I broke a mercury thermometer outside (fell on a rock). It is an elemental merc thermometer with the silvery fluid. Afterwards, just by being near it, my shirt, etc. had a nasty chemical smell. I know that mercury is odorless, and dangerous, so what was the smell and how dangerous is it? i thought it might be the other clear liquid that is in there with the merc. Anyway, it is extremely strong and i definitely inhaled it. Any thoughts on a) what other chemical solutions are in there with the elemental mercury? b) how dangerous are those solutions? c) how to clean that up the non-mercury elements, if necessary? thanks!!!!
2006-12-04 08:48:42 · 12 answers · asked by Jon H 1 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Chemistry
That was definitely mercury in there, a silvery white liquid. Its a toxin but I think its not too bad if you don't ingest it, the fumes shouldn't be toooo bad, maybe a headache at worst but I'd seek medical advice since I'm no expert on its severity or effects
2006-12-04 08:55:06 · answer #1 · answered by ukcufs 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I still have a mercury thermometer and there is definitely another liquid within the tube and bulb of the apparatus, as well as the mercury in the tube. There IS a pungent odour given off when a mercury thermometer is shattered, as I have broken two over the years, and mercury is odourless, I can only put the smell down to the other liquid that is also within the thermometer. The Occupational Exposure Standard for mercury is 0.025mg m-3 averaged over an 8-hour day. A typical school thermometer contains 1g of mercury. In the very unlikely event that all this vaporised instantly, it would produce a concentration in a typical laboratory (volume about 240 m3) of 4 mg m-3. Many laboratories will have 6 air changes per hour, but even if there were as few as 2 air changes per hour then the mercury concentration would drop to acceptable levels in less than four hours.
There is no immediate risk if a thermometer is broken in a lesson. The spilt mercury should be cleared up as quickly as possible, to prevent it becoming dispersed but, if this cannot be done immediately, it is not a major problem. The only risk might be a teacher (or, more likely, to a technician) working day after day in a small, badly-ventilated room where mercury vapour levels might become unacceptably high, but even then there would need to be a succession of spills, never cleared up. Interestingly, a recent study in the USA showed that science teachers had no higher levels of mercury in their blood than teachers of other subjects.
2015-08-01 22:40:40 · answer #2 · answered by joeninetee 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
a) There shouldn't have been anything other than elemental mercury; however, I believe mercury or its oxide has a strong smell like cinnamon that burns the nose -- I once broke a mercury thermometer in a chemistry class. b) The real danger is in the mercury itself -- "Mad hatters" was a mental disease that hat makers used to get back in the 1800's from the fumes from using mercury to shape hat bands -- but a one-time inhalation of a small quantity is probably pretty much harmless. The problem is that mercury will readily oxidize or combine with other elements to make mercury salts. c) There shouldn't be any non-mercury elements, just mercury compounds. The best way to dispose would be to simply gather up (absorb) as much as you can, before it can react. Once mercury is no longer in its elemental form, it can be much more soluable and much harder to contain, and you definitely don't want to do anything that would generate fumes (like heating it and boiling it away).
2006-12-04 09:00:00 · answer #3 · answered by pluck_tyson 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Advice from a chemistry student: Breaking a mercury thermometer anywhere is a very DANGEROUS THING! It is a heavy metal and a poison. Even the chem lab instructor had to take special precautions!
If your outside, Call 911 for advice and do not let mercury reach water source. Haz-Mat should be able to help.
2006-12-04 09:00:24 · answer #4 · answered by Ariel 128 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mecury is not in another fluid in the thermometer. Did the Hg seem to react with something in the rock? Hg can be absorbed through the skin. It causes liver and brain damage.. Mercury vapor is released when fluorescent lights are broken.
2006-12-04 08:57:06 · answer #5 · answered by science teacher 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I don't know what the other liquid was, but the Hg is very dangerous to the environment, poisonous to animals so clean it up. The best thing to do would be to call poison control and find out what they know about the Hg thermometers.
2006-12-04 08:53:18 · answer #6 · answered by Drew 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I used to play with it when I was a kid too. I went crazy later which makes me wonder sometimes. Its dangerous. Don't mess with it.
2006-12-04 08:51:05 · answer #7 · answered by kurticus1024 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is very toxic. You need to call and have it removed. You should also get checked out if it got on you.
2006-12-04 08:56:35 · answer #8 · answered by gypsygirl247 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Mercury vapors are toxic!
2006-12-04 08:53:20 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
ALL WHAT I CAN SAY IS THAT MERCURY IS CLASSIFIED AS TOXIC AND IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH. IT CAN CAUSE CANCER AND LIKE LEAD. DISCARD IT.
2006-12-04 08:56:20 · answer #10 · answered by Kwadwo B 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