The thermometer broke, what should I do? Is a broken mercury thermometer really dangerous? What to do if the thermometer falls, but the mercury does not flow out

— Why is a broken thermometer dangerous?
— What to do if you crashed mercury thermometer?
— What not to do with a broken thermometer
— Actions after removing mercury

Mercury, with which temperature is measured, is element 80 of the periodic table and belongs to the first class of danger, representing a cumulative poison. This is a metal that is in a liquid state in the range from -39 to +357 degrees Celsius. That is, it is the only metal that at room temperature is not in solid, but in liquid aggregate form. At the same time, already from +18 degrees, mercury begins to evaporate, releasing extremely toxic fumes. And it is precisely this fact that makes a broken thermometer an extremely dangerous incident.

The amount of mercury in a regular thermometer is about two to five grams. If all the mercury evaporates in a room with an area of 18-20 square meters, then the concentration of mercury vapor in the room will be about 100 milligrams per cubic meter. And this is 300 thousand times more than the maximum permissible concentration for residential areas, since when standard indicators The level of mercury in residential premises should not exceed 0.0003 milligrams per cubic meter.

Of course, these are more theoretical calculations. Natural ventilation of rooms will never lead to such an excess, and to evaporate all the mercury you need very heat. But without proper action, a broken thermometer will lead to exceeding the maximum permissible concentration of mercury vapor by 50-100 times, which is also quite a lot and very dangerous.

It should also be noted that mercury tends to accumulate in the body. That is, without collecting it carefully, the consequences of inhaling mercury vapor may appear several weeks later, when you have already forgotten about the broken thermometer. In this case, diagnosing the causes of the malaise will be very difficult.

— What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks?

1) Open the windows to allow fresh air to enter and lower the room temperature (the warmer the apartment, the more active metal evaporation occurs).

2) Restrict access of people and pets to the room where the device crashed.

3) Using a newspaper slightly soaked in water, wearing rubber gloves and a gauze bandage on your face, collect the mercury. The smallest balls can be collected with adhesive tape.

4) Place the collected mercury in a container with water and close tightly. Water is needed to prevent mercury from evaporating. Do not throw the container into the garbage disposal, toilet, or pour it out on the street!

5) On the website of the Center for Hygiene and Epidemiology of your city (for Moscow), find out the phone number of the nearest sanitary and epidemiological station. Its specialists will tell you where to take the mercury. If you're not sure you've collected all the mercury, you can call a professional to inspect your home.

6) Using a brush or spray bottle, treat the spill area with a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate (you should get a dark brown, almost opaque solution). Leave on for about an hour and then rinse off soapy soda solution(40 g laundry soap and 50 g baking soda dissolve in a liter of water).

7) Try not to enter the room during the day. The floor can then be washed with water.

8) After collecting mercury, rinse your mouth with a weak solution of potassium permanganate, take 2-3 tablets activated carbon- this will reduce the effect of toxins on the body.

9) Ventilate the room three times a day for ten minutes for 10 days to completely get rid of mercury vapor.

— What not to do with a broken thermometer

You also need to remember the list of actions that should never be done in a situation where a thermometer in your house is broken:

1) Mercury balls cannot be collected with a broom or vacuum cleaner.
In such cases, the liquid metal only crushes, and the warm movement of the vacuum cleaner promotes its evaporation. The consequences of such cleaning will only worsen the current situation;

2) Collected mercury, even in a tightly closed glass jar with a solution of potassium permanganate, should not be thrown into a garbage chute or trash container.
There it will inevitably break over time, which will endanger other people (mercury from one thermometer can pollute up to six thousand cubic meters air). Remains of a mercury thermometer and collected mercury disposed of only on the recommendations of Emergencies Ministry specialists;

3) It is strictly forbidden to wash items that have been in contact with mercury in a washing machine.
Even using disinfectant detergents. Disposal of mercury is a very complex process and such actions will not only not save clothes and things, but will also make further washing dangerous;

4) Do not flush mercury down the drain.
It will not reach the waste station, but will settle in the “elbows” of the pipeline and will pollute the air with evaporation for a long time.

