Is a broken mercury thermometer really dangerous? Toxicity and danger of mercury to the human body

Mercury is an extremely toxic material. And this metal itself, and all its compounds belong to the 1st, the highest, hazard class. Organic mercury compounds are especially dangerous. It is curious that by itself, metallic mercury has practically no harmful effects on the body - its vapors are the most dangerous. However, do not rush to rejoice: mercury is the only metal that begins to evaporate already at room temperature - + 18 ° C! Moreover, mercury vapor can be detected only with the help of special devices, since they are colorless and do not have any smell.

For a living organism, there are no safe doses of vapors of this insidious metal. That is why it is so dangerous to ignore a thermometer or a fluorescent lamp broken at home: the smallest droplets of mercury can crumble into tiny droplet balls and roll into cracks and other hard-to-reach places, from where they begin to evaporate and poison all living things around.

Mercury, which enters the human body, is excreted very slowly, and is distributed to all organs. When inhaled, it accumulates primarily in the lungs, and then in the blood, liver, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and brain.

Depending on the amount of mercury that has entered the body and the duration of its exposure, acute and chronic mercury poisoning are distinguished.

Acute mercury poisoning relatively rare - they occur when a large dose of mercury is received in a short period of time. But even acute poisoning begins to appear only a few hours after the onset of poisoning (from 8 to 24). A person feels a metallic taste in the mouth, nausea, lack of appetite. Headache, vomiting, pain when swallowing, gums swell and bleed. There are severe pains in the abdomen, often diarrhea, cough, shortness of breath, pneumonia may develop; the temperature rises to 38-40°C. After a few days, death occurs.

More common chronic mercury poisoning(they are called mercurialism), which occur, for example, when you stay in a room with a high concentration of mercury vapor for a long time or during prolonged contact with substances containing mercury. They are manifested mainly by damage to the central nervous system: patients feel weakness, fatigue, they often have headaches and dizziness, attention worsens, "mercury tremor" develops - trembling of hands, fingers, legs, lips, mental abnormalities develop - irritability, apathy , poor self-control. In the advanced stages of chronic mercury poisoning, these disorders become irreversible and lead to dementia and death.

Chronic mercury poisoning in the past befell those who dealt with compounds of this metal by the nature of their activities, because until recently people did not realize that mercury was a terrible poison. Moreover, mercury and its compounds were part of a number of drugs!

Remember the mad hatter from L. Carroll's fairy tale "Alice in Wonderland"? This is not just the author's fantasy, but a play on the English expression "crazy as a hatter". Even then, signs of a disease were noticed, which was called the "disease of the old hatter." It had all the signs of chronic mercury poisoning, up to dementia. But the fact is that in the 18-19 centuries, hatters used mercury compounds to produce felt.

Another historical fact of mercury poisoning, which has already been discovered in our time, is associated with the name of Ivan the Terrible. After examining the remains of the king, scientists found in them the highest concentration of mercury - 13 g per 1 ton, while usually in humans the content of mercury in tissues does not exceed 5 mg per ton. The difference is 2600 times! The conclusion is chronic mercury poisoning. Its cause could be the long-term use of mercury ointments, which Ivan the Terrible used for joint pain. Chronic mercury poisoning may be the key to the riddle of the unbridled nature of the Russian tyrant tsar: as you already know, with this disease, the nervous system becomes unstable, which can manifest itself, among other things, in excessive suspiciousness, suspicion, hallucinations and - outbursts of unbridled anger, in in a fit of which Ivan the Terrible once killed his son.

There is only one conclusion from what has been said: do not joke with mercury! If a thermometer or fluorescent lamp breaks in your home, urgently take the precautions that are supposed to prevent mercury poisoning.

According to the hazard class, mercury belongs to the first class, that is, it is considered an extremely dangerous chemical. The penetration of mercury into the body often occurs by inhalation of its odorless vapors.

