What is dangerous to break a mercury thermometer. What to do if the thermometer breaks

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 allowable rate up to 1000 times. If the source of intoxication is not eliminated in time, then mercury vapor will not disappear on its own, they will remain indoors for many years. For this reason, mercury thermometers are banned in many countries.

What harm is done to health?

A few hours after mercury enters the room, acute poisoning can occur. According to the official website of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, it is manifested by a lack of appetite, headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. A metallic taste may be felt in the mouth, it becomes painful to swallow, salivation and bleeding of the gums appear.

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. Big medical encyclopedia indicates that it is accompanied by frequent headaches, dizziness, increased fatigue, general weakness, sleep disturbances, irritability, and respiratory diseases. Anxiety, anxiety, depression appear.

Intoxication with a low concentration of mercury, which is called micromercurialism, manifests itself after two to four years of constant contact with mercury fumes. It is characterized by increased excitability and disturbances in the emotional sphere.

In general, intoxication with mercury vapor affects not only the nervous, but also cardiovascular system, endocrine glands. The kidneys also suffer greatly, it is through these organs that mercury is excreted in large volumes from the body.

Inhalation of mercury vapor is especially dangerous for children, the elderly and pregnant women. Their body has less ability to resist toxic fumes. Symptoms of poisoning in these groups of people begin to appear faster.

How to treat poisoning?

In case of acute poisoning, you should immediately consult a doctor. You can not self-medicate, treatment should take place in a hospital.

If the poisoning has passed into the chronic stage, then you should also contact the specialists, follow their recommendations and take the medicines that they prescribe

Despite the abundance of modern electronic devices for measuring body temperature, a mercury thermometer remains the most popular device with which you can get the most accurate data. The products are affordable and easy to use. But they have two significant drawbacks - thermometers are easy to break, and they contain a toxic liquid metal - mercury. Even increased precautions do not guarantee that the thermometer will not break sooner or later. When a similar situation arises, you need to be prepared for it in order to minimize the negative consequences of what happened.

A broken thermometer is primarily dangerous because of the sharp edges of the thin glass from which its body is made. The sides of the appliance are so sharp that they can soft tissues several centimeters, cutting the vessels, veins and arteries.

The main danger lies in the contents of the thermometer. Mercury in a thermometer is a material belonging to hazard class 1, that is, fatal to humans.

The features of the metal are as follows:

Melting point - minus 39 ºС.
The temperature of the beginning of evaporation is plus 18 ºС.
The content in a standard device is 2 g.
Safe concentration in the air is 0.0003 mg/m³.
The concentration in the room when flowing out of the flask is 100 mg/m³.
Lack of adhesion, including to all types of glue.

Vapor formation occurs when metal ions come into contact with oxygen atoms. As a result of the reaction of the compound, a highly toxic substance is formed - thiol poison. When inhaled into the lungs, it has a strong neurotoxic effect on brain cells and all internal organs. At the same time, almost all the metal is retained in the kidneys, liver and heart. Further presence of mercury in the blood leads to the formation of salts that cause acute poisoning. Prolonged exposure to contaminated premises can be fatal.

The thermometer crashed: health consequences

Significant harm to health occurs if you inhale heavy metal fumes for several hours. This happens when children break the thermometer. Not realizing the seriousness of what happened, they drive the spilled material under the furniture or store it in a desk drawer after collection.

Symptoms of poisoning

The following symptoms of mercury vapor poisoning from a thermometer are a signal of an increased concentration of a toxic substance in the air:

Pain in the temples.
Dizziness.
Fainting.
The taste of metal in the mouth.
Violation of vision.
Noise in ears.
Decreased appetite.
Nausea and urge to vomit.
Temperature increase.

Health implications

If you do not take effective measures to clean the premises from a toxic substance and provide assistance to the victims, then the following consequences may occur:

Loss of teeth and bleeding from gums.
Gastric ulcer.
Cirrhosis of the liver.
Kidney failure.
Violation of the vestibular apparatus.
Protracted diarrhea.
Complete or partial paralysis.
Complications for the fetus during pregnancy.

