How to neutralize mercury?

Content:

1. Scope of mercury
2. What is dangerous mercury?
3. How to neutralize mercury?
4. What is prohibited to do when neutralizing mercury?
5. Signs of mercury poisoning
6. Help with mercury poisoning

At the moment, mercury is practically not used in everyday life, however, its incorrect use can bring a lot of problems. Unfortunately, not many people know how to deal with mercury and how to properly neutralize it in an emergency. In this article we will discuss how to do this, as well as help people affected by mercury vapor.

Scope of mercury

Mercury is a well-known chemical element that is used for various purposes, namely:

• Gold mining.
• Treatment of various diseases (antiseptic, diuretic and laxative).
• Paints and cosmetics (in ancient times).
• Industry.
• Mercury thermometer, thanks to which mercury is known in everyday life.

In the modern world, even children know about the dangers of mercury, but many of us continue to use mercury thermometers. All of them are safe until the integrity of the structure is violated.How to neutralize mercury and why are thermometers still on sale? It's all about their accuracy and low cost. As for neutralization, let's talk about it further.

What is dangerous mercury?

Mercury is a transition metal, which at a temperature of 20-25 degrees Celsius is a heavy silver liquid. In the usual thermometer only 2 grams of mercury, but do not underestimate the chemical element, because even in such small quantities it is dangerous to human life and health. To know how to properly and quickly neutralize mercury is necessary due to the following reasons:

• Hazard of odorless mercury vapor administration.
• Mercury is a first class toxin (cumulative poison) that accumulates in the body.
• When evaporated, mercury enters the lungs and destroys the nervous system.
• Mercury vapor can kill the fetus of a pregnant woman.
• Mercury easily gets inside the body, but it is extremely difficult to remove it and this process will be long.

Important! Mercury vapor from one thermometer is enough to poison a healthy adult.

How to neutralize mercury?

When breaking a thermometer, you need to know how to neutralize mercury yourself. First of all, you need to protect yourself from thoughtless actions and not to panic. The procedure itself includes the following steps:

• Remove households and animals from the apartment, close windows and doors.
• Prepare inventory: gauze dressing, tape and paper, rubber gloves and a jar of water.
• Turn off heat sources or air conditioning, as temperature changes affect the rate of mercury evaporation.
• Wear rubber gloves and a gauze bandage.
• Take two sheets of paper and one gently sweep mercury into the second ball. It is necessary to carry out the procedure smoothly and slowly, so that the mercury balls do not scatter into small particles, which are much more difficult to assemble. Collected mercury should be placed in a jar of water and closed with a lid.
• The remaining mercury particles need to collect tape or tape. To do this, you need to glue small pieces to the affected area and smoothly tear them away, folding them in half and placing them in a jar of water.
• Take a flashlight and inspect the baseboard. Raise the baseboard and collect the remains of mercury, if they were found there.
• Inspect all other hard-to-reach places, crevices and cracks, taking out the remnants of mercury with a needle from a syringe with a damp cotton wool wound on the tip.
• Upon completion of the collection of mercury, open the windows and ventilate the room for 2-3 hours.
• Treat all surfaces that come into contact with mercury with a special solution (1 liter of water, 50 grams of soda ash and 40 grams of soap chips. An alternative solution is a strong solution of iodine or a mixture of an aqueous solution of potassium permanganate and vinegar.

Important! It is necessary to choose one of the proposed solutions. Their sharing is prohibited, as new toxic chemical compounds will appear that also pose a danger to human life and health.

• If mercury gets on the floor, it is better to twist and dispose of it.
• The floor and other surfaces need to be treated with soapy water, and then rinsed with water and dried.
• Shoes, clothing and protective equipment that were used during demercurization must be collected in a bag and discarded.
• Call the Sanitary and Epidemiological Surveillance Service or the Ministry of Emergency Situations and notify about the incident, follow their instructions or wait for the arrival.
• If the security services did not respond, then the bank with mercury should be brought out of the city and buried in the ground.
• If there is a risk that mercury particles still remain in the room, then you should contact the above services that can check the concentration of mercury vapor.
• Professionals use mercury oxidizing agents for demercurization, which are: a solution of potassium permanganate with hydrochloric acid, a 5% aqueous solution of dichloramine and a 20% solution of ferric chloride.
• The person who conducted the process of cleaning the room should drink a course of vitamins and use a lot of liquid.

What is prohibited to do when neutralizing mercury?

• Collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner.
• Mark the metal with a broom.
• To merge collected mercury into the sewage system or to throw it into the garbage disposal.
• Do not open the window until all mercury has been collected.
• It is forbidden to turn on the air conditioner.

Signs of mercury poisoning

Mercury enters the body very quickly, so the first signs of poisoning can appear in a few hours. Characteristic signs of acute mercury poisoning:

• Nausea.
• Diarrhea.
• Vomiting.
• Weakness.
• Metallic taste in the mouth.
• Bleeding gums.
• Copious salivation.

In more severe cases, the following manifestations are possible:

• Heat.
• Shortness of breath and cough.
• Heart failure.

With a slight poisoning, a person may feel:

• Fatigue.
• Headache.

Chronic poisoning (possibly with constant contact with the remnants of mercury and its pairs) is accompanied by:

• Irritability.
• Insomnia.
• Apathy.
• Constant headache.
• Violation of the nervous system (trembling of the lips, eyelids and limbs).
• Decreased skin sensitivity, smell and taste buds.

Help with mercury poisoning

• First you need to wash the stomach and drink activated charcoal.
• Wait 20 minutes.
• Drink a liter of milk, eat oatmeal or boiled rice.
• Take a laxative to remove toxic residues.
• Rest and recover after poisoning.

Important! If the state of health of the victim continues to cause doubts, then it is better to hospitalize the person, taking care of his health. Doctors will solve problems by conducting the necessary set of actions depending on the state of a person, his state of health and degree of poisoning.