If you break a thermometer in water. What to do if the thermometer in the apartment crashed. What to do if: problem situations

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks? This is the most important question that those who prefer to use this device have to face at least once in their lives. Mercury vapor is very harmful to the body and can cause serious illness.

To deal with this issue, you must first familiarize yourself with the principle of operation of this device and how to use it correctly.

The thermometer consists of a capillary tube in which there is no air. It is hermetically sealed on both sides. At one end of the tube is a container of mercury.

The capillary tube with mercury is attached to a bar with a printed scale. The scale values are in the range from 32 to 42 ºС. Each degree is in turn divided into 10 more divisions for more accurate measurements. One mark is equal to 0.1 ºС.

A medical thermometer differs from a conventional thermometer that measures ambient temperature in that the movement of mercury in the opposite direction is difficult. This is due to the narrowed channel that connects the capillary tube to the mercury reservoir.

First, the patient's temperature is measured with a thermometer: mercury heats up, expands and rises through the tube, showing the maximum value. After the termination of the measurement procedure, the mercury in the thermometer remains under the mark of its maximum value for a long time. This property of the thermometer is very convenient for monitoring the patient's condition until the doctor comes.

To "return mercury" to its original position, shake the thermometer vigorously several times. But this must be done carefully so as not to drop a fragile instrument..

Benefits of a mercury thermometer:

It is more accurate than its modern counterparts.
Practically does not react to changes in environmental conditions. That is, under any conditions, a mercury instrument will show the most objective indicator of the temperature of the human body.
It can be easily disinfected by dipping it in a special solution that is used by medical institutions.
Reasonable price makes it affordable for a wide range of consumers.

Disadvantages of a medical thermometer:

Measures temperature for a long time: about 7-10 minutes.
Mercury poisoning from breaking a thermometer. The thermometer has a very thin glass shell, which easily loses its integrity when it hits the floor.

Before using the thermometer, shake it well so that the mercury liquid returns to its original position.
Keep the thermometer on the body for at least 10 minutes.
After each use, disinfect the device, but not with hot water. To do this, you can wipe it with a cotton swab moistened with hydrogen peroxide.
Do not leave a fragile item without its case.
Don't sleep with him.
Do not give to children.

Advice: If a small child lives at home, who, through negligence, can break a fragile device, then it is better to purchase an electronic instrument for measuring temperature.

The mercury thermometer broke - what to do?

So, the biggest disadvantage of this home appliance is the loss of its integral structure. If the thermometer is broken, what should I do? Mercury droplets should be collected as soon as possible and the room should be disinfected. But this must also be done correctly, since mercury has its own specific properties.

Why is mercury and its vapor dangerous?

Mercury is a silvery liquid with a metallic sheen. It begins to evaporate already at a temperature of +18 ºС. Mercury is a metal that begins to melt at -38.9 ºС. Traditionally, metals are considered to be solids with a very high melting point.

If a thermometer breaks in an apartment, then the silvery liquid that was inside it disintegrates on the surface in the form of small balls. At the same time, these microparticles can get into the pile of the carpet, upholstery of the sofa, under the bed, on children's toys, in the cracks of the baseboard and furniture.

Do you want something interesting?

Then these droplets will begin to evaporate at room temperature and enter the air that households breathe. Excess mercury in the body can lead to such diseases:

headache;
gastrointestinal disorder;
disorder in the work of the kidneys;
stomatitis;
anemia;
dermatitis;
increased heart rate;
blurred vision;
neuroses;
convulsions.

So, to the question: “the thermometer crashed, is it dangerous?”, You can answer this way:

Mercury is hazardous to health in large quantities. Even if a person did not immediately feel a deterioration in his condition, then subsequently evaporating mercury will make itself felt.
It is especially dangerous for pregnant women and children to breathe mercury vapor.

Thus, it is necessary to eliminate the broken thermometer as soon as possible and collect droplets of a silvery liquid.