In the future, the temperature rises to critical values, which leads to blood clotting and cardiac arrest.

What not to do if a mercury thermometer breaks

If such a nuisance nevertheless happened, one should not succumb to panic, creating a nervous atmosphere that prevents one from making the right decision.

Let us dwell on what actions cannot be performed when breaking a mercury thermometer:

Use a vacuum cleaner and a broom to collect material. From this, the balls can roll throughout the apartment, and the heated motor will increase the degree of metal evaporation.
Throw away mercury from the thermometer into a garbage chute or flush it down the drain. Outside the home, the substance will continue to poison people and animals with poisonous volatile compounds.
Wash soiled items in a washing machine. It will not be possible to remove metal in this way, and household appliances will become a source of infection.

If, due to a stressful situation, information about the procedure has been forgotten, then you should call the dispatcher of the Ministry of Emergency Situations at 112 and state the circumstances of the incident. Experts will tell you how to collect mercury and where you can not throw out a thermometer, how and in what time it is necessary to treat the room.

First aid

When anxiety symptoms must be called immediately ambulance and provide first aid to the victim. A person needs to drink a lot of pure water, take a sorbent to reduce intoxication. When the temperature rises, make compresses, cover with ice or put in a bath with cold water.

The infected room must be closed and ventilated. If possible, turn off the heating. Under such conditions, toxic fumes can disappear within 3-4 days.

What is a mercury free thermometer?

A mercury-free thermometer is a body temperature measuring device that does not contain mercury. In medicine, products are used that work according to certain principles with varying degrees of error. One of the safe analogues is a gallium thermometer. The alloy enclosed in the flask is completely safe for health. Differences can only be determined by the weight of the devices and their cost, since gallium has a small atomic mass and a higher price. In case of damage to the device, only its fragments are dangerous.

Electronic thermometers

There are measuring devices on the market, the principle of operation of which differs from devices with an expanding liquid metal. Reading information is carried out using sensors, and the results are displayed. Based on this, the question of whether there is mercury in an electronic thermometer may not worry buyers. There is no toxic metal in modern devices.

There are such types of electronic thermometers:

infrared. The measurement is made by analyzing the intensity of the IR radiation that the human body produces. The product is applied to the face, the result is given after 5-6 seconds. At a high cost, the measurement accuracy of IR devices is ± 0.2ºС.
Electronic. The principle of operation is based on changes in the properties of silicon under the influence of heat. Measurement requires a time interval of 1-3 minutes. The error of various models varies within ± 0.2-1.5 ºС. Such devices are produced both in the classic version and in the form of bracelets, key rings and baby nipples. The expiration date depends on the condition of the built-in battery or replaceable batteries.

Step by step instructions for collecting mercury

If the thermometer breaks and liquid leaks out of it, you must immediately remove people and animals from the room, open the window and close the door. If there is an air conditioner, it must be turned on in the cooling mode in order to reduce the rate of evaporation of liquid metal. Then you should prepare a jar of water, put on synthetic clothes, rubber shoes, put on a gauze bandage and rubber gloves. After that, you can begin to inspect the premises. It is better to use a flashlight, the rays of which will create glare from the balls. After determining the area of contamination, it is necessary to proceed to its elimination.

From the surface of the carpet

Carpeting well absorbs not only vapors, but also small particles of mercury. It can only be removed from the pile with a powerful vacuum cleaner. But, after that, the product will be contaminated, and the concentration of vapors in the air will increase dramatically. You need to make a decision in a balanced way, deciding what you can donate, a carpet or household appliances. You also need to consider how much mercury will erode from the thermometer from the vacuumed room. This period may take up to a week.

upholstered furniture

It is possible to clean the fabric upholstery only after removal and only in specialized companies, which are not available in every city. It is better to donate upholstery, but the furniture should be disassembled and the joints of the parts cleaned with a syringe.

From a flat floor

To collect balls from a flat surface, it is better to use sheets of paper and cotton wool. Metal is removed from cracks and holes with a syringe. The collected material is immersed in a jar, which is closed with a sealed lid. The treated surface must be thoroughly washed with the addition of bleach.