Exposure to mercury, even in small amounts, can cause health problems and severe poisoning. Mercury has a toxic effect on the nervous, digestive and immune systems, on the lungs, kidneys, skin and eyes.

Mercury poisoning is divided into mild (food poisoning), acute (after accidents at enterprises, due to safety violations) and chronic.

Chronic poisoning increases the risk of tuberculosis, atherosclerosis, and hypertension. At the same time, the consequences of mercury poisoning can appear several years after the termination of contact with it.

Acute mercury poisoning can lead to death. Also, if poisoning is not treated, then the functions of the central nervous system may be impaired, mental activity is reduced, convulsions and exhaustion appear. Acute stages of mercury poisoning cause loss of vision, complete paralysis, and baldness.

Especially mercury and its compounds are dangerous for pregnant women, as they pose a threat to the development of the child.

To date, mercury compounds (merthiolate) are used

As a preservative for vaccines;

- for medical thermometers - one medical thermometer contains up to 2 g of mercury;

- Energy-saving gas-discharge fluorescent lamps contain up to tens of milligrams of mercury.

Mercury is also found in fish and shellfish, so it is recommended to avoid seafood during pregnancy.

Note that the heat treatment of products does not destroy the mercury contained in them.

mercury poisoning

Chronic forms of mercury poisoning are called mercuryism, which occurs due to prolonged exposure to small doses of mercury fumes on a person. Mercurialism can cause not only physical, but also mental deviations.

Symptoms of poisoning. Acute mercury poisoning manifests itself a couple of hours after the onset of poisoning. Symptoms of acute poisoning: weakness, headache, sore throat, metallic taste in the mouth, salivation, swelling and bleeding of the gums, nausea and vomiting. Often there are severe abdominal pain, diarrhea, chest pain, cough, severe chills, and body temperature rises to 38-40 ° C.

Fatigue, drowsiness, general weakness, headache, dizziness, apathy, irritability speak of chronic mercury poisoning.

What to do? At the first sign of mercury poisoning, it is important to call a doctor as soon as possible. Before the arrival of the ambulance, the victim must drink milk, and then induce vomiting to remove the liquid.

Prevention

In everyday life, mercury thermometers are the main source of possible poisoning. To protect yourself and your children, you should purchase thermometers that do not contain mercury.

How to get rid of mercury indoors

Mercury is disposed of by special services, including those that are part of the Russian Emergencies Ministry. On a household call, if you broke a thermometer, they, as a rule, do not leave. You can get rid of a small amount of mercury yourself.

To begin with, you need to remove children and pets from the room and open a window to provide fresh air.

Before cleaning mercury, you should protect yourself as much as possible - put on a respirator or gauze bandage, rubber gloves.

Fragments of a thermometer can be put in a tight plastic bag and tightly tied. Mercury itself is best placed in an airtight container, such as a jar of cold water. During collection, you can use a paper envelope or paper towel. Before you start collecting mercury, illuminate the space with a lamp - under the rays of light, the balls of mercury will be noticeable, as they will begin to shine.

Mercury can be collected by:

Brushes made of amalgamated metals;

- pieces of wire, they will help to collect mercury in the cracks;

- adhesive tape - suitable for collecting small balls;

- pipettes with a thin nose.

Place the collected mercury and used items in a pre-prepared airtight container.

The room needs to be treated with chemicals. The simplest composition for treating a room is an alcohol solution of 5% iodine. You can also fill the place where the mercury was with a solution of "potassium permanganate". The floor must be thoroughly washed the next day.

Do not dispose of mercury in a garbage chute or sewer. After collecting mercury, call the local Ministry of Emergency Situations, they are required to accept it for disposal.

Sweep away mercury with a broom. The rods break the ball of mercury into smaller ones, and it will become more difficult to collect them.

Collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner, as during operation it heats up and the evaporation of mercury increases. In addition, mercury will settle inside the vacuum cleaner, and it will have to be thrown away.