What to do with a broken thermometer

The first steps if the thermometer crashed:

Leave the room to all household members, including animals. At the time of cleaning the apartment, no one should be at home.
Close tightly the room where the device fell and open all windows. But drafts in this case are unacceptable.
To eliminate traces of a broken thermometer, special equipment is needed: rubber gloves and a cotton-gauze bandage. The mask should be moistened in a solution of water with soda. If you have a respirator, you can use it.
Prepare a flashlight or lamp to provide good illumination of the scene.
Put on shoe covers or plastic bags on your feet so that they can be thrown away later.
First, fragments of the thermometer are removed, and then proceed to mercury.

How to collect mercury from a thermometer:

rubber douche;
copper plate;
syringe or knitting needle;
wet cotton;
tassel;
wet newspaper.

You can’t just throw silver balls into a bucket, so you need to prepare a glass jar of water. The water will prevent the mercury from evaporating and spreading through the air.

All the tools that were involved in cleaning up the poisonous liquid are wrapped tightly in a plastic bag, and then taken out of the apartment to the trash. The jar of water, in which mercury was collected, is also tightly closed and handed over to the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Steps for cleaning a broken thermometer

As soon as all the tools for cleaning the thermometer are prepared and the first steps are taken, you can start cleaning the room. This process is divided into the following steps:

demercurization - removal of mercury balls;
chemical demercurization - disinfection of the premises;
calling emergency personnel.

Stage number 1: remove metal balls from all items in the apartment

First of all, it is necessary to conduct a thorough inspection of all surfaces and objects in the apartment. It should be noted that the mercury material is very small and can roll into the most inaccessible places: under the bed, between cabinets, in the carpet. Therefore, for inspection you need to use a bright flashlight.

If the affected items can be thrown away, then it is better to get rid of them. This applies to clothing and toys. If objects affected by mercury cannot be thrown away, then they should be taken out into the street or onto a balcony so that they are weathered from toxic fumes.

When examining the floor, the affected areas should be marked (circle with a pencil) so as not to accidentally step on mercury. After all, metal balls will quietly remain on the shoes and begin to evaporate.

First, large drops are collected so that they do not separate into small fractions. To do this, take a thick sheet of paper and bend it in half in the form of a scoop. Next, they take a copper plate (knitting needle, needle, syringe) and collect balls on a sheet of paper with this object.
Drops are shifted into one pile so that they are reunited into one whole part.
Small balls can be collected on a patch.
To get the mercury liquid out of the cracks of the furniture, for this they take a cotton swab and dip it into a solution of potassium permanganate. With this stick, mercury is taken out in hard-to-reach places.
If the gaps are very tight, then in this case you can use a syringe with a thick needle.
You can collect drops from the carpet with a syringe. Drops are sucked out of the thick pile, and the syringe itself is wrapped in a plastic bag and thrown away. The carpet itself should be taken out to fresh air so that all traces of harmful metal evaporate from it.
The collected particles are placed in a glass jar. Plaster and cotton swabs are also placed there. The bank is tightly closed, and then handed over to the employees of the Ministry of Emergency Situations.

Demercurization may take several hours. In order not to be poisoned by harmful fumes, it is necessary to go out into the fresh air every 15 minutes, and work should be carried out in a cotton-gauze bandage or respirator.

What can not be done if the thermometer crashed:

Touch the balls of mercury with bare hands.
Collect shredded metal with a magnet. Mercury is diamagnetic, meaning it has a very weak magnetic field. It will not be attracted to the magnet, but rather, on the contrary, it will be repelled from it.
Remove metal balls with a magnet with a vacuum cleaner. The vacuum cleaner, blowing through the air, is able to throw mercury back into the air. In addition, the mercury heated by the vacuum cleaner will begin to evaporate intensively into the air. It will no longer be possible to remove mercury from a vacuum cleaner, the household appliance will only have to be thrown away.
A broom can also not remove poisonous particles. Rigid rods will crush the mercury balls even more, which will evaporate faster and settle on the lungs.
Dispose of the remains of the thermometer with mercury in the sewer and trash can. A silvery liquid in a volume of 2 grams can pollute 6,000 cubic meters of air.
Items that were involved in the elimination of traces of the accident are not subject to washing. It's better to throw them away.

Stage number 2: conduct chemical disinfection

This requires chemicals that have disinfectant properties and contain chlorine molecules. The simplest substance in this case can be ordinary potassium permanganate, which is in the first-aid kit of each apartment.

