We all know better now, but I do need to chime in on the actual risks. The risk from elemental mercury is ingestion and inhalation. Ingestion is a "normal" risk, similar to that of other toxic chemicals and cleaners, and it should not be eaten. The vapor pressure of mercury is so low at room temperature that there is very little risk of inhalation.
If you wash your hands after handling, risks are very low. But if you drop a bit, it could become atomized, and inhalation risks go up considerably. Also, if it is heated, as in artisanal gold mining, the risks are high. So, I agree, when mercury is dropped or vaporizes, evacuate the building. The more problematic and more toxic form of mercury, methylmercury, bioaccumulates, can have serious health consequences, especially for the young and unborn.
According to the Blacksmith Institute, a third of the mercury in the environment is due to artisanal gold mines. Jack London used to rub it on himself in the belief that it would cure him of illness.
Needless to say, he did develop mercury poisoning, but that was over many years. So I am sure touching it once won't hurt you at all. It was probably the funniest thing I ever did and I'm not brian damajed. It wasn't intentional or planned, but when one of our thermometers in the lab was broken, we found it the right time to get the experience while we were trying to collect the small pieces.
The experience of seeing the tiny pieces turned into a big one and break them again into tiny pieces was kind of interesting, if not amazing, to us during our freshman year. I can't imagine there would be so many stupid people who believe touching mercury would kill them. When I was in high school we spilled a pint bottle of mercury in the floor. We got down with notebook paper and scraped it up into a pile and scooped it up and put in back in the bottle.
None of us died; in fact, most of us are now very well and over age of Our local school broke a thermometer and the school was evacuated, closed, and a chemical response team called in to clean up the mercury. I played with it as a kid and in high school, but was never around fumes. I'm now in my 60s, healthy and teaching. In grade school during the early 60's we were given mercury as a hands on experiment. Touch it and it bursts into tiny balls, round them up and they meld into one larger one.
I'm 56 and pretty darn healthy! I also remember getting a tube of gunk that you could squeeze out a blob, blow it up into a balloon and pinch shut. Probably was full of lead! How did we survive such "unhealthy" childhoods! When I was a grade-schooler, I belonged to an informal "science club". We used to study various science topics and run low-cost experiments.
One member had some mercury in a bottle that we put into a bowl and played with using our fingers, splitting it into smaller drops and then reuniting. We didn't realize then it wasn't a good idea! Maybe could account for some of my digestive problems now? I rubbed mercury on coins, made lead soldiers, and our home water pipes were lead. When I worked in a large lab for two years in my early twenties we mixed asbestos, flour, and water to insulate our equipment.
The inside of our noses were white with asbestos. A friend of mine who had a similar background died two years ago from a heart attack unrelated to mercury.
I am 80 with no known health problems. When I was a kid, back before there were spirit thermometers, the various oil companies and insurance companies used to mail out desk calendars with little thermometers on one side. I would collect as many as I could, break them open, and chase the globs of mercury around for hours, rolling it around in my hand and across the floor.
I had amassed a sizable amount of Hg from several years of multiple calendars. The only warning I ever got was mom saying, "Don't eat that stuff.
I am 80 so of course I touched mercury in chemistry lab. It was a great way to make silver dimes new and shiny. In high school chemistry , I accidentally got in on a blue birthstone ring that was gold. It turned it silver. It stayed like that until a thief stole it when I was in college. Luckily, it was not a very expensive ring nor something I wore much.
We were playing with the mercury on our desks at our teacher's suggestion when this occurred. There were no warnings about toxicity at the time a long time ago. Yes, in fact I knew a guy who was trapped in a vessel of Hg up to his waist! His wellingtons where full and he could not move, before I helped to rescue him he fell over in 3 foot deep Hg. He didn't drown. He was fine after this, but his mercury urine levels where well over the safe limits. I had some in the palm of my hand for about five minutes when I was in middle school.
Knowing nothing about it I had no idea why my hand turned red. Darn bet'cha. It was every science teachers toy after blowing up magnesium in water. The danger in mercury is long term exposure to its vapor. Most chemistry rooms have a bead of Mercury flowing around their mop boards. Pull them up and wow, if the environmental agency saw that. I use to float a shot put in a half gallon of mercury until they sent in the boys from hazmat took my toy away.