Wash clothes where you have cleaned mercury, as this can lead to harmful metal contamination of the washing machine. All things that have come into contact with mercury should be thrown away.

Once I broke an ordinary mercury thermometer. It happened unexpectedly, but without special effects. I collected mercury balls on a sheet, threw them into a bottle of water, and already calmed down, but an unknown force made me look on the Internet, asking a search query: “I broke the thermometer, what should I do?”.

Frankly, I wanted to get adequate advice, all of a sudden I forgot something or there are some actions that are useful in the situation, except for those that have already been done. But there was no smell of adequacy in the Yandex TOP for this request. If I were a more impressionable nature, then after reading the first pages, I would destroy the entire family wardrobe, open all the windows in 20-degree frost, move out to a hotel or even immigrate from countries. The simplest thing that came to mind after reading the first links was to sell the apartment on the same day, call the Ministry of Emergency Situations and surrender to the FSB as a person who caused irreparable damage to the microdistrict.

In anticipation of the rescue and special services, run around the neighbors and warn that it will be dangerous to live in this house in the next 50-60 years. life imprisonment to the hero of the occasion, namely me, for careless handling of such a dangerous device. At least, the top Yandex almost shouted about this to all users on request about a broken thermometer.

But since I am not so impressionable, I smiled and decided to deal with the issue in more detail.
So, what scarecrows do the "sellers of fear" resort to when talking about the danger of a broken thermometer?

A broken thermometer infects 6,000 cubic meters of air – wow, it’s good that all sorts of villains don’t have access to the Internet. And they, thinking about the destruction of the world, are not aware that a nuclear bomb is no longer needed. It is enough to buy thermometers and break them around the perimeter of the city. That's it, the inhabitants cannot be saved. I just see another masterpiece with Bruce Willis, how he saves a pharmacy from terrorists with a large number of mercury thermometers. I think that Chuck Norris can be involved in such a dangerous job. In a word - nonsense and again nonsense.

Mercury from a broken thermometer will infect your apartment for years to come. - Is it true? That is, 1 - 2 grams of mercury, from which it will be possible to collect the largest balls, and this is at least 80% able to spoil the whole atmosphere in an average apartment? Mercury itself is inert and not so dangerous, the danger is its combination with various chemicals. But you're not going to sprinkle the remains of uncollected mercury with any harmful chemicals, are you? Therefore, calmness and only calmness.

Clothing and shoes in which you collected mercury must be destroyed , since small particles will be on it and spread around the apartment - everyone who has broken a thermometer and seen balls of mercury knows very well that it is extremely difficult to hook them and even just drive them onto a piece of paper. How can they stay on clothes and even more so on shoes? Another nonsense from the "sellers of fear."

Call emergency personnel immediately - By the way, this is very reasonable advice for especially impressionable people.

The guys will come and explain that the one who called them is a fabulous idiot, but they must come on a call. I think after talking with them, the thoughts of an urgent sale of an apartment and an escape from the country will pass for many.
Mercury can roll under the plinth or between the floorboards and the apartment will “glow” for many years - another horror story. In fact, a number of environmental organizations conducted research on this topic and in apartments in which one or even two standard thermometers were broken during the year, no anomalies in the air were detected. There is too little in the thermometer to somehow affect the air in the apartment, and the evaporation period is quite short.

Mercury will evaporate, its vapors will fill the entire apartment and will enter the human body with air - mercury is a metal, have you ever seen a flying metal, except for airplanes? Once again, we carefully read: mercury itself, as a substance, is relatively inert and harmless to humans. The danger is represented by its chemical compounds with substances that should either not be in your apartment at all or you obviously will not scatter them on the floor in your right mind.
Urgently notify the neighbors about the danger - for sure, let them finally find out who in their house claims to be the main idiot.

This is the main thing, there are more than one page of advice from the “experienced” on the little things.

Well, now, what is still worth doing if the thermometer suddenly crashed.