After decontamination, all clothing in which the work was carried out must be placed in a plastic bag or container and handed over for disposal.

Where to take a thermometer

In major cities, there are collection points where you can drop off used batteries, fluorescent lamps, non-working or broken thermometers. If such a service is not available, then the toxic material and contaminated clothing can be taken to the nearest SES unit, the Ministry of Emergency Situations, a hospital or a pharmacy. These organizations are licensed to handle hazardous waste.

Disposal of mercury thermometers

Disposal of a broken thermometer at home is its packaging for further transfer for recycling. It is prohibited by law to independently carry out any measures for flooding or burying a faulty product.

The whole thermometer must be placed in a standard case or plastic container. The damaged product, together with its contents, must be placed in a container filled with water.

The disposal of mercury is the responsibility of a special service. Neutralization of a substance is carried out by combining it with other metals, evaporation and remelting.

Is mercury from a broken thermometer dangerous? (2 videos)

What to do if the thermometer crashed (10 photos)

Once I broke an ordinary mercury thermometer. It happened unexpectedly, but without special effects. I collected mercury balls on a sheet, threw them into a bottle of water, and already calmed down, but an unknown force made me look on the Internet, asking a search query: “I broke the thermometer, what should I do?”.

Frankly, I wanted to get adequate advice, all of a sudden I forgot something or there are some actions that are useful in the situation, except for those that have already been done. But there was no smell of adequacy in the Yandex TOP for this request. If I were a more impressionable nature, then after reading the first pages, I would destroy the entire family wardrobe, open all the windows in 20-degree frost, move out to a hotel or even immigrate from countries. The simplest thing that came to mind after reading the first links was to sell the apartment on the same day, call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and surrender to the FSB as a person who had caused irreparable damage to the microdistrict.

In anticipation of the rescue and special services, run around the neighbors and warn that it will be dangerous to live in this house in the next 50-60 years. life imprisonment to the hero of the occasion, namely me, for careless handling of such a dangerous device. At least, the top Yandex almost shouted about this to all users on request about a broken thermometer.

But since I am not so impressionable, I smiled and decided to deal with the issue in more detail.
So, what scarecrows do the "sellers of fear" resort to when talking about the danger of a broken thermometer?

A broken thermometer infects 6,000 cubic meters of air – wow, it’s good that all sorts of villains don’t have access to the Internet. And they, thinking about the destruction of the world, are not aware that a nuclear bomb is no longer needed. It is enough to buy thermometers and break them around the perimeter of the city. That's it, the inhabitants cannot be saved. I just see another masterpiece with Bruce Willis, how he saves a pharmacy from terrorists with a large number of mercury thermometers. I think that Chuck Norris can be involved in such a dangerous job. In a word - nonsense and again nonsense.

Mercury from a broken thermometer will infect your apartment for years to come. - Is it true? That is, 1 - 2 grams of mercury, from which it will be possible to collect the largest balls, and this is at least 80% able to spoil the whole atmosphere in an average apartment? Mercury itself is inert and not so dangerous, the danger is its combination with various chemicals. But you're not going to sprinkle the remains of uncollected mercury with any harmful chemicals, are you? Therefore, calmness and only calmness.

Clothing and shoes in which you collected mercury must be destroyed , since small particles will be on it and spread around the apartment - everyone who has broken a thermometer and seen balls of mercury knows very well that it is extremely difficult to hook them and even just drive them onto a piece of paper. How can they stay on clothes and even more so on shoes? Another nonsense from the "sellers of fear."

Call emergency personnel immediately - By the way, this is very reasonable advice for especially impressionable people.

The guys will come and explain that the one who called them is a fabulous idiot, but they must come on a call. I think after talking with them, the thoughts of an urgent sale of an apartment and an escape from the country will pass for many.
Mercury can roll under the plinth or between the floorboards and the apartment will “glow” for many years - another horror story. In fact, a number of environmental organizations conducted research on this topic and in apartments in which one or even two standard thermometers were broken during the year, no anomalies in the air were detected. There is too little in the thermometer to somehow affect the air in the apartment, and the evaporation period is quite short.

