Why scare the harmfulness of mercury in a thermometer. What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks in an apartment? What not to do while cleaning

Urgently leaving the apartment by calling the rescue service and informing the neighbors about the infection at home is an example of how not to behave if a mercury thermometer breaks in the apartment. The line between truth and fiction about the dangers of mercury for humans is thin, but in order not to panic once again, you need to learn a number of rules.

First steps

It is best to close the room where the thermometer crashed and limit the access of children and animals there. The first step is to collect to the maximum all the drops of mercury that have spilled. It is most convenient to do this in rubber gloves with a pear or adhesive tape (for example, adhesive tape).

Drops of mercury must be collected in a container filled with water, and then tightly closed. In the future, it is handed over to special departments for the disposal of mercury. The place where mercury was spilled should be treated with a weak solution of potassium permanganate or a chlorine-containing liquid, and the room should be ventilated.

Truth and myths

Mercury from broken thermometer able to infect an apartment for many years? A mercury thermometer contains one to two grams of mercury. This is enough to get mild poisoning if you do not collect mercury drops.

“If all the particles are collected, then there is no danger. If there is any suspicion that it has rolled somewhere behind the plinth, under the laminate, into some other gap, then it is better to call specialists to take a measurement and then directly carry out the demercurization of the premises, ”said the specialist of the Sibrtut company Andrey Pechenkin.

Among the symptoms of acute poisoning are general weakness, lack of appetite, headache, pain when swallowing, metallic taste in the mouth, salivation, swelling and bleeding of the gums, nausea and vomiting. If there are no such manifestations, there is nothing to worry about. Moreover, mercury from a thermometer is not enough for such poisoning.

Should clothing containing mercury be recycled? It is necessary to collect mercury drops in rubber gloves so as not to contact the hazardous metal once again. As for clothes, they remain safe if there is no possibility that they may contain particles of mercury. For your own peace of mind, after collecting the remnants of the thermometer, they can be washed with any chlorine-containing liquid. This is more than enough. Dangerous and fast: which thermometer to choose

If mercury got on a pet, then this is not a tenant? Getting mercury on the fur of an animal is not a sentence for a pet. If the mercury ball is tangled in the wool, it just needs to be cut off, and if the mercury has rolled over the pet, it must be washed with a chlorine-containing liquid.

In the room where the thermometer crashed, you can’t go for 10 days?“One good ventilation, provided that all mercury particles have been collected, is enough. If poisoning has not occurred within a day, then most likely there is no danger to health, ”Pechenkin said.

Do you need to notify your neighbors about the contamination of the living quarters? There is no need to report a broken mercury thermometer to neighbors. “Mercury, it is around us, is contained not only in a broken thermometer. But there is a certain norm, if there is no excess, then everything is fine, ”commented the specialist.

The most reliable way to make sure that the house is safe is to call specialists. In Novosibirsk, you can contact the department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations (Kolyvanskaya, 4. Tel.: 218 68 00). The team will arrive with the equipment, measure the air free of charge and, in case of deviations, carry out demercurization.

It is hardly possible to find a house or apartment in which there is no thermometer for measuring body temperature - an indispensable device for any ailment. And, for the most part, thermometers in houses in the post-Soviet space are mercury. Although electronic and infrared temperature meters have been on the market for a long time, their older counterparts are being replaced rather slowly.

Older people are skeptical about innovations and believe that only a mercury thermometer can accurately measure the temperature, while the younger generation uses what they inherited and changes the thermometer to a modern one only when the mercury ... breaks.

Safety rules when using a mercury thermometer

Of course, this is an exacerbated picture. Mercury thermometers have long been treated with care, knowing that it is impossible to break it, because inside there is a very dangerous substance - mercury. But thermometers are struggling and being aware of the list of actions to be taken in such a situation means being ready to overcome it with minimal consequences.
First you need to learn the main rules for handling a mercury thermometer, which minimize the likelihood of breaking it:

• First and foremost: a thermometer is not a toy. In no case should it be given to children, even just hold it in their hands;
• mercury thermometer must be stored in a strong case, usually plastic, in a place where children do not have access;
• "knocking down" the thermometer, be extremely careful. Do not handle it with wet hands and move away from hard objects. This will avoid slipping and accidental impact;
• measure the child's temperature only under your supervision. Try to hold the patient's hand on your own, as children are known for their restlessness and forgetfulness.

Why is a broken thermometer dangerous?

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

The amount of mercury in a conventional thermometer is about two to five grams. If all 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 300,000 times more than the maximum allowable concentration for residential areas, since, according to 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 it takes a lot of mercury to evaporate all the mercury. heat. But without proper action, a broken thermometer will lead to an excess of the MPC of mercury vapor by 50-100 times, which is also quite a lot and very dangerous.

It should be noted that mercury tends to accumulate in the body. That is, without collecting it carefully, the consequences of inhaling mercury fumes can appear after a few weeks, when you have already forgotten about the broken thermometer. In this case, the diagnosis of the causes of malaise will be very difficult.

Symptoms of mercury poisoning

If a thermometer breaks, the spilled liquid metal is unlikely to bring critical consequences, if we mean paralysis, irreversible changes in vital systems and death by this concept. Inhaling mercury vapor from a broken thermometer may cause the following symptoms:

• metallic taste in the mouth;
• general weakness;
• lack of appetite;
• headache and discomfort when swallowing;
• nausea and vomiting.

