Termometre Merkiir ɓuuɓɗo, Ampul CFL, e Laɓɓingol Tuubaaji Fluoresant¶

Dropping an antique glass fever thermometer on a bathroom floor, shattering a linear fluorescent shop-light tube in a garage, or breaking a spiral Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) in a child's bedroom releases elemental mercury (\(Hg\)) into your living space. Unlike any other metal on earth, elemental mercury is a dense, silvery liquid at room temperature that evaporates continuously into an invisible, odorless, tasteless mercury vapor. While intact skin absorbs very little liquid mercury from a brief touch, the human lungs absorb roughly 80 percent of all inhaled mercury vapor directly into the bloodstream, where it crosses the blood-brain barrier and the placenta to attack the central nervous system and kidneys.

What turns a small household mercury spill into a permanent, multi-thousand-dollar home contamination disaster is how a homeowner cleans it up during the first ten minutes. Reaching for a household vacuum cleaner, a robotic vacuum, or a stiff broom is the single worst error you can make: when liquid mercury strikes the floor, it shatters into hundreds of microscopic spheres (micro-beads). A broom scatters those micro-beads into every floorboard crack, and a vacuum cleaner sucks the mercury across its hot electric motor housing, heating and vaporizing the mercury into a toxic gas cannon that spikes indoor air concentrations 100-fold while permanently contaminating the vacuum cleaner so every future room you vacuum receives a dose of mercury vapor. Taking disciplined action right now, clearing children, pregnant women, and pets out of the room, turning off your central heating or air conditioning (HVAC) system, opening an exterior window to vent the room for 15 minutes before entering, and using stiff index cards, sticky duct tape, and an eyedropper under a sideways flashlight beam, eliminates the hazard safely without spreading vapor.

Waɗde ɗum jooni¶

1. Evacuate all people and pets from the room immediately, walking carefully around the spill zone. Have everyone step out of the room without walking through the broken glass or silvery beads. If anyone stood near the impact when the thermometer or bulb shattered, inspect the bottoms of their shoes and socks immediately before they walk across the rest of the house; if shoe soles have touched the spill area, take those shoes off right at the doorway and place them on a plastic trash bag.
2. Shut off your central heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system and portable room heaters. Walk to your wall thermostat and switch your central furnace or air conditioner blower fan from "Auto" or "On" to OFF. Elemental mercury evaporates exponentially faster as room temperature rises; turning off the heat both lowers the room temperature (slowing mercury vaporization) and prevents the HVAC return ducts from sucking mercury vapor out of the spill room and circulating it into bedrooms.
3. Open a window or exterior door to the outdoors and close the interior room door for 10 to 15 minutes. Before you kneel down on the floor to pick up a single piece of glass or mercury bead, open an exterior window in the room (and turn on a bathroom or kitchen exhaust fan only if it vents directly outdoors, never into an attic or recirculating hood), then step out, close the interior door to the rest of the house, and seal the bottom door gap with a towel. Let fresh outdoor air dilute the initial puff of mercury vapor for at least 10 to 15 minutes.
4. Never pour recovered mercury down a sink drain, flush it down a toilet, or wash mercury-contaminated clothing in a washing machine. Elemental mercury is 13.5 times heavier than water. If you dump mercury beads down a sink or toilet, the dense liquid metal sinks straight to the bottom of the U-shaped plumbing P-trap underneath your sink, where it sits forever, slowly off-gassing toxic mercury vapor back up through the drain strainer into your bathroom while poisoning municipal wastewater treatment systems.
5. Gather your non-sparking manual cleanup kit before re-entering the room. While the room airs out for 15 minutes, assemble: nitrile or rubber gloves (never bare hands, and remove gold or silver rings and watches first because mercury instantly dissolves into gold and silver jewelry to form a permanent dull grey amalgam), two stiff index cards or playing cards, an eyedropper or plastic oral medicine syringe, duct tape or wide packing tape, damp paper towels, a bright flashlight, two wide-mouth glass jars with tight metal screw lids (or heavy zip-top plastic bags), and elemental sulfur powder (optional, from a garden store or pharmacy).
6. Check the size of the mercury spill to decide if professional hazmat response is required. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a homeowner can safely clean up a broken CFL or fluorescent tube (1 to 5 milligrams of mercury) or one broken household fever thermometer (500 to 700 milligrams of mercury, roughly the size of a single green pea or pencil eraser) using the manual steps below. If you spilled MORE than the amount in one fever thermometer (such as a broken antique mercury barometer, blood-pressure sphygmomanometer, tilt-switch furnace thermostat, grandfather clock pendulum, or bottle of lab mercury), do NOT attempt DIY cleanup: keep the room sealed and call your local fire department hazmat team, state environmental agency, or Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the United States).