5) And most importantly: if the thermometer breaks, you should never panic.
In such a situation, she is your main enemy. If you are worried about what happened and cannot remember what to do, just dial the number of the Ministry of Emergency Situations 112. They will always provide you with qualified advice and tell you in detail what to do if the thermometer breaks. And in difficult cases, they will refer you to the appropriate services that will eliminate the consequences of what happened.

— Actions after removing mercury

1) Wash gloves and shoes with potassium permanganate and soap-soda solution (but it is better to simply dispose of gloves according to the recommendations given above);

2) Rinse your mouth and throat with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate;

3) Brush your teeth thoroughly;

4) Take 2-3 tablets of activated carbon;

5) Drink more diuretic liquid (tea, coffee, juice), since mercury formations are eliminated from the body through the kidneys.

After the mercury from the broken thermometer has been collected, it is necessary to treat the site of the mercury spill with a concentrated solution of potassium permanganate and (or) bleach. This will oxidize the mercury and render it non-volatile.

Option 1: "Potassium permanganate".

1) The potassium permanganate solution should be dark brown, almost opaque. Per liter of solution you need to add 1 tbsp. l. salts and some acid (for example, 1 tablespoon of vinegar essence, or a pinch of citric acid, or a spoonful of rust remover).

2) Treat the contaminated surface (and all its crevices!) aqueous solution potassium permanganate using a brush, brush or spray. Leave the applied solution for 6-8 hours, periodically wetting the treated surface with water as the solution dries. The solution may leave permanent stains on the floor or things.

3) Then wash off the reaction products with a soap-soda solution (40 g of soap and 50 g of soda per 1 liter of water). Repeat this procedure for several next days, with the only difference that leave the potassium permanganate solution for 1 hour, not 6-8 hours. Daily wet cleaning of the premises and frequent ventilation are recommended.

Option 2: “Whiteness” + “Potassium permanganate”.

Complete chemical demercurization takes place in 2 stages.

Stage 1: in a plastic (not metal!) bucket, prepare a solution of chlorine-containing bleach “Belizna” at the rate of 1 liter of “Belizna” per 8 liters of water (2% solution). Rinse the contaminated surface with the resulting solution, using a sponge, brush or cloth. Pay special attention to the cracks of parquet and baseboards. Leave the applied solution for 15 minutes, then rinse with clean water.

Stage 2: treat the surface with a 0.8% solution of potassium permanganate: 1 gram of potassium permanganate per 8 liters of water. In the future, it is advisable to regularly wash the floor with a chlorine-containing preparation and intensive ventilation. If the solution is contaminated with mercury upon first use, do not flush it down the sink or toilet, but discard it along with the collected mercury. The same applies to rags, sponges and other tools used during demercurization.

The material was prepared by Dilyara specifically for the site

Something bad happened at home - the thermometer broke, what to do and how to minimize the consequences of this incident.

In every apartment in home medicine cabinet There is a medical thermometer, also known as a thermometer for measuring body temperature. It is used when a family member is ill. In most families, these measuring instruments are traditionally mercury.

Sometimes, as a result of careless handling, a thermometer with mercury breaks. Over the course of decades, especially in a large family, there may be several cases where a thermometer breaks at home. Only small quantity people are available electronic thermometers, not containing free mercury in the design.

What are the dangers of free mercury?

Mercury is, under normal conditions, the only liquid metal that is very high density, reaching 13.3 kg/l. Of all the metals available to an ordinary person, this is the hardest.

The use of mercury in thermometers is explained by the fact that the increase in the volume of mercury when heated by 1 degree is almost the same at low and high temperatures. That is, its coefficient of thermal expansion is practically independent of temperature, which means high measurement accuracy is ensured.

A medical thermometer (thermometer) contains no more than 2 grams of this metal.

According to the degree of danger, mercury belongs to the class of substances that have extremely high toxicity.

Metallic mercury itself, when handled correctly, is of little harm.

