How much mercury is there in a thermometer?

Despite the fact that pharmacies are increasingly seeing electronic thermometers, the mercury thermometer is still popular. There are a number of reasons for this, and the main one is the high accuracy of measurements. It has one significant drawback - it can break, and then you won’t get into trouble if you do not take measures in time. How much mercury is there in the thermometer and what if it is on the floor? This will be discussed in the article.

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What is mercury?

From the school chemistry course, you probably remember that mercury is a silvery liquid metal, quite heavy. Its density is 13.546 g / cc. This substance is extremely toxic. Why is it used in household appliances?

The fact is that when heated, mercury expands very evenly, both at low and high temperatures. The coefficient of thermal expansion practically does not depend on external factors. This means that the measurements will be very accurate.

Important! Such a thermometer provides measurements with an accuracy of 0.01 °. And it does not depend on how much mercury is in the thermometer.

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How many grams of mercury are there in a thermometer?

There are several manufacturing standards for medical thermometers:

• In the Russian thermometer, it usually happens from 1 g to 1.5 g of mercury.
• In European - 2 g.
• Now there are models of Russian thermometers made according to European standards, so that they can also contain 2 g of silver metal.

Important! Having received such an answer to the question, how much mercury is in the thermometer, many will think that this seems to be a little. But do not flatter yourself - such a meager amount of metal can poison a room with a volume of 6 thousand cubic meters.

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Why is mercury dangerous?

Mercury itself is harmful, but not as much as its vapors and compounds. They:

• have cumulative properties, that is, they accumulate in the body if they get there;
• poorly excreted, and from some organs - not excreted at all;
• have no smell;
• have no taste;
• enter into a reaction with organic substances, and what is obtained as a result is very toxic;

Important! Mercury poisoning can develop very slowly and gradually.

Vapors and soluble mercury compounds have a harmful effect on various systems of the human body:

• immune
• nervous;
• digestive
• respiratory.

In case of poisoning with vapors and mercury compounds, the kidneys, esophagus, stomach, bronchi, intestinal tract, skin, eyes and much more suffer. Keep in mind that increasing temperature accelerates the mobility of mercury and its derivatives.

Important! Organic mercury substances are especially dangerous, since they immediately react with enzyme-forming organs, which increases toxicity.

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How many droplets are there in the room?

The thermometer in the apartment crashed - how much does the mercury disappear? Well, let's count, taking as a basis the modern European standard - 2 g, or 2,000 mg. This is the mass, which in physics and chemistry is denoted by the letter m. So m = 2000 mg.

Typically, mercury from the head of a thermometer, if suddenly a nuisance occurs and the thermometer crashes, scatters into several rather large drops.But it happens in a different way: for example, when there are a lot of drops and they are such that it is impossible to notice, that is, with a diameter (d) of 0.1 mm.

To calculate the surface area of ​​such a droplet of mercury, you need to square the diameter and multiply the result by 3.14. The result is 10-4 square centimeters. Using a simple formula, we determine the weight of each ball, for which we multiply the density of mercury by volume. To calculate the volume, 3.14 times the diameter in the cube divided by 6. The volume is 0.52x10-6. Accordingly - weight, if we multiply the density (13.6 g / cm3) and the calculated volume, we get 7.07 * 10-6.

Important! If you try to calculate the number of drops by dividing the total mass of mercury in the thermometer by the mass of a single drop, it turns out that there are already 283 thousand pieces of invisible and imperceptible particles of dangerous metal in the room. Given that evaporation occurs from the surface of each drop, it becomes clear that there will be plenty of vapor. We multiply the surface area of ​​the droplet by 283, and we get 90 square centimeters in total. Is it a lot or a little?

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How long does mercury evaporate from a broken thermometer?

Mercury evaporates at a rate of 0.002 mg per square centimeter per hour. Multiplying the value of the evaporating surface (90 cm2) by this value, we find that 0.18 mg of mercury will evaporate per hour.

To understand whether it is dangerous or not, it is necessary to compare the obtained value with the maximum permissible concentration of this substance in the room. It is 0,0003 mg per cubic meter. It turns out that the mercury from the broken thermometer is too much.

