Tshipiminu tshia luya tshia mercury tshitshibuka, ampule wa CFL, ne disukula dia tshiamu tshia fluorescence¶

Kuela tshiamu tshia kale tshia kupima natshi luya lua dikala panshi mu nzubu wa kuowa mâyi, kutshibula tshiamu tshia nzembu tshia mu nzubu wa mashinyi, anyi kutshibula muendu wa nzembu (CFL) mu nzubu wa bulalu wa muana kudi kupatula mercury (\(Hg\)) mu nzubu webe wa kusombela. Bishilangane na tshiamu tshikuabu tshionso tshia pa buloba, mercury udi tshintu tshikole, tshia arjan mu luya lua nzubu tshidi tshienda tshinyanguka tshilua tshintu tshidi katshiyi tshimueneka, katshiyi ne mupuya, katshiyi ne mupuya mercury vapor. Nansha mudi dikoba didi kadiyi dinyanguke dipeta mercury mikese menemene padibu bayilenga mu tshitupa tshîpi, mifuba ya muntu idi ipeta pabuipi ne 80 pa lukama ya luya lua mercury luonso ludibu bapuekesha buludiludi mu mashi, muaba udilu lusabuka tshibumba tshia mashi ne buongo ne placenta bua kuluisha tshitupa tshia munkatshi tshia mijilu ne mifuba.

Tshidi tshivuija dibutuka dikese dia mercury mu nzubu mu tshipupu tshia kashidi tshia dinyanguka dia nzubu dia dolare binunu bia bungi mmushindu udi muena nzubu utshisukula mu minite dikumi ya kumpala. Kukeba tshiamu tshia kusukula natshi bintu tshia mu nzubu, tshiamu tshia kusukula natshi bintu tshia robot, anyi tshiamu tshia kusukula natshi bintu tshikole ke tshilema tshibi tshiudi mua kuenza: padi mercury wa mâyi ukuma panshi, udi utshibuka mu nkama ya bipese bikese (micro-beads). Tshisuku tshidi tshitangalaja mabue makese aa mu tshitupa tshionso tshia panshi, ne tshiamu tshia kuowa natshi mâyi tshidi tshinuisha mercury mu nzubu wende wa motere wa nzembu udi ne kapia kakole, tshiosha ne tshivuija mercury mu tshingoma tshia gaz mubi tshidi tshibandisha bungi bua kapepe ka mu nzubu misangu 100 eku tshinyangakaja tshiamu tshia kusukula natshi mâyi bua nzubu yonso uudi mua kupeta mercury wa mercury mu matuku atshilualua. Kuenza malu ne budimu mpindieu, kupatula bana, bakaji badi ne difu, ne nyama ya mu nzubu mu nzubu, kujima tshiamu tshiebe tshia kuenza natshi mudimu (HVAC), kunzulula dididishi dia pambelu bua kupatula kapepe mu nzubu munkatshi mua minite 15 kumpala kua kubuela, ne kuenza mudimu ne karte ka index kakole, tshilamba tshia kulamakaja natshi bintu, ne tshiamu tshia kuela natshi mêsu muinshi mua butoke bua ku luseke, bidi biumusha kakuyi njiwu ya luya lukole.