Why is a broken thermometer dangerous?

Mercury vapor is a cumulative toxic substance, therefore, once it enters the human body, it is not removed from it for a long time, and from some organs it is not removed at all. Mercury vapor, which has neither odor nor taste, accumulates, that is, accumulates in human organs. This process can go on for many years with an increasing result of the toxic effect. This property is one of the reasons for the high susceptibility of mercury, its vapors and compounds.

Even in small quantities, for example, when a thermometer in an apartment breaks, it causes great problems with a person’s health.

The impact is on the immune, digestive, nervous system. The kidneys, liver, bronchi, lungs, esophagus, stomach, intestinal tract, organs of vision, skin and many others are affected. etc.

Metal vapors and its soluble compounds are especially dangerous. Small balls of mercury that are not collected or collected in unsealed containers evaporate quite quickly.

Cleaning vacuum cleaners, gold items, carpets, etc. from mercury. In other companies, this procedure is considered impossible!

Prompt arrival of a specialist within an hour.

RecyclingI-IVhazard class. Complies with the requirements of the GOST R ISO standard

24-hour hotline (Moscow and Moscow Region): +7 495 968 10 86. Consultation is free.

It is perhaps difficult to find a family whose first aid kit is missing mercury thermometer. Many people know that this item should be handled very carefully, because a broken thermometer poses a direct threat to health. However, not everyone knows how to eliminate the consequences of such an “accident” and what exactly it threatens. In this article we will try to figure out in detail what to do if the thermometer breaks.

What does a mercury thermometer consist of?

A mercury thermometer has a very simple design, and therefore, of course, its operation is very convenient. Moreover, unlike a digital thermometer, this one has a lower cost and its readings are more accurate.

The device is made in the form of a glass tube, both ends of which are sealed. As a result, an absolute vacuum without air is created in the tube. At one end of this tube there is a reservoir that is filled with mercury.

In addition, in the thermometer it is easy to notice the temperature scale, which has divisions of 0.1 degrees. It is worth noting that the place connecting the reservoir with mercury and the tube narrows, and for this reason the mercury does not move in the opposite direction. Thanks to this design, temperature readings can be maintained after reaching the maximum value.

Touching the skin, the mercury reservoir heats up, which is why the mercury has the opportunity to expand and rise. Having reached the maximum value, mercury stops expanding, freezing at a certain number. Typically, ten minutes or a little less is enough to measure the temperature. Taking into account the fact that the thermometer contains mercury, it must be handled very carefully, in no case allowing it to break.

Before you take any steps to eliminate mercury, find out exactly what it looks like and why it is dangerous.

What mercury looks like from a broken thermometer photo and description

In the photographs presented you can see exactly what the mercury that flows out of the broken thermometer. Of course, once you have seen mercury in person at least once, you are unlikely to confuse it with anything else. As you can see, droplets of mercury have metallic color, and generally resemble drops of molten metal. From a distance, these droplets can be mistaken for beads. It is worth noting that, despite the fact that mercury is completely harmless (this is especially dangerous if children come across it), its fumes can cause a lot of trouble and seriously undermine health if measures to eliminate it are not taken in a timely manner.

What is its danger to humans?

Mercury– extremely poisonous Chemical substance. By the way, mercury is mainly found in the body due to inhalation of its vapors, which have no odor. Even if the exposure time of mercury is minimal, it can result in serious health problems and poisoning. It has a toxic effect on the digestive system, as well as the nervous and immune system. Dangerous for kidneys, lungs, eyes, skin.

There are mild mercury poisonings (in the case of food poisoning), heavy (due to emergency situations at enterprises or lack of safety precautions). Chronic poisoning also occurs. The latter type increases the risk of tuberculosis and other diseases. The consequences of poisoning can make themselves felt even after a long period (even after 2-3 years).

Please note that acute poisoning can result in loss of vision, baldness, paralysis and even fatal. Mercury poses a serious threat to women during pregnancy, posing a risk to the development of the baby.