Mercury will evaporate, its vapors will fill the entire apartment and will enter the human body with air - mercury is a metal, have you ever seen a flying metal, except for airplanes? Once again, we carefully read: mercury itself, as a substance, is relatively inert and harmless to humans. The danger is represented by its chemical compounds with substances that should either not be in your apartment at all or you obviously will not scatter them on the floor in your right mind.
Urgently notify the neighbors about the danger - for sure, let them finally find out who in their house claims to be the main idiot.

This is the main thing, there are more than one page of advice from the “experienced” on the little things.

Well, now, what is still worth doing if the thermometer suddenly crashed.

Do not panic, calm down and roughly understand the area where the balls and glass rolled.
Remove children so that they do not roll mercury balls and prevent you from collecting them, as well as animals for the same reason, since they have tails and hair.

Take a flashlight, a piece of paper, a plastic or glass bottle half filled with water. Make a kind of scoop out of a leaf, put a flashlight so that it shines along the floor, in this position it will be easier for you to see small mercury balls and start collecting them together with glass and putting them in a bottle. Try to collect the maximum amount, and it will be cleaner and calmer if someone still reads the Internet.

After collecting the balls, wash the floor and go about your business.

For complacency and if the weather allows, ventilate the room.

For those who are still impressed and cannot accept the fact that a broken thermometer is not dangerous, and even if you do not collect mercury from it at all, there will be no health hazard, I suggest thinking about the following topics. Imagine how many thermometers are broken in any average hospital or maternity hospital, for example? If all the horror stories are true, then they urgently need to be demolished. And secondly, if everything is so dangerous, then why are classic mercury thermometers still sold in pharmacies?

In conclusion, if you do not turn it into a weekly entertainment, then a broken thermometer is absolutely safe and will not harm your health and the health of your loved ones in any way. Believe me, in any apartment there are many other things and dangers that you should think about. Well, a broken thermometer is just an unfortunate misunderstanding and a little effort when collecting glass and mercury balls. But in any case, take care of yourself and your loved ones.

In this article, we will consider how dangerous the mercury of a broken thermometer is, and what needs to be done in such a situation. We will also give instructions in case of chemical poisoning.

A mercury thermometer is familiar to each of us from childhood - this is the first accurate device for measuring temperature after my mother's palm. But sometimes careless movements can break a glass flask, which leads to mercury leaking to the surface. How dangerous it is, and what measures must be taken in case of breaking the thermometer, we will consider in this material.

Is mercury from a thermometer dangerous?

Although today electric thermometers are replacing mercury thermometers, they still cannot fully compare with their ancestors. The mercury thermometer has low rate errors - up to 0.1 degrees. It is also worth highlighting its relatively low cost and great durability, which does not require either replacing batteries or recharging. This thermometer can be easily disinfected, but breaking it is also not difficult. Therefore, first of all, we will find out what mercury is from a thermometer.

As soon as the thermometer breaks, glass fragments and drops of mercury immediately appear. Note that mercury is to the first class of hazardous and toxic substances, and is also number 80 in the periodic table.
Mercury has some unique abilities - it is a single metal, whose fluid state ranges from -19 - +357 ° C. But don't forget that at a temperature of +18 °C, mercury begins to evaporate!
Consider also such a feature, the higher the temperature and the more sunlight, the faster evaporation occurs. If we take temperatures of 18-19°C and 24-25°C, then the rate of metal evaporation increases by 15-18 times. Now think about how many people in the room do not exceed 20 ° C. More often minimum score reaches the mark of 22-23°C.

Important: Permissible indicators of metal in a dwelling, per cubic meter should not exceed 0.0003 ml. The thermometer contains 2-5 g of the substance (by the way, 1-2 g of mercury is enough to poison 10 people). If the metal evaporates, then the average area of the room up to 20 m³ of mercury vapor will be 300 thousand times more than the permissible norm!

