If the thermometer in the apartment is broken, what to do? The mercury thermometer is broken, what should I do? Using potassium permanganate

30.10.2016

Despite the advent of electronic thermometers, their mercury analogues are still in use. This is due to the accuracy of the measurements. However, a glass thermometer containing mercury is dangerous, especially when there are children at home. If an unforeseen situation occurs, you need to quickly decide how to collect mercury from broken thermometer to avoid future health problems.

It is a metal characterized high level toxicity. The thermometer contains mercury in liquid form (about 2 g). If the thermometer body is damaged, drops of metal easily spread over the surface, fall into cracks, corners, behind baseboards, and may remain on the soles of house shoes or on bed linen. At a temperature of +18 degrees, the process of metal evaporation begins. Considering that the microclimate in houses is usually warmer (+20...+25 degrees), the risk of mercury vapor poisoning increases.

Properties of this metal:

2 gr. the substance is enough to poison 10 people, if you don’t know how to collect mercury at home;
fumes are absorbed under the skin, enter the organs (liver, kidneys, brain, lungs) and settle in them;
mercury vapor is a potent poison of the 1st hazard class;
If you don’t know how to collect mercury from a thermometer, as a result, after a few hours of intense exposure to fumes, symptoms may appear: nausea, sleep disturbance, weakness, dizziness, headaches.

Important: In more severe cases, intestinal function is disrupted, sore throat appears, gums bleed, temperature rises and swelling of the respiratory tract.

What should you do first?

Before tackling the question of how to collect mercury if a thermometer breaks on the floor, you must perform the following steps:

This metal is dangerous not only for humans, but also for animals, so you first need to clear the room of everyone present. This measure will eliminate the possibility of a dog, cat or child coming into contact with metal.
The doors to the room must be closed, and fresh air should be provided by opening the window. When deciding how to collect mercury from a thermometer from the floor, it is important to remember that there should be no draft in the room.
At the next stage, you can call the Ministry of Emergency Situations to carry out demercurization of the premises. If you plan to clean the room yourself, you need to prepare gloves and gauze bandage, to increase the efficiency of which you need to use soda solution: gauze is moistened in a solution (1 tbsp. water/1 tbsp. l. soda).
To reduce the likelihood of exposure to mercury, you should wear shoe covers on your feet. If you don't have them on hand, you can use plastic bags.
When deciding how to remove mercury if a thermometer breaks, you need to know that glass fragments are collected first.

It is recommended to inspect the room: cracks in the floor, baseboards, areas next to and under furniture, bed/sofa. You need to look for balls of liquid metal. They are quite small, but are characterized by a silvery tint.

Preparation of cleaning products, sequence of actions

The toxic substance must be collected in a container with a tight-fitting lid; it is better to use a three-liter glass jar for this purpose. Water or a solution of potassium permanganate is poured there to a level of no more than 2/3 of the total volume. This measure eliminates the risk of further evaporation of the substance.

Auxiliary products for cleaning the premises:

adhesive tape/plaster/duct tape – any adhesive tape, construction tape will also work;
medical bulb/disposable syringe without needle;
a brush, but cotton wool will do instead;
solutions: potassium permanganate or bleach, soap and soda;
paper or newspaper;
A hand-held flashlight that makes it easier to find metal balls in dark areas.

Important: The question often arises of how to collect mercury using a vacuum cleaner, however, this is strictly forbidden, because then the vapors and drops of the substance will spread significantly throughout the object, and in addition, you will have to throw away the equipment, because it is impossible to completely clean it of liquid metal.

Cleaning instructions:

The glass parts of the thermometer with the remaining toxic substance are immersed in a jar of liquid.
Before entering the room, you must leave a rag soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. This will prevent the substance from spreading throughout the home.
You need to connect all the metal balls into one large one, for which you use sheets of paper, as well as a brush or cotton wool.
Mercury is placed in a jar of liquid; newspaper/paper and cotton wool/brush are used for this purpose.
The smallest particles and residues of mercury are removed from the floor using adhesive tape: tape/duct tape, etc.
When deciding how to properly collect spilled mercury from a broken thermometer, we must not forget about cracks in the floor and baseboards. The substance is removed from leaks using a medical bulb or a disposable syringe.
The available means used to collect the metal are immersed in the same container with liquid where the thermometer fragments are already located.
If the thermometer is damaged near furniture with leaks under it, or near the baseboard, you need to get to the balls of liquid metal by moving the sofa/wardrobe; if necessary, remove the baseboard.
The jar is tightly closed with a lid.
The floor should be washed, first using a solution of potassium permanganate, then using soda-soap or chlorine.
All protective equipment (shoe covers, gloves, gauze bandage), as well as clothing, must be folded into a bag, then it must be tied tightly.
After finishing cleaning, it is recommended to take a shower, in addition to this oral cavity you need to rinse with soda solution.

Important: After the demercurization procedure, the room should be regularly ventilated for a week and people or pets should not be allowed in it during this period.

If you are solving the problem of how to collect mercury from, you should pay attention to the length of the pile. In situations where a hazardous substance has come into contact with a fine-pile coating, the methods described above can be used. It is more difficult to clean a long-pile carpet. In this case, it is important to raise all edges of the product to eliminate the risk of metal balls spreading.