Enza nunku mpindieu¶

1. Umbusha bantu bonso ne nyama ya mu nzubu diakamue, wendakana ne budimu muaba udi mâyi manyanguke. Enza bua muntu yonso apatuke mu nzubu kayi wenda mu makala matshibuka anyi mu mabue a arjan. Bikala muntu muimane pabuipi ne tshipupu pavua tshipiminu tshia luya anyi ampule tshitshibuka, tangila kuinshi kua bisabata ne masoso diakamue kumpala kua kupitshila mu nzubu mujima; shi bipese bia bisabata bifike muaba udi bintu bipueka, umbusha bisabata abi anu ku tshiibi ne ubiteke pa tshibombi tshia plastike tshia bukoya.
2. Kima tshiamu tshieba tshia kuenza natshi kapia, kapepe, ne kapepe (HVAC) ne biamu bia kapia bia mu nzubu. Enda ku tshiamu tshieba tshia ku tshimanu ne ushintulule tshiamu tshiebe tshia kapia anyi tshiamu tshia kapepe tshia kapepe ku "Auto" anyi "On" too ne ku OFF. Tshintu tshia mercury tshidi tshijimina lukasa padi luya lua mu nzubu luenda luvula; kujima kapia kudi kupuekesha luya lua mu nzubu (kutekesha luya lua mercury) ne kudi kupangisha milonda ya HVAC bua kukoka luya lua mercury mu nzubu wa dibutuka ne kuyibueja mu nzubu ya bulalu.
3. Kangula dididishi anyi tshiibi tshia pambelu bua kuya pambelu ne kanga tshiibi tshia munda mua nzubu munkatshi mua minite 10 anyi 15. Kumpala kua wewe kufukama panshi bua kuangata tshitupa tshimue tshia dikalashi anyi tshiamu tshia mercury, kangula dididishi dia pambelu mu nzubu (ne kangula ventilateur wa mu nzubu wa kuowa mâyi anyi wa mu tshikuku anu pikalaye upatuka buludiludi mu nzubu wa tshilala benyi, anyi pashishe upingana patuka, kanga tshiibi tshia munda tshia nzubu mujima, ne ukanga tshiibi tshia kuinshi ne tshilamba. Lekela kapepe kimpe ka pambelu katekeshe luya lua mercury mu minite 10 to ne ku 15**.
4. Kupongolodi mercury mu tshina tshia mâyi, kumuela mu tshina tshia mâyi, anyi kusukula bilamba bidi ne mercury mu mashinyi a kusukula nawu bilamba. Mercury wa bintu udi ne bujitu bua bungi kupita mâyi misangu 13,5. Wewe muele mabue a mercury mu tshina tshia kuowa mâyi anyi mu tshiibi tshia kuowa mâyi, tshiamu tshikole tshia mâyi tshidi tshibuela buludiludi kuinshi kua tshiamu tshia P-trap tshia mu tshimfuanyi tshia U tshidi muinshi mua tshina tshiebe tshia mâyi, muaba uditshi tshishala kashidi, tshipatula bitekete bitekete luya lua mercury mu tshina tshia mâyi mu tshina tshiebe tshia kuowa mâyi eku tshinyanga bintu bia mu tshimenga.
5. Angata bintu biebe bia kusukula nabi bidi kabiyi bipatuka kumpala kua kubuela kabidi mu nzubu. Padi nzubu upatuka kapepe munkatshi mua minite 15, sangisha: maboko a nitrile anyi a tshiamu tshia caoutchouc (kuenza mudimu ne bianza patupu to, ne umbusha bifulu bia or anyi bia arjan ne bia kumona nabi dîba bualu mercury udi unyunguluka diakamue mu or ne arjan bua kuenza tshintu tshikole tshia kashidi), karte anyi karte ka kunaya**, tshiamu tshia kuela natshi mêsu anyi tshiamu tshia kuela natshi manga a mukana, tshilamba tshia kuela nabi bintu anyi tshilamba tshia kuela nabi bintu, mabeji a mâyi, mutoyi udi ukenka, milondo ibidi ya dikala dia mukana mualabale idi ne bibuikidiji bia tshiamu tshikole (anyi mifuku ya plastique mikole idi ne zip), ne **mudimi wa sufre wa mu budimi bua sufre, mu budimi bua sufre ** anyi farmasi).
6. Tangila bunene bua tshintu tshidi tshipatuka tshia mercury bua kumanya ni bidi bikengela kuenza mudimu ne njiwu. Bilondeshile tshibambalu tshia dikuba dia buloba tshia mu États-Unis (US EPA) ne tshibambalu tshia difunda dia bintu bidi ne buanga ne masama (ATSDR), muena nzubu udi mua kusukula bimpe CFL anyi tshiamu tshia fluorescence (155) tshia mercury tshitshibuka tshipiminu tshia luya lua mu nzubu** (500 too ne ku 700 milligramme ya mercury, bunene bua tshintu tshimue tshia nkunde anyi tshia crayon) wenza mudimu ne mishindu idi kuinshi eku. Wewe mupuekeshe bintu bia bungi kupita mu tshipiminu tshimue tshia luya (bu mudi tshiamu tshia kale tshia mercury tshitshibuka, tshipiminu tshia tension wa mashi, tshipiminu tshia luya tshia mu tshikuku tshidi ne tshiamu tshia tilt-switch, pendulum wa dîba dia kaku, anyi mulondo wa mercury wa mu laboratware), KUTEKI bua kusukula nzubu webe nkayebe: ikala ne tshisumbu tshia kapia tshia muaba uudi musombele tshikanga, ne ubikile tshisumbu tshia kapia tshia muaba uudi musombele. tshibambalu tshia malu a buloba, anyi tshidi tshitangila malu a buanga (1-800-222-1222 mu États-Unis).