Mercury and fluorescent bulb emergency cleanup decision tree¶

Use this step-by-step triage flowchart to choose the exact containment and cleanup protocol based on which mercury-containing item broke and how much mercury was released.

flowchart TD
    Start["Broken Mercury Item or Fluorescent Bulb Indoors"] --> Evac["1. Clear People & Pets from Room;<br/>Check Shoe Soles at Doorway"]
    Evac --> HVAC["2. Turn OFF Central HVAC System & Heaters;<br/>Open Outdoor Window & Close Interior Door"]
    HVAC --> VentWait["3. Ventilate Room to Outdoors for 10 to 15 Minutes<br/>Before Entering to Clean"]
    VentWait --> SizeCheck{"4. What item broke?"}

    SizeCheck -->|"A. Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL)<br/>or Linear Fluorescent Tube (1 to 5 mg Hg)"| BulbClean["CFL / Fluorescent Tube Protocol:<br/>Scoop glass & white phosphor powder with stiff cardboard;<br/>dab surface with sticky duct tape;<br/>wipe hard floor with damp paper towel"]
    SizeCheck -->|"B. Single Glass Fever or Cooking<br/>Thermometer (0.5 to 1.0 gram Hg)"| ThermSurface{"What surface did liquid<br/>mercury beads land on?"}
    SizeCheck -->|"C. Barometer, Blood Pressure Manometer,<br/>Thermostat Bulb, or Vial (>1 gram / >pea-size)"| MajorHazmat["LARGE MERCURY SPILL (Professional Hazmat Only):<br/>Keep room closed & vented outdoors;<br/>call Fire Dept Hazmat, State EPA, or Poison Control"]

    ThermSurface -->|"Hard non-porous floor<br/>(Tile, vinyl, sealed wood, linoleum)"| HardMercury["Koolol Ɓoggi Leydi Tiɗndi:<br/>Niɓɓin suudu & jalbugol fitirla e 10-degereeji;<br/>ɓuuɓri herd wondude e kaayitaaji indeks;<br/>suuɗde e nder gite & dab ɓulli mikroo e kaset"]
    ThermSurface -->|"Tapi porous, tapi nokku,<br/>walla mbaydi ɓuuɓndi"| CarpetMercury["Koɗki tapi porous:<br/>WOTO WAƊU; taƴon taƴre<br/>e tapi/tappirde, saakuuji ɗiɗi, ɓuuɓna ɗum no mbuuɗu bonngu nii"]

    BulbClean --> SealJar["5. Siifde Debris, Tape, Kaaruuji, e Gannde e nder Jaar Gilaas walla Saakuuji Zip-Top ɗiɗi"]
    HardMercury --> SulfurDust["Cuɓagol: Ɓoornugol leydi e ɓuuɓri sulfuur elemen oole<br/>ngam haɓɓude heddiiɓe e yiyeede e ƴeewtaade waylo-waylo colour"]
    SulfurDust --> SealJar
    CarpetMercury --> SealJar
    SealJar --> FinalVent["6. Waɗde Winndere Uddit & HVAC Off fotde waktuuji 24;<br/>Hokkude Jar to nokku ɗo mbuuɗu bonɗo (HHW) woni e nder galleeji"]

Anndude ɓuuɓri ndii : hol no foti merkiir woni e nder geɗe galleeji ?¶

Ko adii nde njiyloto-ɗaa termometre walla lampa ɓuuɓka, aɗa foti anndude geɗe ɗiɗi ko adii fof: Mbele termometre am ɓuuɓɗo oo ina waɗi merkiir hay dara? e Hol no merkiir woniri e nder kaɓirgal ɓuuɓngal ngal?