The covering is then taken outside. A large area of plastic film is spread on the ground, a carpet is hung over it, and the mercury is literally shaken out of the pile. The hazardous substance that has been recovered is sent to the same container where the previously collected mercury is stored.

What not to do

The main rule that must not be violated: all items used during cleaning, as well as the liquid metal itself and the remains of the thermometer cannot be thrown away along with household garbage. There are other prohibitions:

When deciding how to collect mercury, you should not use a vacuum cleaner.
A jar of liquid containing fragments and balls of mercury is also prohibited from being placed in the garbage chute for household waste. To find out how this capacity is, it is recommended to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations (by phone 01, from mobile 112).
It is forbidden to use a broom when cleaning liquid metal, because with its help the particles spread more widely throughout the room. In addition, as a result of such actions, it will be extremely difficult to detect mercury balls in the future.
It is prohibited to carry out cleaning work wearing cloth shoes. Rubber slippers, or better yet shoe covers/plastic bags, are suitable for this purpose.

Thus, if trouble happens - a thermometer breaks in the house, you need to follow the instructions. In this case, you cannot act independently, because the consequences of this can harm the health of your household. The greatest danger lies not in the fact that the thermometer broke at home, but in non-compliance with cleaning rules.

At the same time, the risk increases that liquid metal will remain in the cracks of the floor, behind the baseboard, in the folds of the bed and in other places, which will lead to poisoning of family members. With prolonged inhalation of mercury vapor, symptoms appear fairly soon after the thermometer breaks. This means that in such cases you should act as quickly as possible.

The presence of a mercury thermometer in an apartment can be unsafe for life and health, especially when safety rules for its use are not followed. The fact is that this device is extremely fragile, it is easy to break, and the mercury contained in it will cause poisoning of the body. Therefore, everyone should know what to do if a thermometer breaks in order to avoid health consequences.

The thermometer broke: is it dangerous?

You should handle the thermometer carefully, as one awkward movement or even a slight blow is enough for its body to crack. The device must be stored out of the reach of children and in a special protective case.

If for any reason mercury thermometer crashed, you need to immediately take appropriate measures, because liquid metal begins to evaporate at a temperature of 18°C, and its vapors are extremely dangerous to health.

When the volume is small, toxic mercury vapor enters the human body mainly through the lungs. If the volumes of this substance are large, then toxic substances can enter the body through the skin and mucous membranes.

The degree of poisoning of the body with mercury vapor depends primarily on the volume of the substance and the state of health.

So, an adult with good health after staying in a room where a thermometer was broken, one may feel only a slight discomfort.

A person or child in poor health is at risk of getting acute poisoning, which will appear after a few hours and will be expressed by symptoms such as nausea, metallic taste in the mouth, vomiting, diarrhea, dizziness, bleeding gums, pain when swallowing, chills.

If these signs are not recognized in time and the necessary measures are not taken, acute poisoning can lead to fatal outcome.

The evaporation of this metal can cause poisoning in people chronic form, which will have following symptoms: migraine, weakness, lack of appetite, nervous disorders, kidney dysfunction. If you notice similar symptoms after a thermometer has been broken at home, you should immediately seek medical help.

In addition to mercury vapor, glass fragments from the thermometer body also pose a danger.

They should be collected with special care, especially if there are small children or animals in the house that could inadvertently get hurt.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks:

best in similar situation seek help from the Ministry of Emergency Situations, but if this cannot be done quickly, you must collect the mercury yourself;
if it is winter, you should immediately open the window to lower the temperature in the room and slow down the evaporation of mercury.

Collecting mercury yourself

If your home thermometer has been broken, you must immediately collect mercury balls from all surfaces.

You should wear a gauze bandage and latex gloves to avoid direct contact with this liquid metal and its vapors.

Using sheets of paper you need to adjust the balls of the substance to each other so that they gather into a ball bigger size, which should then be carefully placed in a container of water.

Mercury is heavier than water, so it will settle to the bottom of the vessel. The liquid will prevent the release of toxic fumes.

If mercury balls get on carpet or textiles, it will be almost impossible to collect them using sheets of paper. In this case, tape will come to the rescue.

Metal balls can be removed by applying a strip of tape with the adhesive side to the surface. As a result, it will be possible to remove all dangerous elements of the broken device from the pile.

If small fragments of the thermometer have rolled into the cracks of the floor covering, it will be easier to remove them from there using a rubber bulb.

Knowing what to do if a thermometer breaks, you can always take prompt measures and prevent poisoning from vapors of a harmful substance.

Prohibited actions

There should be no draft in the apartment.

Another difficult question if the thermometer breaks: what to do with it? collected mercury. Many people recklessly throw away the remains of the thermometer down the garbage disposal.

This should not be done, since, while remaining in the building, the mercury continues to evaporate and can poison the residents of the apartment building.

You should also not throw balls of toxic metal into the street. 1 g of mercury is enough to poison an area of 6 square meters of soil.

Actions after collecting mercury and cleaning the room

If a thermometer breaks at home, after collecting all the fragments, it is recommended to carry out preventive procedures:

The room where the thermometer was damaged needs to be ventilated.
Surfaces that have come into contact with mercury should be treated with a solution of brown manganese. This will neutralize harmful effect fine particles metal It is recommended to rinse surfaces treated with the solution with clean water after a few days.
Textiles that have come into contact with mercury beads should not be washed at home. The safest thing to do is to dispose of them.