Mutshi wa mapangadika a dilengeja dia tshimpitshimpi dia ampule wa mercury ne wa fluorescence¶

Ingidija tshimfuanyi etshi tshia disungula dia bintu bua kusungula mushindu mulelela wa kulama ne wa kusukula bilondeshile tshintu tshidi ne mercury tshivua tshinyanguke ne bungi bua mercury buvua bupatuke.

flowchart TD
    Start["Tshintu tshia mercury tshitshibuka anyi ampule wa fluorescence mu nzubu"] --> Evac["1. Umbusha bantu ne nyama ya mu nzubu;<br/>Tangila mishiku ya bisabata ku tshiibi"]
    Evac --> HVAC["2. Jima tshiamu tshia HVAC tshia munkatshi ne tshiamu tshia kapia;<br/>Kangula dididishi dia pambelu ne kangula tshiibi tshia munda"]
    HVAC --> VentWait["3. Ela kapepe mu nzubu pambelu munkatshi mua minite 10 anyi 15<br/>Kumpala kua kubuela bua kusukula"]
    VentWait --> SizeCheck{"4. Tshintu kayi tshivua tshinyanguke?"}

    SizeCheck -->|"A. Muendu wa fluorescence (CFL)<br/>anyi tshiamu tshia fluorescence (1 too ne ku 5 mg Hg)"| BulbClean["CFL / Fluorescent Tube Protocol:<br/>Scoop glass & white phosphor powder with stiff carton;<br/>dab surface with sticky duct tape;<br/>wipe hard floor with damp paper towel"]
    SizeCheck -->|"B. Kapia ka dikopo dimue anyi tshia kulamba<br/>Tshipimu tshia luya (0.5 to 1.0 gram Hg)"| ThermSurface{"Ntshinyi tshivua mabue a mercury a mâyi makuluke?"}
    SizeCheck -->|"C. Barometer, Blood Pressure Manometer,<br/>Thermostat Bulb, or Vial (>1 gram / >pea-size)"| MajorHazmat["MUSHINDU MUNENE WA MERCURY (Anu Mumanyi wa Hazmat):<br/>Lama nzubu mukanga ne pambelu;<br/>bikila Fire Dept Hazmat, State EPA, anyi Poison Control"]

    ThermSurface -->|"Panshi makole adi kaayi ne mputa<br/>(Tile, vinyl, mabaya makanga, linoleum)"| HardMercury["Tshisangilu tshia mabue makole a panshi:<br/>Kufiika mu nzubu ne kukenkesha torshe ku 10-degree panshi;<br/>kusangisha mabue pamue ne karte ka index;<br/>kuela mu tshiamu tshia kuela nabi mêsu ne kuela mabue makese ne tshilamba"]
    ThermSurface -->|"Tapi udi ne tusoso, tapi wa tshitupa,<br/>anyi tshilamba tshibuikila"| CarpetMercury["Tshilaminu tshia tapis tshidi ne tusoso:<br/>KUENA Aspirateur to; ukose tshitupa tshidi ne bukoya<br/>tshia tapis/tshilamba, tshibombi tshibidi, ne tshiteke bu bintu bia njiwu"]