Untimely assistance to the victim entails an increase in the symptoms of poisoning, which is manifested by the following markers:

• bleeding gums;
• pain in the abdomen;
• loose stools with mucous and blood inclusions;
• a sharp increase in body temperature, sometimes up to 40 degrees.

Such symptoms are a reason for immediate hospitalization. Without qualified medical care, the consequences can be critical, up to death.
Mercury fumes are especially dangerous for children and women during pregnancy. In the first category, even short-term inhalation of mercury fumes can lead to serious problems in the functioning of the kidneys, and in pregnant women, this situation can provoke intrauterine damage to the fetus. Therefore, both children and pregnant women, even without the above symptoms, after just being in the room where the thermometer crashed, should consult a doctor.

First aid for mercury poisoning

The appearance of symptoms of mercury vapor poisoning is a message to immediately call an ambulance. Before her arrival, the victim should be allowed to drink the maximum possible amount of water, which will flush the body and it is highly desirable to take the drug Polysorb (price - from 120 rubles, depending on the dosage). It belongs to the class of enterosorbents and is recommended for use in acute poisoning poisons.

This is a rather unique remedy: the sorption capacity of Polysorb exceeds 300 milligrams per gram of powder, it begins to act already a few minutes after ingestion, and Polysorb has no contraindications for age.

The dosage of the drug is carried out depending on the weight of the person according to the following table:

The mercury thermometer broke: what to do?

But, in fact, a crashed thermometer, with correct and well-established actions, is nothing more than an unpleasant situation that you can resolve on your own.
First of all, if the thermometer crashed, remember it physical properties and cool, if possible, the room to 18 degrees. Mercury does not evaporate at this temperature. Often, for this you just need to turn off the heating, turn on the air conditioner and open the window. In a room with spilled mercury, there should be no draft that can crush mercury balls, so we open only one window.

Next, we deal with the elimination of the consequences. If you have not come into contact with mercury yet, then we change our shoes and change into clothes and shoes that we would not mind throwing away. It is desirable that it be rubber shoes and clothes made of fabric that does not absorb anything. A cellophane raincoat will do. We put rubber gloves on our hands, and a wet cloth bandage on our face.
We prepare a sufficient amount of potassium permanganate solution (20 grams of potassium permanganate per 10 liters of water) and a soap-soda solution in a separate container. Part of the potassium permanganate is collected in a glass jar with a tight lid.

Scattered mercury resembles small metal balls. If they are on the floor, it will not be difficult to collect them. Those that are larger - we collect with a sheet of paper and lower them into a jar. Those that are smaller - with a piece of adhesive tape, which we then also lower into potassium permanganate. Next, carefully, preferably with a flashlight, we examine the places where mercury could roll - cracks, corners, baseboards. We roll balls out of them with a metal knitting needle, or we suck them up with a pear for douching. All this is also sent to a container with potassium permanganate, as well as the remains of a thermometer. We tear off the plinth and also pack it in a tight bag, so that we can dispose of it later. In the light of a flashlight, the mercury balls will give off a distinct metallic sheen, so that on a flat floor they will all be clearly visible.

Having collected all the mercury, we wash the floor and all surfaces where mercury could get into with a soap and soda solution, put clothes, gloves and shoes in a bag that we tightly tie and call the Ministry of Emergency Situations at 112. They will tell you where you can dispose of the collected mercury and things that came into contact with her.

We wash ourselves thoroughly, rinse the mouth several times with soda solution and take a few tablets activated carbon for disinfection.

We close the room where the thermometer was broken from visits for a week, leaving one window open. We regularly disinfect the floor in it with a soap and soda solution.

A much more difficult situation is when mercury from a thermometer hits a fabric surface or if a mercury thermometer breaks in a place where it is impossible to collect mercury: in a room with cracks in the floor or where a lot of things are laid out. In such cases, it will be impossible to do without the help of specialists. In such a situation, the first step will be the removal of people and animals from the premises. Then you need to open one window, while eliminating the appearance of a draft, and call laboratory service specialists who work at sanitary and epidemiological stations and at subdivisions of the Ministry of Emergency Situations. With the help of special equipment, they will be able to determine the concentration of mercury fumes, as well as things that will need to be disposed of. Most likely, it will be necessary to say goodbye to everything that mercury could get on.

What can not be done if the thermometer crashed

You also need to remember the list of actions that in no case should be done in a situation where a thermometer is broken in your house:

• mercury balls must not be collected with a broom or vacuum cleaner. In such cases, the liquid metal is only crushed, and the warm movement of the vacuum cleaner contributes to its evaporation. The consequences of such cleaning will only aggravate the current situation;
• collected mercury, even in a tightly closed glass jar with a solution of potassium permanganate, must not be thrown into the garbage chute or into a garbage container. There, it will eventually break, which will endanger other people (mercury from one thermometer can pollute up to six thousand cubic meters of air). The remains of the mercury thermometer and the collected mercury are disposed of only on the recommendations of the Ministry of Emergency Situations;
• it is strictly forbidden to wash things that have come into contact with mercury in a washing machine. Even using disinfectants detergents. Disposal of mercury is a very complex process and such actions not only will not save clothes and things, but will also make further washing dangerous;
• do not flush mercury down the drain. It will not reach the sewage station, but will settle in the “elbows” of the pipeline and will pollute the air with fumes for a long time.

And most importantly: with a broken thermometer, in no case should you panic. In this 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 crashes. And in difficult cases, they will be sent to the appropriate services, which will eliminate the consequences of what happened.