Now I just blow up magnesium. Anyone know where I can get some phosphorus? Contact with the skin or inside the mouth could cause minor irritation or a burning sensation that should go away quickly. If the liquid spills, rinse off exposed areas with water.
If the liquid gets in the eye, flush the eye with water for 15 to 20 minutes, then call Poison Control. Galinstan liquid consists of tin, indium, and gallium. According to its manufacturer, Galinstan is not toxic when swallowed because it passes through the digestive system without effect.
Inhalation is also not a concern because there is no absorption through the lungs. Skin exposures to Galinstan can cause irritation. If the liquid is silver in color it might be mercury. Spilled mercury has a unique appearance. It is a thick, shiny, fast-moving liquid metal that can break up into little balls that reform when pushed together. But not all thermometers with silver liquid contain mercury.
Mercury can be poisonous in certain situations. Most oral and rectal thermometers contain about 0. The main health problems from mercury are from the vapors. These are produced at room temperature and especially when mercury is heated. The vapors can be inhaled and are absorbed into the body. The immediate effects of inhaling highly concentrated vapors include coughing, sore throat, difficulty breathing, chest pain, vomiting, and headache.
An unexpected way to heat up mercury and produce vapors occurs when a vacuum cleaner is used to clean up a mercury spill. Never vacuum up mercury from a broken thermometer! If a mercury spill is not cleaned up right away, vapors will continue to be produced. These vapors might be in low concentrations that would not cause immediate effects, but repeated long-term exposure to vapors can cause problems such as shaking, difficulty walking, weakness, headaches, loss of appetite, gum inflammation, red skin, high blood pressure, rapid pulse, kidney damage, and personality changes.
The amount of mercury in a mercury thermometer is not enough to cause poisoning if someone handles it with intact skin, however skin irritation could occur. Unintentionally swallowing this amount of mercury would also not be well absorbed by someone who has a healthy digestive tract. It is still a good idea to call Poison Control someone touches or swallows mercury, especially if the person has a skin or digestive condition that might lead to excess absorption, like psoriasis or ulcerative colitis.
We can help you decide if you should seek medical attention. Depending on the specific circumstances surrounding the broken mercury-containing thermometers, most cases can be managed safely at home; however, always contact Poison Control at for assistance.
Initial treatment following exposure to spilled mercury includes washing with soap and water if mercury came into contact with the skin and getting fresh air if the vapors are inhaled. Ingestion of small amounts of mercury usually do not need a specific treatment, but rinsing with water then spitting can help remove any mercury remaining in the mouth. For people with symptoms, special drugs can be given to help remove the mercury from the body.
Calls to Poison Control about mercury from broken thermometers are declining because of the availability of other types of thermometers. Although mercury is considered a highly toxic substance, the overall risk of toxicity from a broken mercury-containing thermometer is low when appropriate clean-up measures are taken.
The EPA recommends the following clean-up steps for broken mercury thermometers in your home. If someone has been exposed to a broken thermometer, contact Poison Control at for expert advice. Karen D. But you really shouldn't try drinking mercury - most of the patients in the 19th century didn't survive. It's all too easy to inhale mercury unintentionally along the way. Humans have been using mercury since ancient times.
In the Middle Ages, it was used in alchemy and medicine. It was only in the modern period that it became clear that the metal is highly poisonous. There's also mercury in fluorescent lighting. Although they save energy, disposal can be a problem. Energy-saving bulbs should not be thrown away with other waste, due to the tiny amount of mercury they contain.
A forklift operator at the DELA recycling company in Essen, Germany, dumps a load of compact fluorescent tubes into a shredder. In order to prevent mercury from escaping, a filtering ventilation system sucks the air away. The shredded compact fluorescent tubes are stored in a silo until a spiral conveyor carefully carries them to a glass-washing area.
Workers wash masses of broken glass from the shredded lamps to recover luminescent material and mercury from the glass shards. Glass from lightbulbs is considered valuable in industrial processes, since it can withstand high temperatures and varying levels of pressure. Producers of the bulbs use the purest possible materials. The glass washing process leaves behind a sludge with a high mercury content.
Mercury is distilled from this, just like in a liquor distillery. The pure illuminant is returned to lightbulb producers. They gladly pay for it, because it contains the rare earth elements yttrium and europium.
From the vacuum dryer comes pure mercury. Since the metal is quite dense, it weighs 1. The amount shown in the jar here is from , compact fluorescent light bulbs.
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