Mercury vapor is 80% not excreted from the body! Most of them enter through the lungs, but they can also poison the body through the skin or mucous membranes. The main "blow" falls on the kidneys and brain, but the surface of the respiratory tract can also be damaged. This is manifested by expectoration of blood.
It is also worth knowing interesting fact that mercury can evaporate equally in air and under water. Moreover, it quickly and firmly penetrates into any cracks, fabrics and other hard-to-reach places. It is extremely difficult to remove it.

Mercury melts already at -39°C

Mercury from a thermometer: effects on the body

If we talk about mercury, which is behind the glass of the flask, then it does not pose any threat to humans. This glass is tempered for 1 thousand hours. This makes it thin to show temperature accurately and protects against friction, drops and bumps.

The danger is mercury in the open state, that is, when the thermometer is broken. This can lead to poisoning and even death!

The main ways of penetration of mercury from a thermometer into the human body:

across skin. Remember yourself as children, how interesting it was to touch this mirror substance. Therefore, explain to your children the dangers of this metal;
orally or by ingestion. This also happens, but young children who love to learn about the world around them through a taste test are more often subject to this. Their ingenuity can be envied, because it is not very easy to “catch” mercury, and even put it in your mouth. Although little geniuses are capable of this, we will return to this aspect a little later;
inhalation method or vapor inhalation. This is the most dangerous way of mercury poisoning from a thermometer! The poison immediately penetrates circulatory system, settles in every vital organ, and the liver does not have time to minimize its effects on the body.

A group of people that are in the zone of maximum risk:

of course, these are children, especially small ones up to 6 years old;
pregnant women and nursing mothers, whose immunity weakens almost twice;
elderly residents with already weak immunity;
and those suffering from chronic diseases.

Possible complications when mercury leaks from a thermometer:

We have already touched a little on the aspect that the main part of the vapors and toxins that have entered the human body are not completely eliminated! Moreover, it is a very slow process. Therefore, you need to be prepared for the appearance of some complications.

The human mucosa is affected, which is expressed in chronic stomatitis. The constant formation of sores in the mouth, which not only interfere with normal drinking and eating, but also cause painful discomfort even while talking or swallowing saliva. By the way, salivation also increases.
The kidneys are the most affected! They do not do their job, so there may be severe swelling. And even various intoxications can occur.
The liver is also weakened and unable to remove toxins from the body. From this, the patient has constant heaviness and pain in the right side.
suffering from cardiovascular and nervous system. They also fail on their part, which is expressed by various ailments.

Symptoms of mercury poisoning from a thermometer: acute and chronic intoxication

There are two forms of mercury poisoning from a thermometer - acute and chronic. The first option involves a sharp intake of toxins into the body in a large dose. The chronic form also has the name "mercurialism" and is expressed by the gradual accumulation of poison. The danger lies in the fact that the symptoms are expressed either in a weak form, or may not be visible at all for years.

In case of chronic poisoning or in case of broken thermometer:

The human nervous system suffers, he becomes extremely irritable!
But along with this, a certain apathy towards everything that happens is manifested. Such indifference is due to the fact that chronic brain damage occurs.
In addition, concentration of attention is lost, a person cannot concentrate properly, memory is lost.
Poisoning is also expressed in general malaise, fatigue and excessive sleepiness. And even with all the rules of rest and sleep.
In addition, sleep is disturbed, which to some extent justifies the constant fatigue and desire to sleep. But insomnia does not allow a person to rest normally.
Will definitely be severe and frequent headaches may still be accompanied by dizziness and lightheadedness. By the way, the pains are often aching, dull and pulling.

The digestive system also fails. There is constant nausea, appetite disappears and a metallic taste appears in the mouth. Lost sense of taste.
Another symptom is tremor or trembling of the hands, and sometimes of all limbs. There may also be trembling of the eyelids. The situation is especially aggravated if a person was in emotional stress or after his surge.
Possible increase in body temperature!
The respiratory system also fails - it becomes painful to swallow. And this is not due to angina or colds. In a more complicated form, inflammation of the bronchus already occurs.
The endocrine system "asks for help" through an enlarged thyroid gland.

Important: These symptoms may appear months or even years later. If their cause is not found out in time, then a person can become disabled from the psychological side. Pregnant women can transmit the disease to the fetus, causing a number of pathological ailments in the future crumbs.