Do not panic, calm down and roughly understand the area where the balls and glass rolled.
Remove children so that they do not roll mercury balls and prevent you from collecting them, as well as animals for the same reason, since they have tails and hair.

Take a flashlight, a piece of paper, a plastic or glass bottle half filled with water. Make a kind of scoop out of a leaf, put a flashlight so that it shines along the floor, in this position it will be easier for you to see small mercury balls and start collecting them together with glass and putting them in a bottle. Try to collect the maximum amount, and it will be cleaner and calmer if someone still reads the Internet.

After collecting the balls, wash the floor and go about your business.

For complacency and if the weather allows, ventilate the room.

For those who are still impressed and cannot accept the fact that a broken thermometer is not dangerous, and even if you do not collect mercury from it at all, there will be no health hazard, I suggest thinking about the following topics. Imagine how many thermometers are broken in any average hospital or maternity hospital, for example? If all the horror stories are true, then they urgently need to be demolished. And secondly, if everything is so dangerous, then why are classic mercury thermometers still sold in pharmacies?

In conclusion, if you do not turn it into a weekly entertainment, then a broken thermometer is absolutely safe and will not harm your health and the health of your loved ones in any way. Believe me, in any apartment there are many other things and dangers that you should think about. Well, a broken thermometer is just an unfortunate misunderstanding and a little effort when collecting glass and mercury balls. But in any case, take care of yourself and your loved ones.

You probably didn’t guess, but mercury was used in ancient Egypt, vials of mercury served as an amulet. Moreover, they even tried to cure with this metal. When a person had a volvulus of the intestine, he was given a certain amount of this substance in order to restore order in the internal organs. Subsequently, this metal served medicine for a long time, mercury could be found in many medicinal products. But this happened until people realized that this is a toxic substance and it can be hazardous to health.

Mercury thermometers are still used today, as this substance is an excellent conductor of heat. But they have an unpleasant feature of breaking. And many people, if the thermometer crashed, do not know what to do. Some believe that the apocalypse has happened and it is urgent to call all kinds of services in order to eliminate the devastating consequences.

But do not panic if you accidentally break a mercury thermometer, you just need to know the information on what to do and how dangerous it is. This has happened in every home and will continue to happen. Moreover, in medical institutions, thermometers are broken all the time. Although the situation seems unpleasant, there is a way out of it. There is a clear action plan to address the consequences.

You must know how to collect mercury if a thermometer breaks at home and eliminate this unpleasant consequence. In addition, you should acquaint your household with what to do if the thermometer breaks. Children should understand that it is impossible to hide the fact that they broke the thermometer, as this is fraught with unpleasant consequences. They are obliged to tell about it immediately, and if there are no adults nearby, it is advisable to call the rescue service.

What can a broken thermometer lead to?

At the very end of the device for measuring body temperature, there are mercury balls that are not dangerous to our body until they start to emit steam. And if mercury vapor enters the lungs, then a person can become seriously ill. Mercury balls are too small, they can easily roll into the gap, hide from the eyes.

If the balls of mercury are not removed, then a person can be poisoned only by inhaling the air in this room. After a while, the balls will begin to evaporate and will poison the lungs. And given that evaporation occurs at 18 degrees, you can imagine how quickly this process occurs.

In large quantities, this substance penetrates through the lungs, skin pores or mucous membranes. After some time, the central nervous system is damaged, the kidneys begin to fail, the gums collapse. As a result, this leads to other dangerous changes in the body.

A dangerous dose when a person dies is 2.5 mg. But do not worry, the thermometer is too small to cause great harm to the body. However, doing nothing when it gets damaged can really have huge repercussions. The mercury ball is very small, it weighs only two grams.

But even one gram will create a concentration in the room above any norm and vapor poisoning occurs immediately. However, this does not mean that you have to leave the apartment, but you should not leave it all like that. You just need to know how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer.