To prepare the solution, it is necessary to add a few crystals of calcium permanganate to a jar of water until the liquid becomes dark brown in color. Next, 1 tablespoon of edible salt, and the same amount of vinegar, as well as a pinch of citric acid, are added to 1 liter of water. Everything should be mixed thoroughly.

Putting on rubber gloves, disinfect the room:

With a soft cloth dipped in the prepared solution, they wipe all the places where mercury could get: floor, furniture. Particular attention should be paid to cracks and corners.
The applied solution is left on the surface for 8 hours. After that, wipe the floor and all surfaces with plain clean water.
Next, do a wet cleaning using conventional cleaning products.
During the week, they carry out daily wet cleaning in the apartment. This is the only way to completely get rid of the traces of the incident.

Instead of potassium permanganate, you can use ferric chloride. Make a 20% solution and wipe all objects with it.

A good alternative to disinfection is regular bleach.. For 5 liters of water take 1 liter of bleach. This liquid wash the floor, skirting boards and walls. After 20 minutes, the chlorine solution is washed off with plain water and ventilation is done without drafts. It is not necessary to supercool the room, as this will make the mercury evaporate worse.

However, bleach should not be used to wipe the laminate and wallpaper - this can ruin the material. Chlorine is used mainly in medical and government institutions: hospitals, kindergartens, schools.

Stage number 3: what to do after the elimination of a broken thermometer

When the apartment is cleaned and ventilated, the last steps should be taken:

Contact the Ministry of Emergency Situations by calling 101 and hand them over to the bank employees with the collected poison.
If there are suspicions that mercury balls have remained somewhere in the apartment, then you need to call the employees of the sanitary and epidemiological station, who have special devices that determine the level of harmful vapors. There are special centers that deal with the disposal of mercury and the remains of a broken thermometer.
After the incident, mercury in small doses, one way or another, enters our body. Therefore, you need to drink more fluids: juices, water, compote, tea, in order to remove harmful substances from the body.

It should be noted that there are cases when a small child swallows mercury from a broken thermometer. Many mothers are shocked by this. But it is in vain!

Mercury drops that enter the body are not absorbed by the intestines, but are excreted along with the feces. Much more dangerous than mercury vapor, which affects the lungs. But in this case, it is necessary to seek medical help from a specialist..

How much mercury disappears if the thermometer crashed in the apartment? Mercury residues evaporate within a few hours. However, the room where the thermometer crashed should be ventilated for at least a day, without people and animals being there.

If the thermometer crashed at home - it does not matter. The necessary knowledge and proper cleaning will save the room from harmful fumes and eliminate all signs of danger.

Almost every one of us has a mercury thermometer at home, which is used for its damage can be very dangerous: mercury is the only metal contained in a liquid state at room temperature, inhaling its vapors is fraught with poisoning. That is why you need to have a good idea of what should be done if it crashed. Below, the actions that should be taken in a similar situation will be described.

So, what to do if a mercury thermometer crashes: the first step.

To begin with, in no case panicking, you need to restrict access to all people who are not involved in cleaning should be taken outside (or to another room) and tightly close the door of the room in which the thermometer was broken. Be careful and careful, do not trample in dangerous places, so as not to later spread the balls of mercury on the soles of the shoes to other rooms.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks: step two.

Put on and collect fragments of a thermometer and mercury balls. It is convenient to do this with a syringe without a needle, tape, adhesive tape, or two sheets of paper. The last method is as follows: using sheets of paper, connect the mercury balls to each other, and then roll them onto paper. To get the balls of mercury out of the slot, use a needle with a cotton swab dipped in a potassium permanganate solution wound around it. As an option - the use of copper wire (mercury sticks to copper), but the copper content in the wire must be significant, and the surface of the wire must be cleaned of oxides.

The collected mercury and tools should be placed in a jar of water and tightly closed.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks: step three.