Symptoms of chronic poisoning may not appear for a long time.

Symptoms of an acute form of mercury poisoning from a thermometer

This happens when you simultaneously swallow mercury from a thermometer and inhale its vapors.

Important: In case of acute poisoning, symptoms appear either immediately or after a few hours. They all express the same. But in those at higher risk, especially young children, these signs appear a little brighter and faster.

There is also dizziness, nausea and headaches, which are accompanied by a breakdown, drowsiness and malaise.
There is a jump in temperature up to 40 ° C and a chill covers the person.
In the mouth, a pronounced taste of metal and profuse salivation.
The digestive system already more clearly describes the picture - in addition to nausea, the victim also has vomiting and diarrhea. In advanced or severe form, feces and vomit may be contaminated with blood!
There is pain in chest and in the abdomen. Perhaps the appearance of gastritis and ulcers, which can still cause internal bleeding.

Important: Sometimes the patient may lose consciousness or fall into a coma.

The work of the heart is disturbed, shortness of breath appears.
The kidneys suffer, which leads to problems with the excretory system.
The lungs swell, there is an inflammatory process in the bronchi, which is expressed by hemoptysis. In very severe situations, swelling of the lungs themselves is possible. This is already characterized by the appearance of pink foam from the mouth.
The gums also speak of poisoning, which swell and begin to bleed.

Important: Acute mercury poisoning can lead to paralysis, blindness, and pneumonia, and can cause fatal outcome. Therefore, you should immediately report the symptoms and their causes to the doctor in order to provide medical assistance in time.

When the first symptoms of mercury poisoning appear, you should immediately see a doctor!

First aid for mercury poisoning from a thermometer: necessary actions

The most important requirement is to call an ambulance. But to alleviate the condition of the patient is within the power of everyone. To do this, arm yourself with some knowledge of the first medical care victims of chemical poisoning.

The patient needs clean and fresh air! Therefore, take it outside or open the windows as much as possible so that the person does not breathe the accumulated mercury vapor.
Treat the skin with potassium permanganate. If possible, it does not hurt to rinse with at least clean water and mucous membranes in order to wash off the substance as much as possible.
If the person is conscious, then rinse your stomach. By doing this, you will slightly reduce nausea and remove toxins.
To do this, follow these steps:
- potassium permanganate or Activated carbon with the calculation of 1 g of a tablet per 1 kg of body weight, mix with 2 liters of water. Do not forget to grind the coal beforehand so that it dissolves faster;
- give the victim to drink, as far as possible, all the liquid;
- press on the root of the tongue with your fingers or other object to induce vomiting.
Necessarily Give me activated charcoal! It perfectly helps to remove poisons from the body. Of course, he will not cope with mercury, but he will slightly improve his well-being. You can also give any absorbent that is at hand.
Provide the patient with bed rest and make it as comfortable as possible.
Also, do not forget about drinking plenty of water, which is simply necessary at elevated body temperature and with the victim. respiratory system. It also increases the excretion of toxins in the urine.

Important: Milk perfectly removes toxins and poisons from the body! Therefore, it does not hurt the patient to drink at least half a liter of milk or protein liquid. To prepare it, beat 2 proteins with 1 liter of water.

If the victim was unconscious, then you need to release him from the tight clothes and lay him steadily on his side. Eliminate the sinking of the tongue and do not move away from it until the arrival of the doctors.

Medical assistance is:

in mandatory outpatient treatment! The breakdown and half-life of metabolites of a toxic metal depends on individual indicators and varies from 40 to 75 days;
the first week they introduce an antidote - Unitinol. Apply a 5% solution with the calculation of 50 ml of liquid per 10 kg of weight. On the first day, 3-4 infusions are carried out, then the dose is reduced to 2-3 times, and from the 3rd to the 7th day the patient takes the medicine 1-2 times. Introduced into the body using nebulizers or inhalers .;
be sure to wash the stomach with an umbrella, and the intestines with an enema. Absorbents are used as auxiliary components;
the patient is also prescribed calcium-disodium salt of EDTA for outpatient treatment. The first 4 days are taken according to the scheme 3 times 50 ml. Further, the dosage is reduced;
if mercury was swallowed, then Strizhevsky's antidote is prescribed. A strong enough alkaline solution that can neutralize 4 g of mercury in 100 g;
be sure to be prescribed vitamins and tonic drugs that will increase the work immune system. Selenium, which is consumed with vitamin E to remove mercury;
if the victim has any allergic reaction, be sure to indicate this at the time of admission to the hospital. You may also need antihistamines.