Mercury overdose symptoms

When a person is exposed to mercury for a long time, even if it is small, he develops chronic diseases. There are many diseases of the central nervous system, accompanied by insomnia, nervous disorders, depression. At the same time, hands often tremble, pneumonia develops. Kidneys, liver, heart are also malfunctioning.

In no case should children and pregnant women be in such a room, they are the most vulnerable and can suffer the most. Pregnant women risk the health of their unborn child. In women of childbearing age, the menstrual cycle is disrupted.

Prolonged poisoning with mercury vapor will have irreversible consequences. A person will most likely have huge problems with memory, his performance will decrease significantly, since it will be difficult for him to concentrate. Hypertension, psychosis, tuberculosis can affect him.

To understand that you have had mercury poisoning, staining of the mucous membranes of the mouth in red will help you. The taste of metal appears in the mouth. With severe intoxication, nausea, vomiting, severe, unbearable pain in the stomach occurs. Body temperature can rise to 39 degrees.

Children react to poisoning with the appearance of diarrhea with blood. Their urine becomes cloudy. The gums swell and bleed.

A person who has been severely poisoned by mercury feels intense fear, his whole body trembles, convulses. He has a severe headache, it is difficult for him to swallow. When the body is affected by a large amount of mercury, then death is immediate.

How to collect mercury from a broken thermometer

If a mercury thermometer breaks, it can be difficult for some people to remember what to do. If you find it difficult, then call the special services, you should know their numbers in advance. They are always ready to provide their assistance in this case and describe in detail how to collect mercury from a thermometer. Then you need to ask everyone in the household to leave and take your pets with you.

After that, you can take measures to remove the harmful substance. For example, if a thermometer crashed at home, what to do:

1. Prepare water, add potassium permanganate there, if not, then a small amount of soap and soda;
2. Take a container of water of a fairly large size;
3. Prepare paper, a syringe, cotton swabs, a knitting needle, any adhesive tape, a small light source, you can use a flashlight;
4. Put on shoes that you can then throw away;
5. Make a gauze or cloth bandage to protect the respiratory organs;
6. Protect your hands with gloves, preferably rubber medical;
7. Wet a piece of cloth in a potassium permanganate solution, put it on the floor near the door;
8. Open the window in the room, but keep the front door closed;
9. Carefully remove the fragments of the thermometer, trying not to make unnecessary movements;
10. Collect balls of mercury on a piece of paper and cotton wool, lower them into a jar of water;
11. Apply duct tape to the floor to collect any small particles that may be accidentally left behind. Then the adhesive tape should be placed in a jar of water;
12. Using bright light from a light source, inspect the entire surface of the floor, all the cracks. If there are metal balls left, then you will see them immediately, as they shine with metal. Try to pull them out with a knitting needle if they rolled into the slot and take them into the syringe;
13. If you suspect that mercury has got under the baseboard, then it will have to be broken in order to collect everything that could have got there;
14. The jar where you put the mercury should be well closed;
15. Wash the floor with a solution of potassium permanganate or with soap and soda;
16. Take off your mask, gloves, outerwear, put it in a plastic bag;
17. Call the number of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and ask how to get rid of everything that has come into contact with harmful substances;
18. Wash thoroughly in the shower, do not forget to rinse your mouth. You can use any disinfectant solution. Also take two tablets of activated charcoal to avoid poisoning the body. Mercury will be excreted from the body after some time with urine and therefore it is worth helping him. The use of diuretics will help to remove this harmful substance in a short time.

All actions to collect mercury from a broken thermometer must be quick. This should not take you several days. It is better not to live for some time in the room where the thermometer broke. Washing floor surfaces with water is mandatory, make a solution with the addition of disinfectants. We can use chlorine. Open the window from time to time to clear the air. Avoid drafts.

If you suspect that you have not removed all the mercury balls, call the sanitation service to come and check the room with special devices.