Mercury vapor evaporates in smaller quantities at low temperatures, so it is advisable to ventilate the room, unless, of course, it is plus thirty outside. Next, you need to treat the place where the thermometer crashed with a solution of potassium permanganate at the rate of 2 grams of potassium permanganate per liter of water, and then with a soap-soda solution at the rate of 50 grams of soda and soap per liter of water.

What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks: step four.

After the work done, you need to get rid of the jar of mercury. You should call the Ministry of Emergencies and find out where you need to take it, and until then put it away from heating objects, in a cool place where there is no access to sunlight.

As for you, increase your fluid intake in the near future, as mercury formations leave the body through the kidneys.

A few words about what not to do.

Mercury should not be allowed to come into contact with the skin.

It is impossible to arrange a draft in a ventilated room.

Do not sweep the mercury balls with a broom, as the hard twigs can crush the mercury balls, after which it will be difficult to collect them.

You can not collect mercury using a vacuum cleaner, as the air blown out by the device facilitates the process of evaporation of mercury vapor.

Do not wash shoes and clothes that have been in contact with mercury in washing machines. Ideally, it should be thrown away (clothes and shoes).

You can not get rid of mercury with the help of sewers, because if it settles in sewer pipes, then extracting it from there is almost impossible.

You can not throw a broken thermometer into the garbage chute, since an insignificant fraction of mercury evaporated there can pollute a large area.

Don't skip this information. When such situations happen, you begin to reproach yourself for your negligent attitude and inability to take action if necessary. If you know how to behave when a mercury thermometer breaks, “what to do” - a question that instantly arises in difficult moments, will not confuse you.

30.10.2016

Despite the advent of electronic thermometers, their mercury counterparts are still in use. This is due to the accuracy of the measurements. However, a glass thermometer containing mercury is dangerous, especially when there are children at home. If an unforeseen situation occurs, a decision must be made quickly on how to collect mercury from a broken thermometer in order to avoid health problems in the future.

It is a metal characterized by a high level of toxicity. The thermometer contains mercury in liquid form (about 2 grams). If the body of the thermometer is damaged, metal drops easily spread over the surface, fall into cracks, corners, behind baseboards, and may remain on the soles of slippers or on bed linen. At a temperature of +18 degrees, the process of evaporation of the metal begins. Considering that the microclimate in houses is usually warmer (+20…+25 degrees), the risk of mercury vapor poisoning increases.

Properties of this metal:

2 gr. the substance is enough to poison 10 people if you do not know how to collect mercury at home;
vapors are absorbed under the skin, enter the organs (liver, kidneys, brain, lungs) and settle in them;
mercury vapor is a potent poison of the 1st hazard class;
if you do not know how to collect mercury from a thermometer, as a result, after a few hours, with intense exposure to fumes, symptoms may appear: nausea, sleep disturbance, weakness, dizziness, headaches.

Important: In more severe cases, bowel function is disrupted, sore throats appear, gums bleed, fever and swelling of the airways.

What should be done first?

Before dealing with the question of how to collect mercury if the thermometer crashed on the floor, you must perform the following steps:

This metal is dangerous not only for humans, but also for animals, so you first need to free the room from all those present. Such a measure will exclude the possibility of contact of a dog, cat or child with metal.
The doors to the room must be closed, and fresh air should be provided by opening the window. When deciding how to collect mercury from a thermometer from the floor, it is important to remember that there should be no draft in the room.
At the next stage, you can call the Ministry of Emergency Situations to carry out demercurization of the premises. If you plan to clean the room on your own, you need to prepare gloves and a gauze bandage, to increase the effectiveness of which you need to use a soda solution: gauze is wetted in a solution (1 tbsp water / 1 tbsp soda).
To reduce the chance of exposure to mercury, shoe covers should be worn on the feet. If they are not at hand, you can use plastic bags.
When deciding how to remove mercury if a thermometer breaks, you need to know that glass fragments are collected first.

It is recommended to inspect the room: cracks in the floor, baseboards, areas next to and under furniture, bed / sofa. We need to look for balls of liquid metal. They are quite small, but are characterized by a silvery tint.

Preparation of cleaning products, sequence of actions

The toxic substance must be collected in a container with a tight-fitting lid, it is better to use a three-liter glass jar for this purpose. Water or a solution of potassium permanganate is poured there to a level of no more than 2/3 of the total volume. This measure eliminates the risk of further evaporation of the substance.