1. Ndiyam kaalis vs ndiyam boɗejam/bulo/ɓaleejam e nder termometreeji¶

Fotde nguleeki galleeji, kosam, bonbon, firiiji, e termometreeji yaajɗi yeeyeteeɗi e nder leyɗeele dentuɗe Amerik, Kanadaa, Dental Orop, Angalteer, e Ostarali gila e fuɗɗoode kitaale 2000, ko merkiir :

• So tawii ndiyam nder termometre ɓuuɓɗo oo ko BOƊƊO, BUULOL, PURPLE, walla GREEN: Termometre maa ALAA ko merkiir. Ɗaɗi termometre colour ina mbaɗee e alkol (etanol) daneejo mo alaa ko bonnata, distillaaji kerosin/petroŋ, walla nebam organik baɗaaɗam e sitrus. Aɗa waawi laɓɓinde termometre boɗeejo walla daneejo no kala ɓuuɓri gilaas ɓuuɓɗo ordinateer nii, tawa aɗa huutoroo ɓuuɓri kaayitaaji e saabunde.
• So tawii ndiyam ɗam ko daneejam kaalis, njamndi, e njamndi-boɗejam: Ko merkiir elemen (\(Hg\)) (tawaa e termometreeji ɓooyɗi ko adii 2005 e kuutorɗe ɓooyɗe) WALLA ko tin jamaanu mo alaa tooke Galinstan alloy (gallium ne indium, alloy of termometreeji gilaas "merkiir" ɗi ngalaa, ko ɗum heewi winndeede "Geratherm" walla "Ga-In-Sn / Mercury-Free" dow ƴiye termometre).
• No paamirten Merkiir goonga oo so wonaa Galinstan mo alaa ko bonnata e dow leydi: Merkiir elemen goonga oo ina jogii ɓuuɓri mawndi: o meeɗaa ɓuuɓnude gilaas walla tile, e nokku mum ina waɗa ballal kaalis cirƴam timmungal, ɓuuɓngal, ngal alaa ko ɓuuɓnata, ngal ɓuuɓnata e dow leydi tawa ina ɓuuɓna seeɗa. Galinstan ina ɓuuɓna nokkuuji no pentiir kaalis ɓuuɓɗo nii, ina ɓuuɓna e dow gilaas e kaɓirɗe leydi ɓuri ruttaade e ɓuuɓri laaɓtundi. So tawii ko sikke, sahaa kala jogo-ɗaa kala njamndi ndiyam kaalis ko merkiir elemen.

2. Njiylawu loowdi merkiir e nder geɗe galleeji keewɗe¶

Protocol A: Step-by-step cleanup for a broken CFL or fluorescent tube¶

When a Compact Fluorescent Lamp (CFL) or long fluorescent shop tube shatters, about 10 to 30 percent of its tiny 1-to-5-milligram mercury dose escapes into the air as vapor during the first few hours, while the remaining 70 to 90 percent stays stuck to the white phosphor powder clinging to the broken glass shards. Follow the official US EPA cleanup sequence:

Step 1: Before cleanup (The 15-Minute Air-Out)¶

1. Have all people and pets leave the room without stepping on the broken glass area.
2. Open a window or exterior door to the outdoors.
3. Shut off the central forced-air heating or air conditioning (HVAC) system.
4. Close the interior room door and leave the room empty for 10 to 15 minutes so the initial release of mercury vapor vents outside.

Step 2: Cleanup on hard surfaces (Tile, hardwood, vinyl, linoleum)¶

1. Put on disposable nitrile or rubber gloves (never pick up phosphor-coated glass with bare hands).
2. Scoop, do not sweep: Use two pieces of stiff cardboard, index cards, or a stiff plastic squeegee to scoop up all visible glass fragments and white phosphor powder, sliding them carefully into a glass jar with a metal screw lid (or a heavy-duty sealable plastic container).
3. Pat with sticky duct tape: Tear off strips of sticky duct tape or wide packing tape and press the sticky side gently over the entire 1.5-meter (5-foot) radius around the break to pick up invisible glass splinters and fine white phosphor dust. Place used tape strips into the glass jar.
4. Wet-wipe the hard floor: Wipe the area thoroughly with damp paper towels or disposable wet baby wipes (using one pass per fold) to capture any remaining microscopic powder, and place the used wet towels into the jar.