Undesirable actions in the disposal of mercury

In no case should a broken thermometer be thrown into a trash can or garbage chute. Even if mercury has not leaked out of the thermometer, it should still be disposed of in a special place.

Keep the jar in which you put the fragments of the thermometer and mercury balls with you until a specialized organization picks it up. She must destroy such things.

Do not attempt to clean up mercury dropouts with normal household cleaning products. Neither a broom nor a vacuum cleaner is suitable in this case.

Clothes and slippers that you were wearing during your self-disposal of mercury should also be handed over to a sanitary organization; you should not wash them yourself.

Drafts after disposal of mercury in the room are unacceptable.

What you must know

If you feel sorry for throwing away clothes for recycling because they are expensive, you can air them out on the street. Try to hang clothes away from people, you can use an attic or a barn for this purpose. Clothing should be outdoors for at least 3 months, and then it must be washed several times, adding soap and soda to the water.

When the balls of mercury are on the carpet, their removal becomes more difficult. The carpet will most likely have to be recycled. But if you are unable to part with something dear to you, then you can place the carpet outdoors for a few days. After that, give the carpet to the dry cleaner.

Sometimes mercury gets on other things - furniture. In this case, it is better to remove it for a while. Support furniture in a country house or garage where it will weather. After 3 months you can take her back home.

When the thermometer broke at home and the mercury balls got into the heater, the matter here becomes much more complicated. Mercury will definitely boil and its vapors will poison the air in the room. You can not try to get rid of the consequences yourself. In this situation, only a tight closing of the door and a call to the rescue service will save.

Women who are expecting the birth of a child, children and the elderly should in no case be in the room where the thermometer has broken.

It often happens that a child swallows mercury balls. It is necessary to call the ambulance number so that they examine it and eliminate the danger. Under such a combination of circumstances, the child is unlikely to be poisoned, but fragments of a thermometer, which can also accidentally get inside along with mercury balls, can damage the LCD.

If you find out that one of your household has removed the mercury balls with a vacuum cleaner, then get rid of this device. Otherwise, mercury will spread indoors through the filters of the vacuum cleaner and poison the human body. The hose from the vacuum cleaner, the bag is scrapped, the rest of the parts can be weathered and then reused.

Some people unknowingly wash mercury balls down the drain. In this case, you should check the knees to see if they are stuck there. If this did not happen, then they are most likely not worth it, since the sewage has already washed it away. But if you find balls in your knees, then put them in a jar of potassium permanganate solution and hand them over to a sanitary organization.

How to handle a mercury thermometer

You should always remember what consequences a broken thermometer can lead to and handle it carefully.
Never keep it in a place where small children can reach it.
When measuring temperature, it should be tightly pressed against the body.

When you try to remove the reading, then shake it in a free space where nothing interferes.
Keep the thermometer in a hard case.

To save yourself from severe anxiety, you should purchase an electronic thermometer. At least you will not be afraid for the health of your household and your own.

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Mercury is a metal, one way or another familiar to man. Someone interacts with mercury in the course of their activities, someone simply uses a mercury thermometer, but absolutely everyone should know how dangerous mercury from a thermometer is for a person.

According to statistics, more than half of the cases of mercury poisoning are due to the negligent attitude of people to thermometers. Due to the specifics of the use of a thermometer, as a rule, it breaks in apartments and other residential premises, carrying a mortal threat to the inhabitants.

At room temperature, the metal is small balls, metallic color. Before answering the question of why mercury from a broken thermometer is dangerous, it should be noted that the threat lies not in the substance itself, but in the vapors. They begin to form already at room temperature, poisoning everyone who got into the affected area.

Types of poisoning and their symptoms

The hazard class of the metal is in the first place, but the main thing is that mercury vapor penetrates imperceptibly into the human body, since it does not have any aroma. There is not much of it in the thermometer, but even this amount can significantly harm if you do not quickly and correctly get rid of it.