What to do if a thermometer with mercury in an apartment breaks

If a mercury thermometer breaks in your apartment, then, as already noted, you should eliminate the consequences of this trouble. However, it is important to remember that strict safety rules must be followed when collecting mercury.

It is best to collect mercury using a regular syringe. You can also use regular napkins soaked vegetable oil or newspapers soaked in water - drops will stick to the paper. The balls will also easily stick to adhesive materials such as tape. Among other options, you can consider another quite simple one: collect mercury on a sheet of paper with a soft brush. During the procedure, pay Special attention baseboards and cracks.

If mercury is on the carpet, under no circumstances should you use a vacuum cleaner or broom! Roll the carpet from the edge to the center so that the balls do not scatter around the room. Wrap the rug in plastic wrap and take it outside. Before hanging it, lay down a film so that the soil is not contaminated with mercury. After this, lightly knock out the carpet. Such a carpet will have to be aired for at least three months, so if possible, it is better to throw it away.

Demercurization, disinfection and ventilation

The room can be cleared of mercury, both by employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and by one’s own efforts. So, before starting this process, which is called demercurization, it is worth starting to ventilate the room by opening all the windows. By the way, the room should be thoroughly ventilated for the next week. Doors to other rooms should be closed during the elimination of mercury so that vapors of the hazardous substance do not spread throughout the apartment. At the same time, a draft should not be allowed so that the balls do not scatter around the room and break into mercury dust, settling on the table, bed, walls, and so on. Before you start cleaning up particles on mercury, you should definitely put on latex gloves. Also, don’t forget about shoe covers for your feet (can be replaced with plastic bags). During demercurization, the mouth and nose should be covered with a damp gauze bandage. By the way, even after all drops of mercury visible to the eye have been collected, some microparticles of the substance may still remain in the room. It is for this reason that it is also necessary to carry out disinfection. Wash the floors and walls with a solution of some detergent that contains chlorine. In addition, a solution of potassium permanganate is also suitable.

What to do with the remains of a broken thermometer

If you are convinced that you have completely cleared the room of mercury on your own, and for some reason you cannot call the Emergency Ministry team, then there is another way to get rid of the dangerous substance. Take a jar of mercury, a broken thermometer, the clothes that you were wearing at the time of demercurization (if there is a possibility that mercury got on it), and hand it all over to a special enterprise that disposes of waste containing mercury. If there is no such institution nearby, then the thermometer can be taken to the sanitary and epidemiological station or a state pharmacy, where you will be asked to fill out a special application.

Having collected the substance, place it in a glass jar with water at room temperature along with the remains of the thermometer. The container must be tightly closed with a lid. It is strictly not recommended to throw a jar of mercury into the sewer or water supply system, so as not to pollute environment. If you did not call the Ministry of Emergency Situations immediately, you should do this after you have collected the toxic substance in a jar. When the team arrives, give them a jar with a thermometer and mercury, as well as all the materials used for demercurization. The responsibilities of the team of medical specialists include mandatory subsequent disinfection of the premises.

Who to call if the mercury thermometer at home is broken

As we already mentioned, best options in this unpleasant situation, the emergency services team will be called. It is possible that you will do something wrong and will not be able to completely remove the remaining toxic substance from your home. In turn, specialists will do everything to ensure that there are no traces of mercury left in the room and that your health is not in danger. Please note that clothing and shoes that have been in contact with a hazardous substance cannot be washed in a washing machine - it is best to throw these things away. Also, under no circumstances should you remove mercury using a broom or vacuum cleaner, despite the fact that these options seem to be the most obvious.

How long does it take for mercury to dissipate?

Even after you eliminate all traces of mercury from your apartment, its fumes will still remain in the room for some time. In order to minimize their negative effects, after removing evaporating sources, it is strongly recommended to thoroughly ventilate the apartment. If you do not have the opportunity to ventilate the entire apartment, you must do this at least directly in the room in which the thermometer broke. If you want to remove vapors that have already accumulated in the air, the room must be ventilated for at least 5-7 hours. If possible, it is better to ventilate the room for at least several days! Over the next week, we recommend treating the surface where the substance was located with a solution of potassium permanganate several times a day.