Cleaning aids:

adhesive tape / plaster / electrical tape - any adhesive tape, building tape is also suitable;
medical pear / disposable syringe without a needle;
a brush, but instead of it, cotton wool is also suitable;
solutions: from potassium permanganate or bleach, soap and soda;
paper or newspaper;
a handheld flashlight that makes it easier to find metal balls in dark areas.

Important: The question often arises of how to collect mercury with a vacuum cleaner, however, it is absolutely impossible to do this, because then the fumes and drops of the substance will spread significantly throughout the object, and in addition, you will have to throw away the equipment, because it is impossible to completely clean it from liquid metal.

Cleaning instructions:

The glass parts of the thermometer with the remains of a toxic substance are immersed in a jar of liquid.
Before entering the room, you must leave a rag soaked in a solution of potassium permanganate. This will prevent the substance from spreading throughout the housing.
It is necessary to connect all the metal balls into one large one, for which sheets of paper are used, as well as a brush or cotton wool.
Mercury is placed in a jar of liquid, newspaper/paper and cotton wool/brush are used for this purpose.
The smallest particles and mercury residues are removed from the floor using adhesive tape: adhesive tape / electrical tape, etc.
When deciding how to collect spilled mercury from a broken thermometer correctly, one should not forget about cracks in the floor, baseboards. From leaks, the substance is removed by means of a medical pear or a disposable syringe.
Used improvised means, with which the metal was collected, are immersed in the same container with liquid, where fragments of the thermometer are already located.
If the thermometer is damaged near the furniture, under which there are leaks, or near the baseboard, you need to get to the balls of liquid metal by moving the sofa / wardrobe, if necessary, the baseboard is dismantled.
The jar is tightly closed with a lid.
The floor should be washed, using first a solution of potassium permanganate, then - soda-soap or chloride.
All protective equipment (boot covers, gloves, gauze bandage), as well as clothing, must be folded into a bag, then it must be tightly tied.
At the end of cleaning, it is recommended to take a shower, in addition to this, the oral cavity must be rinsed with soda solution.

Important: After the demercurization procedure, the room should be regularly ventilated for a week and people or pets should not be allowed in it during this period.

If the problem is solved, how to collect mercury from, you should pay attention to the length of the pile. In situations where a hazardous substance has fallen on a fine-haired coating, the methods described above can be used. It is more difficult to clean a carpet with a long pile. In this case, it is important to raise all the edges of the product in order to eliminate the risk of spreading metal balls.

Then the coating is taken out into the street. A plastic film of a large area is spread on the ground, a carpet is hung over it, and mercury is literally shaken out of the pile. The hazardous substance that has been recovered is sent to the same container where the previously collected mercury is stored.

What Not to Do

The main rule that is forbidden to be violated is that all items used during cleaning, as well as the liquid metal itself and the remains of the thermometer, must not be thrown away with household waste. There are other prohibitions:

deciding how to collect mercury, you can not use a vacuum cleaner.
a jar of liquid in which fragments, mercury balls are collected, is also prohibited from being sent to the garbage chute to household waste. To find out how this capacity is, it is recommended to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations (by phone 01, from mobile 112).
It is forbidden to use a broom during cleaning of liquid metal, because with its help the particles spread more strongly around the room. In addition, as a result of such actions, it will be extremely difficult to detect mercury balls in the future.
It is forbidden to perform work on cleaning the object in cloth shoes. For this purpose, rubber slippers are suitable, and better shoe covers / plastic bags.

Thus, if trouble happened - a thermometer crashed in the house, you need to follow the instructions. It is impossible to act independently in this case, because the consequences of this can harm the health of the household. The greatest danger lies not in the fact that the thermometer crashed at home, but in non-compliance with the rules of cleaning.

This increases the risk that liquid metal will remain in the cracks of the floor, behind the baseboard, in the folds of the bed and in other places, which will lead to poisoning of family members. With prolonged inhalation of mercury fumes, symptoms appear fairly soon after the thermometer breaks. So, in such cases, you should act as quickly as possible.