Step 3: Cleanup on carpets or rugs (If a CFL broke over carpet)¶

1. Scoop up all large glass pieces using stiff cardboard and pat the carpet fibers repeatedly with sticky duct tape to lift glass splinters and white powder out of the nap.
2. Do NOT vacuum the carpet during initial cleanup. Keep the room window open and the central HVAC system off for several hours.
3. Future vacuuming precaution: According to the US EPA, the next several times you vacuum that carpet after the spill has fully aired out, shut the interior room door, open the room's exterior window, vacuum the area, and immediately remove the vacuum bag outdoors (or empty the canister into a sealed trash bag outdoors) and wash your hands.

Protocol B: Step-by-step cleanup for a broken liquid mercury thermometer¶

Cleaning up liquid elemental mercury from a broken glass thermometer requires far greater precision than a CFL bulb because a single fever thermometer contains 100 to 500 times more mercury than a CFL bulb, and liquid mercury shatters on impact into tiny rolling beads that travel up to 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet) across a hard floor.

Step 1: Preparation and the "Flashlight Grazing Angle" search¶

1. After ventilating the room to the outdoors with the HVAC off for 15 minutes, remove all gold, silver, and platinum rings, bracelets, and watches from your hands and wrists (mercury amalgamates instantly and permanently with precious metals), and put on nitrile or latex gloves.
2. Fill a wide-mouth glass jar halfway with 2 to 3 centimeters (1 inch) of plain water. (Why water? Elemental mercury is 13.5 times denser than water and completely insoluble in water; dropping collected mercury beads into a jar with a layer of water on top creates a water cap that traps the mercury at the bottom of the jar and stops it from evaporating back into the air every time you open the lid during cleanup.)
3. Turn off the overhead room lights and hold a bright LED flashlight horizontally right against the floor at a 5- to 10-degree grazing angle:
4. Liquid mercury beads act like tiny spherical mirrors. Even micro-beads smaller than a grain of salt will glint and sparkle brightly across the floor when a flashlight beam skims horizontally across the floor surface.
5. Search a wide circle at least 3 to 5 meters (10 to 16 feet) in every direction from where the thermometer dropped, including under baseboards, radiator feet, and cabinet toe-kicks.

Step 2: Herd and collect liquid mercury beads (Card + Eyedropper + Tape)¶

1. Pick up broken glass shards first: Use tweezers or index cards to pick up the broken glass thermometer stem and place the glass into your sealable disposal jar.
2. Herd beads together slowly using stiff index cards:
3. Hold two stiff 3-by-5-inch paper index cards, playing cards, or stiff plastic postcards at a low 30-degree angle against the floor.
4. Use slow, gentle pushing strokes to herd smaller mercury droplets toward the center until they touch and coalesce into one larger silver puddle (move slowly so beads do not roll away at high speed).
5. Suck up the pooled mercury with a plastic eyedropper or oral syringe:
6. Squeeze the rubber bulb of a medicine eyedropper (or pull back the plunger of a needleless plastic oral syringe) while holding the tip almost flat against the floor at the edge of the mercury bead.
7. Slowly release the bulb to draw the liquid mercury into the dropper tip, hold a damp paper towel under the dropper tip as you lift it, and squeeze the mercury directly underneath the water layer inside your glass disposal jar. (Place the contaminated eyedropper itself inside the disposal bag when finished.)
8. Capture microscopic beads with sticky tape or shaving cream:
9. Shine fitirla maa dow leydi kadi. Ngam ɓuuɓnude mikroo-beads tokoosi gonɗi e laabi tile grout walla seams leɗɗe tiiɗɗe ɗe eyedropper waawa suuɗde, ɓuuɓna kaɓirgal ɓuuɓngal walla kaɓirgal masiŋ (kaɓirgal ɓuuɓngal bannge yaasi) e saraaji koppi maa gloved e dab no feewi e dow nokku oo, walla dab huutoraade broos tokooso coftaaɗo e **kaayit daneejo shaving se.