    BulbClean --> SealJar["5. Funda bipese, bande, karte, ne bianza mu tshibombi tshia makala anyi mu mifuku ibidi ya zip-Top"]
    HardMercury --> SulfurDust["Kusungula: Kupuekesha lupuishi lua panshi ne lupuishi lua sufre wa jaune<br/>bua kulama bintu bidi kabiyi bimueneka ne kutangila dishintuluka dia dikala"]
    SulfurDust --> SealJar
    CarpetMercury --> SealJar
    SealJar --> FinalVent["6. Lama dididishi diunzulula ne HVAC mupangile mêba 24;<br/>Ufila tshibombi ku nzubu wa bukoya bua njiwu (HHW)"]

Kumanya tshintu tshidi tshipatuka: bungi kayi bua mercury budi munda mua bintu bia mu nzubu?¶

Kumpala kua wewe kuikala ne buôwa bua tshipiminu tshia luya anyi ampule tshidi tshinyanguke, udi ne bua kuanji kumanya malu abidi: Tshipiminu tshianyi tshia luya tshidi tshinyanguke tshidi ne mercury nansha kakese anyi? ne Mercury bungi kayi budi munda mua tshiamu tshidi tshinyanguke anyi?

1. Mashi a arjan ne mayi makunze/bule/mafike mu biamu bia kupima nabi luya¶

Pabuipi ne bintu bionso bia mu nzubu bia luya, nyama, bonbon, frigo, ne biamu bia kupima nabi luya bia pambelu bidibu bapanyisha mu États-Unis, mu Canada, mu Union européenne, mu Royaume-Uni ne mu Australie katshia ku ntuadijilu kua bidimu bia 2000 kabiena ne mercury to:

• Bikala mayi adi munda mua tshipiminu tshia luya tshitshibuka adi MUTUKU, BULE, MUTUKU, anyi VERT: Tshipiminu tshiebe tshia luya katshiena ne mercury to. Mashinyi a tshipiminu tshia luya adi ne mekala adi menza ne maluvu adi kaayi ne njiwu (éthanol), petrole/petrole distillate, anyi mafuta a bimuma bia agrume. Ubwanya kusukula tshipiminu tshia luya tshikunze anyi tshia bule anu bu mudi dikala ditshibuka dia pa tshibidilu ne tshilamba tshia dibeji tshitoke ne nsabanga.
• Bikala mayi adi atoka bu arjan, a tshiamu, ne a tshitoke tshia tshiamu: Adi mua kuikala mercury wa bintu (\(Hg\)) (udibu bapeta mu biamu bia kale bia kumpala kua 2005 ne mu biamu bia kale) NANSHA tshintu tshia matuku etu aa tshidi katshiyi ne buanga tshia Galinstan (tshiamu tshia mâyi tshia gallium, mu tshiamu tshia mitaku ne tshiamu tshipiatshipia tshidibu benza natshi mudimu) bipimu bia luya, bidi pa tshibidilu bifunda "Geratherm" anyi "Ga-In-Sn / Mercury-Free" pa tshitekelu tshia tshipiminu tshia luya).
• Mushindu kayi wa kusunguluja Mercury mulelela udi kayi ne Galinstan udi kayi ne njiwu panshi: Mercury mulelela udi ne bukole bua bungi pa mutu: katu muanji kutokesha dikalashi anyi tshiamu tshia mitaku to, kadi udi wenza bipese bia arjan bia tshijengu bidi kabiyi ne dikokangana bidi biendakana panshi padibu babilenga nansha kakese kabiyi bishiya tshintu nansha tshimue. Galinstan udi utokesha bintu bu mudi peinture wa arjan mutoke, wela pa makalashi ne pa mabue a panshi pamutu pa kuenza mabue mimpe. Shi udi na mpata, ikala wangata tshiamu tshionso tshia arjan bu tshiamu tshia mercury.

2. Difuanyikija dia bintu bia mercury mu bintu bia mu nzubu bia pa tshibidilu¶

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. Kanga tshiibi tshia nzubu wa munda ne uleke nzubu mutupu munkatshi mua minite 10 anyi 15 bua dipatuka dia kumpala dia luya lua mercury dipatuke pambelu.