Important! In fact, this is not entirely true, because for MPC there are some initial criteria, that is, a threshold concentration for a long time - for example, for a year. A guarantee amendment is applied to the original criterion, which means a several-fold reduction in the threshold concentration.

Weekly dose

For substances such as mercury, international organizations have set a maximum weekly dose. It is calculated on 1 kg of weight. For mercury, this value is 5 mg per 1 kg of body weight, i.e. 5x10-5 g / kg. According to this indicator, you can calculate the allowable dose for each family member, multiplying this indicator by body weight.

We calculate the amount of air in the home

The maximum allowable dose can be calculated based on the volume of air in the room. Keep in mind that a person consumes an average of 25 cubic meters of air per day. We multiply 0.0003 by this number - we get 0.0075 mg / day, then, multiplying the result by 7, we get a weekly allowable dose.

You can determine how dangerous a broken thermometer is by the amount of air in the home. For this:

• measure the height, length and width of each room and multiply;
• then we add to the result the volumes of the remaining rooms.

Important! The fact is that the evaporated mercury is volatile, like all gases, so there is no difference in which room you broke the thermometer in - you have to deal with everyone.

However, the air in the apartment is not at all stationary! With normal ventilation, it changes quite quickly - up to 80% of the air is replaced every hour. If you calculate the circulation, you get an impressive result - about three hundred cubic meters per hour.

Based on this, we calculate the concentration of mercury vapor, dividing 0.18 mg per 300 cubic meters. It turns out 0.0006 mg / m3. Recall MPC - 0.0003 mg / m3. Double exceeding is no longer so scary, although, of course, you cannot leave it unattended.

Important! There are a few more things to consider. Over time, the rate of evaporation of mercury decreases, respectively, and the concentration decreases. For example, in two weeks it will decrease one and a half to two times. Based on the information received on how quickly mercury evaporates and in what quantity, it is already possible to draw a rational rather than hypothetical conclusion about its harm in a particular apartment where the thermometer crashed.

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How much mercury is in the body?

Calculate how many hours a week you are at home. For example, 14 hours on weekdays and 20 on weekends. The result is 110 hours. So how much mercury do you inhale during this time? To calculate this, you need to multiply 0.0006 by 110 (well, or the number that you got). It turns out 0.066 mg of mercury per week. Almost as much as the norm, taking into account the MPC.

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So what to do with mercury?

Based on calculations showing that the number of vapors that have entered your body does not exceed the norms established by international organizers, there is only one conclusion - do not panic. Nothing fatal happened. This is a domestic nuisance, not a global catastrophe. Although letting it go and leave it as is is not worth it either. Of course, if there is a specialized service where demercurization is carried out, it is better to call there. But such organizations are not everywhere.

How does a specialized organization conduct processing?

Arriving at your home, experts act like this.

1. Measure the concentration of mercury in all rooms, and not just where the thermometer crashed.
2. Having found that the concentration of mercury vapor is higher than that required by SanPiN, they look for a source of pollution.
3. They localize pollution and take measures to eliminate the mercury background.
4. They clean everything in the room, including furniture, decorative products, household appliances.
5. Make a control analysis of the concentration of mercury from a thermometer.

Important! Contacting a specialized service is especially necessary if the pregnant woman broke the thermometer.

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Where to find specialists?

A broken thermometer is an everyday matter, therefore there are many organizations where you can be helped if necessary:

• mercury disposal service;
• sanitary and epidemiological station;
• various environmental organizations.

If there is usually no question with the sanitary epidemiological station and the mercury disposal service - there are competent specialists, appropriate equipment, and all the necessary certificates and licenses, then you need to be very careful with unknown environmental organizations.

It is necessary to check:

• Are there licensed chemists
• whether there is a license for the corresponding type of activity;
• Does the organization have attorney mercury equipment?
• Does the company use mercury-free oxidants that are safe for humans?
• whether mercury concentration measurements are taken after treatment.

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If there is no service nearby

Unfortunately, specialized mercury disposal services are not everywhere. What to do if specialists cannot come to you, but you need to get rid of the vapors?