Ɗatal 3: Jokkondire kemikal cuɓaaɗe e defte e ɓuuɓri sulfuur¶

Emergency hazmat teams and environmental agencies use elemental sulfur powder (flowers of sulfur), sold inexpensively at pharmacies and garden centers as a soil acidifier/fungicide, after picking up all visible mercury beads:

• How sulfur works: Yellow sulfur powder does two helpful things on a mercury-contaminated floor:
• First, it coats microscopic mercury droplets so they stop evaporating into the air, and slowly reacts chemically with elemental mercury (\(Hg + S \rightarrow HgS\)) to form non-volatile mercuric sulfide (cinnabar).
• Second, when yellow sulfur powder touches invisible traces of mercury in a floor crack, the powder changes color from bright yellow to dark brown or black, revealing hidden pockets of mercury you missed.
• How to apply: Lightly dust yellow sulfur powder over the spill zone and rub it gently into floor cracks with a damp paper towel, then wipe up the powder with damp paper towels and seal all towels inside your disposal jar.

Step 4: What to do if liquid mercury spilled onto carpet, rugs, or upholstery¶

If a glass fever thermometer breaks directly onto a carpet, area rug, bath mat, blanket, or upholstered chair, it is physically impossible to remove liquid mercury micro-beads from porous fabric fibers, and leaving them in the carpet creates a permanent indoor vapor source:

1. Never vacuum the carpet, and never put a mercury-contaminated bath mat, rug, or piece of clothing into a household washing machine or clothes dryer. Washing mercury-contaminated fabric contaminates the washing machine drum and drain pump and flushes toxic mercury into your septic system or municipal sewer, while putting it in a hot clothes dryer vaporizes the mercury into a concentrated toxic cloud inside your laundry room.
2. If the spill occurred on a removable throw rug, bath mat, blanket, or pair of shoes, fold the item carefully inward to trap the beads, seal it inside two layers of heavy-duty 6-mil plastic trash bags taped shut with duct tape, and dispose of it as hazardous waste.
3. If the spill occurred on wall-to-wall carpeting, use a utility knife to cut out the contaminated section of carpet and the foam carpet padding underneath it, fold it inward, double-bag it in heavy plastic, and clean the hard subfloor underneath using the flashlight and index-card protocol above.

Health risks and medical triage: what symptoms to watch for¶

Understanding how mercury enters the body helps you distinguish between a low-risk contact and a true medical emergency.

