sealed bag.

If you have sulfur powder at home, you can also sprinkle it on the place where mercury flows. When sulfur touches mercury, it will turn from yellow to brown (mercury sulfide). Mercury sulfide will not evaporate into the air and affect health, and it is also easy to clean up.

It is recommended to ventilate for several hours before entering. If you feel unwell, seek medical attention immediately.

Note: For all sealed bags containing mercury contamination, you can ask the local environmental protection department for disposal according to local conditions.

Don't ever do this!

Do not use a vacuum cleaner : a vacuum cleaner will blow mercury into the air, which will accelerate the volatilization of mercury.

Don't use a broom : A broom will break up the mercury, causing the mercury ball to roll around and become difficult to clean up.

Don't pour mercury down the drain : it pollutes the environment.

remind

Even if a mercury thermometer is broken

Poisoning is only a small probability event

It is more important to deal with it in a timely and correct manner than to panic.