I droped an old thermometer that had mercury in it. What do I do???? I touched it by accident!!!?

Question

I dropped an old thermometer and I thought I saw little silver pieces of glass so I went to pick them up but then I realized it was mercury! I washed my hands and vacummed up all the mercury I could see, its on carpet though. What should I do?

I'm 13 years old, does that make a difference?

Answer 1

First, I wouldn't be so quick to just assume it's mercury. Alcohol or other substances have been used for years.

However, given that you said "little silver pieces," I'm tempted to say that it is, in fact, mercury. Better safe than sorry.

If you haven't already, tell your parents. They need to know.

I've included a link to EPA's web site dealing with this subject.

While they are, understandably, cautious, they are quite clear about the steps. And, the link I've provided is for a thermometer or less. Read the rest of the page to see what if it's more.

Please, tell your parents, direct them to EPA's directions, and follow them.

Answer 2

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
I droped an old thermometer that had mercury in it. What do I do???? I touched it by accident!!!?
I dropped an old thermometer and I thought I saw little silver pieces of glass so I went to pick them up but then I realized it was mercury! I washed my hands and vacummed up all the mercury I could see, its on carpet though. What should I do?

Answer 3

I'd still use it as long as I'm confident that I could keep it from getting broken. If it's stored so that only adults could get at them, and you're careful when you're handling it, it's hard to argue against continuing to use it. The old mercury thermometers are accurate, and perfectly safe as long as they don't get broken. On the other hand, once they are broken, loose mercury is nasty stuff. If you have small kids visiting, though, it may be best to ditch the thermometers. There's a risk they'll do something to break the thermometer. Unfortunately, free liquid mercury is unthreatening, pretty to look at, fascinating to play with, and seriously poisonous over time, and kids if unsupervised will likely do things like play with it or worse eat it thus drastically increasing their exposure.

Answer 4

Ladeda, don't panic, you're okay. My grandson, about 7 years old at the time, broke a thermometer in his mouth. Naturally we panicked. So we called 911 and had him taken to the hospital but the doctors said he couldn't have ingested enough to hurt him if he had spit the mercury out as soon as he broke the thermometer. They were actually more concerned with the damage the broken glass could have caused to mouth and throat, etc.They x-rayed his chest and throat area and said he was fine. As to cleaning up the mercury, don't vacuum anymore until you try a little trick I learned as a child. Put on rubber or latex gloves then take a silver coin, be sure it's real silver, and just run it around where the mercury is and it will pick it up like a magnet. It might take a little while to get it all, especially if it's in a carpet but you will be able to gather it. It puddles up on the coin. Then I just put it in double baggies and put it in the trashcan outside. I'm sure that wasn't the proper method of disposal but it was the one I thought of first..lol.. I learned that trick when I was 11 years old and in the hospital having my tonsils and adenoids removed. This was in the 60's so there were still quite a few silver coins in circulation. I had broken my thermometer and to keep from being found out, I just stuck it back in the drawer with the intention of saying that I didn't know what happened to it. ..lol.. BUT I had some change in there too and it had stuck to the silver coins but wouldn't stick to any others. It made those old silver coins shine like new but after a couple of days or so, they looked really rough and tarnished, like acid had been at them............................Jade

Answer 5

Old Thermometer

Answer 6

Hello, dear..I had the same accident before time. First do NOT panic!! The mercury is poisonous, but just calm down and If you follow the simple steps I am suggesting you you'll be alright:

1) The perfect absorber of the mercury is plain sand, it may sound weird but it should cover the place where are the removed mercury. ( You can find out in a zoo store, etc); It NEUTRALIZES the mercury.

2) Immediately throw away, outdoors the carpet!!

3) Leave the vaccum cleaner on the balcony/ terrace, not to be at any of the rooms!

Answer 7

call your local Health Department, they were collecting mercury thermometers and giving a safer one in return. They should be able to tell you how to clean up after the spill of mercury, and yourself as well. Ask about the new thermometers and they have any while you are on the phone.

Answer 8

I'm not gonna tell you what you must do, Because a lot of people id that all ready.

However, if you have any pets, I'd strongly suggest that you clean the carpet. pets like to take a close look at everything that smells unusual. they don't have hands, so they use their mouth. If they eat mercury it can be dangerous.

Answer 9

There are many different isotopes, or types, of mercury. The type used in glass thermometers is not terribly dangerous. Some of the OTHER isotopes of mercury, used in laboratories, have caused fatality from exposure to one drop.
P.S. Twenty years ago, my son broke a mercury thermometer and the mercury and broken glass fell down a heat register into the furnace. Twenty years later, he's as healthy as can be.

Answer 10

Everything will be okay, it is all those little pieces of glass, that know matter how you clean them up, there will always be some left behind, keep going over the spot and around where you broke the thermometer.
Many of them have been broken through out the years,and bitten off at the tip.