• Touching liquid mercury briefly with intact skin: Elemental mercury is poorly absorbed through healthy intact skin. If you or a child briefly touched a silver mercury bead, remove all jewelry, wash hands and forearms thoroughly with warm water and soap, and do not panic.
• Accidentally swallowing liquid elemental mercury (e.g., a child bites the bulb off a glass fever thermometer):
• First, check the child's mouth and tongue carefully for tiny glass splinters and have them rinse and spit with water.
• Haawnaaki tawa merkiir ndiyam laaɓɗam (\(Hg^0\)) ina soomi no feewi (ko famɗi fof 0,01 e nder teemedere) e nder ɓalndu cellundu ; so tawii ɓuuɓri tokosiri ummoriindi e termometre feso ɓuuɓnaama, ina heewi rewde e ɓalndu nduu e nder balɗe keewɗe tawa alaa ko bonnata ɗum, tawa ina addana ɗum tooke merkiir (hono no salts mercure inorganiques walla methylmercure, tooke no feewi so ɓuuɓnaama).
• Wakkati fuu noddu hukuuma hakkilanki tooke law (1-800-222-1222 haa lesdi Amerika, 1-844-764-7669 haa lesdi Kanada, 111 haa lesdi Biritaniya, 13 11 26 haa lesdi Ostarali, malla nokkuure ma limooje caɗtuɗe) mbele tookeeji ina mbaawi ƴeewtaade so tawii ina haani ƴeewndo sukaaɓe ngam ittude gilaas aspirated walla merkiir nanngaaɗo e apendiis.
• Fufde ɓuuɓol merkiir (Hakkille goonga):
• Fooftude henndu e nder suudu ndu alaa henndu, ndu ɓuuɓndu ɗo merkiir ndiyam ɓuuɓnata (haa teeŋti noon so tawii neɗɗo ɓuuɓnii ɓuuɓol ngol walla acciri ɓuuɓri ndii les radiator baseboard) ina addana tooke merkiir ɓuuɓɗo walla ɓuuɓɗo.
• Maale foofaango ɓuuɓngo (e nder waktuuji seeɗa e ɓuuɓri toowndi) : Ɓuuɓri njamndi e nder hunuko, ɓuuɓri hoore, ɓuuɓri, ɓuuɓri, ɓuuɓri fooftere, ɓuuɓri ɓalndu, ɓuuɓri yoorndi, ɓuuɓri ƴiiƴam, e ɓuuɓri ɓuuɓri.
• Maale foofaango ɓuuɓngo / ɓuuɓngo (balɗe haa jonte foofaandu ɓuuɓndu suudu ndu laaɓaani): Dimmbagol juuɗe e gite, ɓuuɓgol, semmbe no feewi walla ɓuuɓgol miijo (erethism), ŋakkere ɗoyngol, ɓuuɓri pinndi/boɗeeri ɓuuɓndi e dow paɗe sukaaɓe e "crokpindyng ñawu"**), ɓuuɓri ƴiiƴam, e poroteyiin e nder ƴiiƴam.
• Teskuyaaji safaara: So tawii a sikkii foofaango ɓuuɓngo mawngo (hono yiytude termometre ɓuuɓɗo mo ɓuuɓnaama balɗe seeɗa ko adii), jokkondir e cafroowo maa walla nokku toppitiiɗo tooke diiwaan ngam yamirde teskuyaaji merkiir e nder ƴiiƴam waktuuji 24 (teskuyaaji kaŋŋe ngam ƴeewde ɓuuɓol merkiir elemen) walla merkiir ƴiiƴam.

Jaɓɓugol merkiir mooftaaɗo e ɓuuɓri caggal laɓɓingol¶

1. Label e mooftu jardugel ngel e nder galle: Waɗde jardugel gilaas ngel ngel waɗi ko ɓuuɓri merkiir, gilaas ɓuuɓɗo, kaayitaaji, kaayitaaji indeks, e gannde nitrile e nder saak zip-top teeŋtuɗo ɗiɗaɓo, kaset ngel udditaa, mbaɗtaa heen nate laaɓtuɗe ina winndaa heen: "DANGER: CONTAINS ELEMENTAL MERCURY / BROKEN THERMOMETER, DO NOT OPEN". Siftorde lowre ndee e yaasi e nder suudu coktirgal walla garaas mo sukaaɓe e jawdi ndartaaki haa nde njippii.
2. Woto meeɗ waɗde merkiir ndiyam e nder mbuuɗu galleeji walla e nder laylayti mbaylaandi: So kammu mbuuɗu ɓuuɓtii saak ina waɗi termometre merkiir ɓuuɓɗo walla so mbuuɗu ina wuli e nder laylaytol ɓuuɓngol municipaal, merkiir oo ina ɓuuɓtoo e weeyo, ina ɓuuɓtoo e nder maayo metilmerkuri nder liɗɗi. Noddu diiwaan ma walla municipaal maa Waste Hazardous Waste (HHW) nokkuure, departemaa yiite, walla porogaraam ƴettugol farmasiiji nokkuure ngam ustude merkiir tawa a yoɓaani.
3. Waɗde suudu nduu ina waɗi henndu ko famɗi fof waktuuji 24: Caggal nde njoofnu-ɗaa laɓɓinde junngo, waɗde feɗeendu yaajndu nduu udditaa (e fannu feɗeendu nduu ina fuɗa henndu nder suudu yaasi rewrude e feɗeendu nduu so ina woodi) tawa damal suudu nduu ina udditaa fotde waktuuji 24 ko famɗi fof waktuuji 24 to wo**men the room ko adii nde aɗa acca