Tshitupa 2: Kusukula pa bintu bikole (Tile, mutshi mukole, vinyl, linoleum)¶

1. Vwala maboko a nitrile anyi a tshiamu tshia caoutchouc (kuangatshi dikopo didibu balengeje ne phosphore ne bianza patupu to).
2. Kukomba, kukomba: Enza mudimu ne bipese bibidi bia karton mukole, karte ka index, anyi tshiamu tshia plastike tshikole bua kuangata bitupa bionso bia makala bidi bimueneka ne lupuishi lua phosphore mutoke, ubiteke bimpe mu mulondo wa makala udi ne tshibuikidiji tshia tshiamu (anyi tshintu tshia plastique tshidi ne bukole bua kukanga).
3. Pat with sticky duct tape: Kosa bitupa bia duct tape anyi wide packing tape ne ufina luseke ludi lulamakaja bitekete bitekete pa tshitupa tshijima tshia metre 1,5 (5-foot) tshidi tshinyunguluka tshitupa tshia dikoseka bua kuangata bitupa bia makala bidi kabiyi bimueneka ne lupuishi lutoke lua phosphore. Teka bipese bia bande mu tshibombi tshia makala.
4. Kusukula panshi ne mâyi: Kusukula muaba au bimpe ne mapepa a mâyi anyi bilamba bia bana bidi ne mâyi (kuenza mudimu ne tshintu tshimue tshia kuowa nabi) bua kukuata lupuishi luonso ludi lushala, ne ela bilamba bia mâyi biudi muenze nabi mudimu mu tshibombi.

Tshitupa 3: Kusukula pa tapis anyi pa tapis (Bikala CFL mutshibuka pa tapis)¶

1. Angata bipese bionso binene bia makala ne karton mukole ne utute mionji ya tapis misangu ne misangu ne duct tape bua kumbusha bitupa bia makala ne lupuishi lutoka mu bulalu.
2. KUENA ne tshiamu tshia aspirateur mu tshikondo tshia disukula dia kumpala. Lama dididishi dia nzubu diunzulula ne tshiamu tshia HVAC tshia munkatshi mua mêba a bungi.
3. Malu adibu ne bua kuenza bua kuela aspirateur mu matuku atshilualua: Bilondeshile EPA wa mu États-Unis, udi ulonda misangu ya bungi iudi mua kuela aspirateur pa tshilamba atshi panyima pa dipatuka dia kapepe dijima, kanga tshiibi tshia nzubu wa munda, kangula dididishi dia pambelu dia nzubu, upuekesha aspirateur muaba au, ne diakamue umbusha tshibombi tshia aspirateur pambelu (anyi wela bintu mu tshibombi tshia bukoya ne pambelu) wowa ku bianza.

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

Kusukula mercury wa mu tshiamu tshia nzembu tshitshibuka kudi kulomba bujalame bua bungi kupita tshiamu tshia CFL bualu tshiamu tshimue tshia nzembu tshidi ne misangu 100 too ne ku 500 ya mercury kupita ampule wa CFL, ne mercury wa mâyi udi utshibuka padiye ututa mu bitupa bikese bidi bienda too ne ku metre 3 too ne ku 10 too ne ku 6 (10) mu tshisasa tshikole.

Tshitupa 1: Dilongolola ne dikeba dia "Flashlight Grazing Angle"¶

1. Paudi ujikija luya lua mu nzubu pambelu ne HVAC mujima munkatshi mua minite 15, umbusha bipese bionso bia or, arjan, ne platine, bifulu bia ku bianza, ne nsa ku bianza biebe ne ku bianza biebe (mercury udi udisangisha diakamue ne kashidi ne biamu bia mushinga mukole), ne uvuale maboko a nitrile anyi a latex.
2. Uwuje tshibombi tshia dikala dia mukana mualabale ne 2 too ne ku 3 santimetre (1 inch) ya mayi malelela. (Bua tshinyi mayi? Mercury wa bintu udi ne bujitu misangu 13.5 kupita mayi ne kena unyanguka nansha kakese mu mayi to; kuela mabue a mercury mu tshibombi tshidi ne tshitupa tshia mayi pa mutu kudi kuenza tshibuikidiji tshia mayi tshidi tshikuata mercury kuinshi kua tshibombi ne tshimupangisha bua kupingana mu lupepele dîba dionso diudi ukangula tshibuikidiji paudi usukula)
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 your flashlight across the floor again. For tiny micro-beads stuck in tile grout lines or hardwood seams that the eyedropper cannot suck up, wrap sticky duct tape or masking tape (sticky side out) around your gloved fingers and dab gently over the area, or dab using a small brush coated in white shaving cream, placing the tape and paper towels into your sealed jar.