Also, certain measures should be taken by the person who collected the mercury, if this was not done by the Ministry of Emergency Situations team. To prevent poisoning, you should drink as much fluid as possible, because mercury formations exit through the kidneys. In addition, fresh fruits and vegetables will undoubtedly benefit. If you still feel unwell in the near future, in order to avoid deterioration of your health, you should immediately consult a doctor.

First aid if a child has inhaled mercury vapor

If a thermometer breaks in the house and the child manages to inhale mercury vapor, first aid measures must be taken as soon as possible.

First, carefully examine the child’s hands and hair, and if a toxic substance is found on them, dispose of it immediately. If a child has swallowed mercury balls, immediately call an ambulance, and while it is heading towards you, you need to call the child vomiting reflex.

The situation is more complicated if the baby managed to swallow fragments - nothing should be done until the doctors arrive. Just put your child on the bed and minimize all his actions.

If mercury gets on his clothes, he should change his clothes immediately. The situation is less critical if the mercury has not had time to get on the child’s skin, hair and clothes - then you just need to take him out of the room. Once outdoors, give him activated charcoal.

Carefully inspect the room to find all the thermometer fragments and drops of toxic metal - you can remove them yourself or call the Ministry of Emergency Situations team for this procedure.

After eliminating the “accident,” drink as much fluid as possible with your child over the next few days.

Even if it seems to you that the baby feels quite normal and the mercury vapor has not affected his well-being, you should still consult a doctor for confirmation!

What not to do if the thermometer breaks

In conclusion, let us summarize what should not be done under any circumstances if a thermometer breaks in the house.

1) First of all, remember that you cannot collect poisonous balls with a vacuum cleaner - it will heat the metal, and this will only speed up the evaporation process. Particles of the substance will settle on the parts of the device, and it will become a hotbed for the spread of toxic fumes - as a result, it will definitely need to be disposed of.

2) Do not sweep the mercury with a broom, because the drops will split into even smaller ones and will be much more difficult to find.

3) It is forbidden to collect mercury balls with a rag - this will increase the area affected by the substance.

4) After collecting toxic droplets, do not throw them into the garbage disposal - it will be impossible to get rid of them, and in the end it will not only be you who will suffer.

5) Do not create a draft in the room until the mercury is completely eliminated, otherwise the balls will separate into microscopic particles and end up on the walls or furniture.

6) If you have even the slightest suspicion that a toxic substance has ended up on your things, it is forbidden to wash them in a washing machine - mercury may remain on its parts. We recommend simply throwing away these clothes - it’s probably easier than later getting rid of the washing machine.

If a mercury thermometer breaks at home, you must follow a clear algorithm for neutralizing such a dangerous substance as mercury. The main rule is to suppress panic, since this situation, although quite unpleasant, is not catastrophic, every family faces this.

Familiarization with this material will benefit everyone, since you will be prepared for such an emergency. It is also worth having a conversation with loved ones, especially children, about the danger of a broken thermometer and that you cannot hide the fact that the integrity of the mercury flask has been damaged.

What is dangerous about a broken mercury thermometer?

The tip of the thermometer contains mercury, which is a substance hazardous to human health. The danger comes from mercury vapor, which, if the thermometer is damaged, can penetrate into respiratory system person. Wrong actions when eliminated, emergencies can lead to long-term exposure to small mercury balls in the indoor air.

The danger of a broken thermometer is that the mercury balls are very mobile and can penetrate into small cracks and far corners of the room; it is quite difficult to get them out, as well as to notice them. It is these “missed” balls of mercury that will further poison the atmosphere in the room.

Mercury begins to evaporate at a temperature of 18 degrees; substances released during evaporation enter the human body in 80% of cases through the lungs. With a large leak of mercury and large evaporation, the vapors begin to penetrate the skin and mucous membranes, affecting the gums, kidneys, and primarily the central nervous system.