Will have to act on their own:

1. Remove from the room all who are there - it is especially important that there are no small children and patients in the room.
2. Wear a respirator, gloves, if the first is not - a gauze bandage. You also need clothes that you will not mind to throw away later.
3. Collect the fragments of a thermometer. Fold them first in a bag and then in a low jar filled with water. In this case, the jar should be with a tight lid, better screwed.
4. Collect the maximum number of drops of mercury, and place them in the same vessel.
5. Do not use the room for several weeks.
6. At the doors leading from the infected room to other rooms, lay a rug, having previously moistened it in some absorbent.

What are the sorbents?

Some substances with which you can collect balls of mercury flying around the room are probably in your home. Mercury can be collected using:

• manganese oxides;
• white clay:
• iron hydroxide.

Important! In addition, mercury perfectly amalgamates any pure metal - copper or steel wire is quite suitable.

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Brush, wire, powder

Artful silver metal can be removed by no means in any way. You definitely will not need:

• a vacuum cleaner;
• mop;
• wet rag.

After such cleaning, the vacuum cleaner can be thrown away, and a mop and a wet rag are simply useless. You need:

• thin copper wire;
• metal powder or sawdust;
• sandpaper;
• jar with a sealed lid.

Option 1

You can take, for example, a piece of winding from a transformer or a thin wire from a burned-out mobile phone power supply:

1. Make a bundle of wire about a finger thick and two fingers long.
2. For convenience, twist the beam in the middle to keep it tight.
3. Cut the ends of the wire so that there are no loops.
4. Strip both ends of the beam from the varnish with sandpaper.
5. Bend the bundle in half so that both stripped ends are on one side - you should get something like a brush.
6. For strength, wrap the brush handle with a couple of turns of adhesive tape.
7. Lightly crush the stripped portion.

Important! Mercury from a thermometer will stick to this brush, since it has the property of amalgamating metals. At the end of demercurization, put the brush in a jar and tightly close the lid. Mercury should remain on the hand.

Option 2

Sprinkle the infected area with metal powder or metal filings. Rub the powder with a dry cloth. Remove the powder in any way possible, and place a rag with mercury droplets adhering to it in a jar with a tight lid.

Important! This option is suitable for smooth coatings - such as linoleum, laminate, marble, plastic, etc., but it is not suitable if there are grooves and crevices on the surface.

If the thermometer crashed on the carpet

It happens that thermometers beat on soft surfaces. This is the most unpleasant option, especially if the soft surface is a pile carpet. You’ll have to tinker if, of course, you don’t want to part with the carpet right away:

1. Fill the infected area with metal powder or sawdust.
2. Roll the carpet from the edges to the place where the silver poison fell.
3. Wrap the carpet in a large piece of plastic wrap.
4. Knock out the mat.
5. Hang it out to air.

Important! Part of the droplets will remain on polyethylene, which must be handed over to a specialized service. But you are unlikely to be able to completely clean the carpet.

Lint-free rug or rug

In this case, getting rid of deadly mercury is much easier. You can use the method with a metal panicle. But another option is also suitable - a medical pear with a narrow nose or a single syringe. Use them to collect droplets of mercury, then pack the pear or syringe tightly and hand over.

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What to do next?

Collecting mercury is not such a big problem, sometimes it can even be done with a hard white sheet of paper. But the question always arises - what to do next? Keeping a sealed jar at home is not a good idea; someone from home can easily drop it. You can not dispose of mercury, as well as lower it into the sewer.

So where to put this nasty metal? Several organizations will help you:

• mercury disposal service;
• in the sanitary and epidemiological station;
• in the management of the Ministry of Emergencies.

Call there - and they will give you an address where to bring the fragments and silver droplets. It remains only to pack them well.

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Store the thermometer correctly

To avoid the hassle of disposing of mercury, store the thermometer correctly:

• in a special case;
• out of the reach of children;
• in a closed cabinet so that pets cannot get in there;
• far from heating appliances and direct sunlight;
• Use the medical thermometer strictly for its intended purpose - it is definitely not worth measuring the temperature of boiling water with it.

Important! It is best to switch to an electronic thermometer - it gives sufficient accuracy and is absolutely safe.

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Now you know not only how much mercury is in the thermometer and how quickly and long it evaporates, but also what to do if the thermometer crashes at home. We hope you managed to do everything right and no harm was done to your health.