Metal poisoning is divided according to the complexity class into 3 cases:

1. Chronic. The action of mercury from a thermometer manifests itself only over time, causing health problems. In particular, a significant risk of hypertension, tuberculosis, and atherosclerosis develops. It is important that this is possible already several years after contact. You can determine chronic poisoning by the characteristic trembling of the hands, lips, legs, fingers. The person is irritated, apathetic, feels unwell and complains of headaches, fatigue.
2. Acute. Occur after serious accidents that occur at enterprises. You can recognize this stage by vomiting, bleeding and swelling of the gums, shortness of breath. Further, baldness, pneumonia, loss of vision, and sometimes even paralysis are possible. Mercury in such quantities is especially dangerous, since poisoning of such strength provokes death after a few days, in the absence of therapy.
3. Lungs or household, which usually include food poisoning.

Mild poisoning occurs most frequently, in about 65% of cases. They appear almost immediately if metal particles enter the esophagus and a little distantly when penetrating through the respiratory tract. In particular, there is cyanosis, nausea, shortness of breath. If such symptoms are detected, a number of measures should be taken, and an ambulance should be called after them. So, if it enters the stomach, it is required to induce vomiting. Mercury vapor poses the greatest danger to those who are least protected - children and pregnant women. Their body is weakened and very susceptible to the external environment, so you should be more careful.

Danger - broken thermometer

Not everyone understands how dangerous a broken thermometer is. Some people are in no hurry to sound the alarm, and their antipodes, on the contrary, are very serious about cleaning up metal balls spilled from a thermometer. Doctors tend to support the latter, because it is very easy to get poisoned by harmful vapors - this metal begins to emit them already at +18 degrees, and this is standard room temperature!

Particular attention should be paid to the problem of mercury in the presence of children in the living quarters. They are most susceptible to exposure to harmful metal, since a small organism is simply not able to resist the poison. In this case, it is recommended to get rid of all mercury thermometers and purchase modern electronic thermometers.

In fact, in everyday situations, the danger is not only mercury in the thermometer. Now very common and energy-saving, as well as fluorescent lamps. The content of this metal in such bulbs is equal to tens of milliliters, while in a thermometer it is only 2 grams.

Negative effect on the body

The metal negatively affects the following vital organs:

• kidneys
• Lungs
• Liver
• Nervous system

Mercury inhalation through the lungs (vapours) is characterized by a number of symptoms:

• Irritability
• Sleep disturbance
• Nausea
• Fatigue
• Apathy
• Violation of working capacity

The above symptoms are generalized. Each person's body is unique. Some of the symptoms may appear, while others may not. It is important to remember that if at least 2-3 of the listed symptoms were found, it is urgent to go to the nearest hospital to identify the causes.

Getting into the respiratory organs, this is why a broken thermometer is dangerous, especially if mercury was discovered late, then this threatens with chronic poisoning. Therefore, in each individual case, the severity of the symptoms depends on how long the person has inhaled the fumes. Indeed, up to 80% of this metal is not excreted, remaining in the body. It is especially dangerous if the balls of mercury were not properly removed and rolled into the cracks, remaining there. The larger the area of ​​the spread mercury, the higher the rate of evaporation.

So, it has already been said above, about from a household thermometer, it contains up to 2 grams of mercury, and inhaling this amount of vapor is enough to cause death. Even 0.001 mg / m3 can provoke the development of serious diseases with a chronic course. If mercury has been removed poorly, then the symptoms inherent in chronic poisoning will appear after a few months.

It is fair to say that the metal itself does not pose any danger, and in the old days they were even treated with it. The harm of mercury is precisely in its vapors that it emits, as well as other types of mercury compounds (for example, salts). But in the body a serious concentration of vapors will accumulate only if they are constantly in the air for at least several months. In any case, you need to be careful and not break the thermometers, and if you have already broken them, then it’s better right away so as not to expose your loved ones and yourself to the danger of poisoning.