There is an opinion that if a thermometer is dangerous, then it would not be sold in every pharmacy. Of course, mercury from a thermometer cannot cause acute intoxication of the body, but it is quite capable of weakening a person’s health. If the thermometer breaks, then consequences for the body arise from prolonged inhalation of even a small amount of vapor, which leads to the development of:

pneumonia, possible breathing problems;

defeat of cardio-vascular system and thyroid gland;

irreversible processes in the liver and kidneys;

changes in the state of the central nervous system (paralysis, depression, decreased cognitive function and memory, anxiety, insomnia);

hand tremors;

gingivitis.

Mercury is even more dangerous for pregnant women and children:

children may experience changes in the functioning of their lungs and kidneys;

Pregnant women are at risk of intrauterine damage to the fetus if they are chronically exposed to mercury vapor.

The thermometer is broken - what to do?

If, in a panic, all the data presented in this material flew out of your head, dial the Ministry of Emergency Situations or the sanitary service and strictly follow their instructions. If you have the strength to cope with the problem yourself, you need to do the following:

remove people and animals from the room in which the mercury leak occurred and close the door tightly;

prepare:

soap-soda solution and saturated solution of potassium permanganate;

fill a 3 liter jar with a tight lid cold water or a solution of potassium permanganate;

two sheets of paper;

medical bulb or syringe;

a brush or a piece of cotton wool;

an awl or knitting needle, electrical tape, plaster or tape;

put on rubber slippers, which you won’t mind throwing away later, or plastic bags;

put a wet one on your face gauze bandage to protect your lungs, also wear rubber gloves (preferably medical ones due to their convenience when performing small manipulations with your hands);

dampen a rag in strong solution potassium permanganate and lay it on the threshold of the room where the “accident” occurred;

close the doors tightly and open the window, but do not open windows in other rooms in order to prevent a draft;

pick up the thermometer and all the fragments, being careful not to scatter the mercury remaining in the tip, place everything in a jar of water;

carefully form small balls of mercury into one large one using paper;

drive big ball onto a sheet of paper using a brush and pour the mercury into a jar of water;

after cleaning visible to the eye drops of mercury need to be dealt with small ones by gluing tape to the place where the thermometer was broken, after treating the area, place the tape in a jar;

use a flashlight to inspect everything possible places and cracks into which balls of mercury could roll (a metallic reflection when the light beam is directed). Mercury balls must be removed from hard-to-reach places using a syringe or rolled out with a knitting needle;

Place the bulb or syringe in the jar as well;

if there is a possibility of mercury penetrating under the baseboard, you need to dismantle the latter and inspect everything;

close the jar with a lid;

rinse surfaces and floors with a solution of potassium permanganate or a soap-soda solution (both can be done at once);

remove gloves, shoes and clothes in which “disinfection” was carried out, and put everything in a bag that is tightly tied;

call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and find out where you can send the jar with dangerous contents, as well as all the items that were used when cleaning up the mercury (clothing, a floor rag, a blower, gloves, a brush);

rinse your mouth with soda solution and take a shower.

All actions must be performed carefully, but the demercurization process (mercury collection) must not be delayed for hours. In the next week, you need to try to eliminate the time that people and animals stay in the room, ventilate it often, while eliminating drafts. Wash floors and surfaces that have come into contact with mercury every day using a soap-soda solution or water with bleach.

If you feel that one of the balls is still left in the room, you need to call the laboratory station of the sanitation station or the Ministry of Emergency Situations, who will measure the concentration of mercury vapor.

What not to do if the thermometer is broken:

Do not throw mercury, the thermometer itself, and the materials used to collect mercury into a garbage chute or sewer;

if all actions are carried out according to the algorithm and the fragments are placed in a jar of potassium permanganate, such a jar cannot be thrown into the places listed above; mercury neutralization is carried out in specialized organizations;

Do not use a vacuum cleaner or broom to collect mercury;

You cannot use clothes in which mercury was collected, even after washing, they must be handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations.