Than neutralize mercury at home?

Almost every house has a mercury thermometer, which must be handled very carefully, because it contains a particularly dangerous mercury metal.

If it crashed, how to neutralize mercury at home? We'll talk about this and many other things in our article.

Than neutralize mercury in the case when the thermometer broke

The first thing to do is to calm down and stop panicking in order to gather your thoughts and start acting promptly.

And the second is to remember the main three rules:

1. Do not collect dangerous balls with a rag. Because metal has the property of decaying into smaller particles, which will be even more difficult to collect.
2. You can not use the vacuum cleaner. This is extremely dangerous! The focus of defeat is increasing. Together with the circulating air flow, the pairs will return to the room again. The device will have to be thrown out, as the remaining substance settles on the internal parts, creating a film, the poisons of which will evaporate every time it is turned on, and the mercury droplets - fall on all surfaces in the room. Moreover, even in a landfill, this technique will exude a dangerous substance.
3. Do not use a broom. The bars will crush the balls, turning them into a mercury powder. This dust penetrates into the smallest cracks and has a toxic effect for many years.

In order to properly neutralize mercury at home, you should not forget these basic rules. It is very toxic, has the main property - to evaporate indoors. Couples are the strongest poisons.

Before we proceed to the question of how to neutralize mercury from a broken thermometer on our own, let's talk about how dangerous this metal is.

What is the threat?

Mercury is a liquid metal that can evaporate. Its smallest particles can penetrate into all the cracks, under the skirting boards, into the pile of the carpet. Under the influence of room temperature they turn into vapors that poison the air.

Through inhalation these poisons penetrate into all internal organs and accumulate there. Are manifested in the form of dermatitis, stomatitis. Characteristic metallic taste and excessive salivation. Subsequently, the nervous system is affected, which leads to the emergence of various serious diseases. Therefore, it is extremely important to know what to neutralize mercury.

There are also complex forms of poisoning, which are characterized by the appearance of nausea, accompanied by vomiting. There may be pneumonia, abdominal pain, diarrhea. In case of severe intoxication, even death occurs.

We learned how dangerous this metal is. Let us proceed directly to the question, than to neutralize mercury.

First steps

We will consider the basic rules and give examples, than to neutralize mercury from the thermometer at home. The following requirements must be fulfilled:

1. We take out people and animals from the affected premises, so that children do not touch dangerous balls, and pets do not swallow them.
2. It is necessary to close other rooms to prevent further penetration of fumes, and this room in particular.
3. It is necessary to open the windows so that it is well ventilated, but drafts must not be allowed.
4. On the threshold of the infected room, lay a cloth soaked in a manganese solution.
5. Secure yourself, put on a gauze bandage, shoe covers, if there are none, ordinary polyethylene bags will come off, rubber gloves on your hands.
6. First, fragments of a thermometer are collected, then mercury itself.
7. When collecting, you can not step on the ill-fated drops, otherwise you will have to throw out your shoes.
8. Collect them from the edges to the center.

These are the first steps to be taken. Of course, you can resort to the help of specialists. Employees of the Ministry of Emergency Measures will measure the level of mercury in the room and will make a full cleaning. This service is paid and expensive.

We will understand, than to neutralize mercury from a thermometer at home from different surfaces

First it is necessary to prepare a container (jar) with a solution of potassium permanganate. To collect silver balls, you will need a directed artificial light source: a flashlight or a lamp.

With a soft artistic brush, gently roll the balls onto a paper sheet and pour them into a prepared container with rose water.

A broken thermometer, which has not emitted mercury, must be completely lowered into a prepared container and taken to the EMERCOM branch for further destruction.

What else can neutralize mercury? We need:

• Pear for syringing.
• Syringe.
• Any small brush.

So, let's start collecting mercury.

If the balls scattered on the wooden floor

Here you need to pay special attention. They could roll under the plinth, into the gap between the floorboards. To remove particles, you need to fill in the sand and then gently sweep it out with a brush. You can use a wand with wrapped cotton wool soaked in sunflower oil, and after collecting the balls do not shake them, and we completely remove all into the solution.

To remove dangerous balls from hard-to-reach places, it is necessary to know that it neutralizes mercury from the thermometer. You need a conventional syringe with a thin tip or a syringe with a needle.

We remove the silver particles from the carpet

We will be helped in this tape or an adhesive plaster. You can use a magnet. It is better to carry out the carpet for airing for at least a month, if this is not possible, it must be washed in a soda soap solution.

Well eliminates the metal copper wire, to which the balls easily stick.

If mercury hit the bed

In this case, still have to call EMERCOM employees to measure the level of contamination with poisonous vapors that could have absorbed into the mattress. But before it is necessary to independently take dangerous balls with two sheets of paper or hands in rubber gloves.

In the toilet, you can not wash away mercury. If it still got there, drain the water in the sink and take out the metal with a magnet, protected hands or enema.

To clean the furniture, you need to work the surface with a cloth dampened with a strong manganese solution, but you must be careful not to spoil it.

We examined the mechanical methods of cleaning, after which the airing of the infected room follows. Now let's start the discussion of the third stage.

Chemical demercurization

We figured out how to neutralize mercury at home, and now we'll talk about the next step.

After the balls are removed, there are no guarantees that there will be no mercury dust left. It is also necessary to get rid of it. To do this, you need any chlorine-containing liquid, a tile treatment agent or a simple whiteness.

On a ten-liter bucket, we dilute a liter of chlorinated substance. Always protect your hands with gloves. Squeeze a slightly rag, carefully wash the contaminated surface. You can even pour this liquid slots for additional disinfection. You need to work and walls.

Then you need to wash the walls and floor with a soap solution. A liter of hot water will need 70 grams of baking soda and the same amount of crushed laundry soap. In gloves, the entire surface must be treated.

The fourth stage is again purification with fresh air

Airing should take several hours, while in the room no one should be allowed in as before.

The final step is the disposal of things that come into contact with the dangerous metal.

Rags, syringes, needles, paper, a can of mercury, gloves and even contaminated shoes and clothing are subject to destruction. They must be attributed to a special organization for subsequent disposal.

For two weeks you need to carefully ventilate the room for several hours every day. To calm the conscience, you can call the Ministry of Emergency Situations for control air measurement.

Safety precautions

We learned how to neutralize mercury, we will talk a little about safety.

This is a difficult process that can take several hours. Therefore, every fifteen minutes is worth taking a break, leaving for fresh air. It is necessary to drink a lot of liquid, because the metal is excreted from the body with the help of kidneys.

What you should pay attention to:

1. Do not wash clothes that are in contact with mercury in a washing machine.
2. It is strictly forbidden to throw silver balls into the toilet bowl, they will descend to the walls of the pipes and begin to continue the poisonous evaporation and poisoning of the inhabitants of the entire multi-storey building. The same applies to the garbage chute.
3. When processing an infected room do not turn on the air conditioner, the particles settle on the filters.
4. Do not throw mercury balls into the oven, with the smoke poisoning substances come out into the atmosphere.

To avoid this problem, you must store the thermometer in a secluded, inaccessible place for children. And it is better to use electronic versions.

Final Actions

After all stages of cleaning the room from mercury, you need to do the following:

1. Using a weak solution of potassium permanganate, rinse your throat and brush your teeth.
2. Drink plenty of any liquid.
3. Take several tablets of activated charcoal.
4. Do not forget to ventilate the room and process the walls and floor with the above means.
5. If the liquid metal is on the surface of the skin, the affected area must be treated with a lime solution. Can leave a small burn, but this is a minor health damage, compared to poisoning.

Observance of these simple recommendations will help to avoid negative consequences.

Remember, a broken thermometer carries a lot of danger!

A tiny ball can evaporate for about a year. The speed of this process will depend directly on the following factors:

1. Room air temperatures.
2. The amount of mercury emitted.
3. The area of the room in which the accident occurred.

Even a small amount of this metal can cause serious health problems. After all, it is able to accumulate inside our body, which causes chronic poisoning.

Signs are not immediately apparent. They appear later, this irritable state, problems with sleep and nervous system.

And finally, how to neutralize mercury, if it got inward

There are some good recommendations:

1. The first thing to do is to induce vomiting from the poisoned person.
2. Rinse the stomach with a solution of activated charcoal or protein from the egg.
3. Then drink a glass of milk.
4. And to wait for an ambulance.

If a person is poisoned in pairs, it should be taken out to the street before the doctors arrive.

Knowing these simple recommendations, now you will not feel panic and fear if such a situation happens. The main thing is to calm down and follow the above instructions.