Naamne keewɗe naamneede¶

Why is it so dangerous to use a vacuum cleaner on a broken mercury thermometer or CFL bulb?¶

When a vacuum cleaner sucks up elemental mercury droplets or mercury-coated phosphor powder, the high-speed airflow and hot electric vacuum motor heat and agitate the liquid metal, instantly converting it into an invisible, odorless toxic mercury vapor that blasts out of the vacuum's exhaust filter into the room air at concentrations up to 100 times higher than an undisturbed spill. Worse still, microscopic mercury droplets coat the inside of the vacuum hose, impeller, and motor housing, turning the vacuum cleaner into a permanent mobile mercury vapor generator that re-contaminates your home every time you turn it on in the future.

How can I tell if my broken thermometer contains toxic mercury or non-toxic alcohol?¶

Look closely at the color of the liquid inside the glass stem or on the floor: if the liquid is red, blue, purple, green, or black, it is a mercury-free alcohol or organic spirit thermometer that poses zero mercury vapor hazard and can be wiped up with soap and water after picking up the glass. Only thermometers containing a bright, metallic, silvery-gray liquid that forms round, rolling metallic beads contain elemental mercury (or occasionally a modern non-toxic gallium alloy called Galinstan, which smears like wet silver paint on glass rather than rolling into frictionless spheres).

What happens if my child accidentally bit a mercury thermometer and swallowed a tiny bead of mercury?¶

First, inspect your child's mouth and lips carefully for tiny glass splinters and have them rinse and spit with water, then call Poison Control (1-800-222-1222 in the United States) or your doctor immediately. Reassuringly, pure liquid elemental mercury is absorbed at less than 0.01 percent by a healthy digestive tract, so a tiny swallowed bead from a fever thermometer almost always passes harmlessly through the intestines in the stool over a few days without causing mercury poisoning; the far greater danger from a broken thermometer is breathing the invisible mercury vapor left on the floor or carpeting if the spill is not cleaned up properly.

Can I keep using my vacuum cleaner if I accidentally vacuumed up a broken mercury thermometer?¶

No, if you used a household vacuum cleaner to suck up liquid elemental mercury from a broken fever thermometer, thermostat, or barometer, environmental health agencies (including the US EPA and ATSDR) advise that the vacuum cleaner is almost impossible to decontaminate safely because liquid mercury lodges inside the warm motor windings and corrugated hoses. You should immediately unplug the vacuum, take it outdoors, seal the entire vacuum cleaner inside heavy-duty plastic trash bags, and contact your local Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) authority or state health department for disposal instructions rather than running it indoors again.

Fuɗɗoode ƴeewtaama¶

• United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA): What to Do if a Mercury Thermometer Breaks, Cleaning Up a Broken CFL (Compact Fluorescent Lamp), and Spills, Disposal and Site Cleanup of Elemental Mercury.
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR / CDC, United States): Toxicological Profile for Mercury, Medical Management Guidelines (MMG) for Acute Elemental Mercury Vapor Exposure, and Residential Mercury Spill Action Levels.
• World Health Organization (WHO): Exposure to Mercury: A Major Public Health Concern and guidance on phasing out mercury-containing fever thermometers and sphygmomanometers under the Minamata Convention.
• Health Canada (Canada): Mercury in Your Environment: Cleaning Up Small Mercury Spills and Broken Compact Fluorescent Lamps.
• UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) and National Poisons Information Service (NPIS, United Kingdom): Mercury Incident Management, Domestic Spill Decontamination, and Toxicological Overview.
• New York State Department of Health and Minnesota Pollution Control Agency: Cleaning Up a Small Household Mercury Spill (flashlight grazing-angle inspection, sulfur powder binding, and contaminated carpet disposal rules).

Ardiiɓe jokkondirɓe¶

• Chemical spills: household and hazmat containment
• Poisoning first aid and Poison Control protocols
• Shattered glass cooktop, exploding Pyrex, and broken glass in food
• Asbestos disturbance, lead dust, and high radon exposure
• Reggindo limooje emergency