"Living Silver" is of great interest to children, which often causes complex poisoning

What to do if a child swallowed mercury from a thermometer?

First of all, you need to calm yourself and calm the baby. Next, find out how much and what exactly the child swallowed. In children, such a substance is of insane interest, so they could even play with balls, chasing them among themselves. And this greatly increases the dose of inhaled vapors! Ask your child for this information.

Important: Swallowing mercury is less dangerous to the body than inhaling it! Mercury is not absorbed by the intestinal walls, but is excreted along with feces.

Glasses that are caught along with a toxic substance are of great danger. Therefore, be sure to take the baby to the hospital for further examination.
He will also need to take tests to find out the concentration of inhaled poisons. That is, donate blood and urine to diagnose mercury vapor poisoning.
First of all, take the baby out of the place of the "accident" so that he does not inhale the fumes.
You are also required to flush your stomach before the ambulance arrives. This should be done either with activated charcoal or with potassium permanganate.

Important: If a child has swallowed glass, then it is forbidden to induce vomiting. This can only harm you.

Give charcoal or other absorbent to drink, and make sure you drink plenty of water! This will speed up the release of toxins from the body.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks?

The main thing that is required of you is to drive panic and hysteria aside! You need to quickly collect your thoughts and soberly assess the situation.

Try to get children and other residents out of the room as quickly as possible! The same recommendation applies to animals. Do not forget, they are no less susceptible to the negative effects of mercury than we are.
In addition, extra legs or paws can only spread mercury from a thermometer and glass around the house faster. And don't rule out the possibility of cuts.
Be sure to check the condition of clothing or animal hair so that there are no drops of mercury on them.
It does not hurt everyone to wash their face, hands or paws with soap, and also change clothes or shoes if necessary.
Be sure to brush your teeth, rinse the mucous membranes and gargle with a weak solution of potassium permanganate! Take activated charcoal for prevention. And try to increase the amount of water you take!
Open the windows! Even if it's cold or rainy outside. By the way, cool air, on the contrary, is more beneficial for this situation, since it lowers the temperature and reduces the degree of evaporation of the substance.
Then there are two options for events - call the Ministry of Emergency Situations or manage on your own. In the case when you decide to trust the professionals, go out to the rest of the family, having disinfected the skin and mucous membranes. If you are ready to deal with the problem, then consider further recommendations.
Also, remember to close the door so that the vapors do not scatter to other rooms, or penetrate them to a lesser extent. Fresh air should only circulate in the incident room. Remember there should be no draft! Otherwise, small particles of mercury from the thermometer will scatter around the corners of the room.
Keep in mind that underfloor heating greatly increases the rate of evaporation of the substance. The same applies to rooms that have been closed for a long time. That is, no fresh air.

Important: Be sure to work in shoe covers to reduce the penetration of particles on the shoes. Alternatively, you can just use plastic bags. To protect Airways and eyes, work only in a mask or respirator. Wear rubber gloves on your hands!

Please note that things and shoes that have been in contact with the poison will need to be thrown away. The same goes for carpets or upholstered furniture. It is almost impossible to remove chemical residues from fabric fibers.
If you have a wooden floor, parquet or laminate, then you will need to disassemble it. After all, mercury very well and quickly penetrates into any cracks. Also pay attention to the baseboards and corners of the room.

Important: Mercury and glasses from a thermometer should be placed in a three-liter glass jar! In it you need to dial 2/3 of the total volume weak solution potassium permanganate. This will help avoid further evaporation of the mercury. Also close the contents with a lid!