Step 3: Optional chemical binding and detection with sulfur powder¶

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.
• Surprisingly, pure elemental liquid mercury (\(Hg^0\)) is absorbed very poorly (less than 0.01 percent) by a healthy gastrointestinal tract; if a small bead from a fever thermometer is swallowed, it usually passes harmlessly through the digestive tract in the stool over several days without causing systemic mercury poisoning (unlike inorganic mercury salts or methylmercury, which are highly toxic when swallowed).
• Always call Poison Control immediately (1-800-222-1222 in the United States, 1-844-764-7669 in Canada, 111 in the United Kingdom, 13 11 26 in Australia, or your local nomba ya tshimpitshimpi) so a toxicologist can evaluate whether a pediatric X-ray is needed to rule out aspirated glass or mercury trapped in the appendix.
• Inhaling mercury vapor (The true danger):
• Breathing air in an unventilated, heated room where liquid mercury was spilled (especially if someone vacuumed the spill or left beads under a baseboard radiator) causes acute or subacute mercury vapor poisoning.
• Acute inhalation symptoms (within hours of high vapor exposure): Metallic taste in the mouth, headache, chills, fever, shortness of breath, chest tightness, dry cough, nausea, and vomiting.
• Subacute / chronic inhalation symptoms (days to weeks of breathing uncleaned room vapor): Fine tremor of the hands and eyelids, irritability, extreme shyness or mood swings (erethism), insomnia, painful pink/red peeling skin on the palms and soles of the feet in young children (acrodynia / "pink disease"), inflamed gums, and protein in the urine.
• Medical testing: If you suspect significant vapor inhalation (such as discovering a broken thermometer that was vacuumed up days ago), consult your physician or regional poison control center to order a 24-hour urine mercury test (the gold standard for elemental mercury vapor exposure) or blood mercury test.

Safe disposal of collected mercury and post-cleanup ventilation¶

1. Label and store the sealed jar outdoors: Place the sealed glass jar containing the mercury beads, broken glass, tape, index cards, and nitrile gloves inside a second heavy zip-top plastic bag, tape it closed, and apply a clear label reading: "DANGER: CONTAINS ELEMENTAL MERCURY / BROKEN THERMOMETER, DO NOT OPEN". Store the container outdoors in a locked shed or garage out of reach of children and pets until drop-off.
2. Never put liquid mercury in household garbage or recycling bins: When a garbage truck crushes a bag containing a broken mercury thermometer or when trash is burned in a municipal waste incinerator, the mercury vaporizes into the atmosphere, settles into lakes and oceans, and converts into neurotoxic methylmercury inside fish. Call your county or municipal Household Hazardous Waste (HHW) facility, fire department, or local pharmacy take-back program for free mercury disposal.
3. Keep the room ventilated for at least 24 hours: After finishing the manual cleanup, keep the exterior window open (and a window box fan blowing indoor air outward through the window if available) with the interior room door closed for at least 24 hours before allowing children or pregnant women to sleep in the room.

Nkonko itubu bela misangu ya bungi¶

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.

Miaba mifumina¶

• 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).

Malu adi apetangana¶

• Chemical spills: household and hazmat containment
• Poisoning first aid and Poison Control protocols
• Shattered glass cooktop, exploding Pyrex, and broken glass in food
• Dinyanguka dia asbeste, lupuishi lua plomb, ne dibuela dia radon wa bungi
• Mukanda wa nomba ya tshimpitshimpi