First of all, collect all the pieces. Next, you need to remove the mercury itself. There are several methods:
- collect it with a regular syringe. A little long, but effective. A syringe will provide faster work. It makes it a little easier to collect balls. By the way, they need to be released to the bank. After all the tools are disposed of;
- mercury sticks well to a towel, newspaper or cotton wool. They must first be soaked in oil or even water;
- alternatively, use stationery tape. He also does a good job of this. You can replace it with electrical tape, plaster or other adhesive tape;
- on a flat floor or carpet, mercury balls are swept away with a brush. You need to drive the balls onto paper, after which you also place them in a jar.

Next, you need to process the floors and all the furniture. For this, a solution of potassium permanganate is used. After the surface is processed strong soda solution(2 tablespoons of the substance per 1 liter of water) or soapy soda liquid(with the same proportions). Please note that only laundry soap can be used! Alternatively, chlorine substances are also suitable.
Carpet requires special attention:
- it must not only be cleaned of balls, but rolled into a tube. And you need to do this from the cut to the base so that the balls do not “scatter” around the room. Take it out into an empty and uninhabited area and shake it well over the film;
- after collecting mercury in a prepared jar with a solution of potassium permanganate, and hold the coating in the fresh air for at least 3 hours;
- at the end, douse it with a warm solution of potassium permanganate or a soap-soda mixture. The consumption of soda and soap should be 3 tbsp. l. for 1 liter of water.
Work must be carried out promptly to reduce the risk of inhaling mercury vapor. After such cleaning, all things that interacted with mercury are put into a plastic bag, corked and disposed of (read about disposal below).
The person who carried out the work should take a shower, brush his teeth, rinse the mucous membranes with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. Drink any absorbent, hot tea or water.
It is also worth focusing on fresh vegetables and fruits to support the immune system.

What is forbidden to do if a mercury thermometer breaks?

There are a number of mistakes that systematically allow a larger percentage of residents when collecting mercury from a thermometer. And it's not just ignorance necessary information, but also in the absence of proper ideas about the danger.

You can not sweep mercury from a thermometer with a broom! Rigid fibers only grind the balls of the substance, provoking only even faster evaporation. In addition, small grains scatter more strongly in all corners of the room. A similar situation is observed and, if desired, wash the floor with a rag.
Forget the vacuum cleaner! This "helper" will become a source of mercury accumulation, so it will continue to infect the inhabitants of the house. Or it will need to be thrown away. But that's not all. Inside, under the heat of a running engine, mercury vapor will evaporate more actively. And go out into the room with a stream of air from the vacuum cleaner, which will only increase the filling of the room with toxins.
Clothing and things that have been in contact with mercury must not be disposed of in a garbage chute or container. This will only lead to a large scale infecting other people, including you. By the way, in a closed space, the concentration of mercury only increases.
The same goes for waste disposal. down the drain. This will spread the mercury particles throughout the house. Otherwise, you will need to change the entire stock.
It is forbidden to burn mercury or things in contact with it. This will only increase the negative impact on the environment. High temperatures hundreds of times stronger will lead to evaporation, and open space will blow everything up on a large scale.
Don't turn on the air conditioner when working with mercury, it can settle on the filters.
Do not wash clothes in the washing machine! Again, it will become a source of infection. Plus, the sewage system of the house will suffer again.
It is necessary to dispose of mercury only in specially designated places in the "Points for the collection of mercury-containing waste" so that it cannot harm the people around you! Or give the material to the police or the Ministry of Emergency Situations.
Where to go if the thermometer is broken?
1. Phone number "01"
2. City emergency service
3. City Sanitary and Epidemiological Station

And in order to prevent incidental situations, follow some simple rules security:

The thermometer should not be in the hands of children. This is not a toy, so keep it out of the reach of kids;
be sure to place it in a special plastic case to additionally secure in case of a fall;
gently shake the thermometer so that it does not slip out of your hands;
take the temperature of children only under adult supervision. And do not assume that your child is independent enough. Vigilance has never been superfluous;
and a little recommendation regarding high temperature- choose the right storage location. On the top cabinet in the kitchen, where it is always relatively hot, it is forbidden to keep a mercury thermometer.