What is dangerous mercury for the human body. Mercury: threats real and imaginary

Mercury (Hg) A liquid metal used in everyday life and technology as the working fluid of various measuring instruments and electrical attitude switches.

Mercury is the only metal that is in a liquid state at room temperature. Mercury freezes at minus 39°C and boils at 357°C. It is 13.6 times heavier than water. It tends to break up into tiny droplets and spread. In nature, mercury is found in the reddish mineral cinnabar. Cinnabar is part of many rocks, but mostly rocks of volcanic origin.

Mercury has the property evaporates easily. To obtain pure metal from ore, it is necessary to heat this ore to a temperature of about 482 ° C. Vapors collect and condense, and mercury is obtained.

Mercury is a substance of hazard class I (according to GOST 17.4.1.02-83), thiol poison (an extremely dangerous chemical).

The maximum permissible concentration of mercury in the atmospheric air is 0.0003 mg/m3 (in accordance with the "Sanitary and Epidemiological Requirements for Atmospheric Air").

Only vapors and soluble mercury compounds are poisonous. At a temperature of 18°C, intensive evaporation of mercury into the atmosphere begins, inhalation of such air contributes to its accumulation in the body, from where it is no longer excreted (like other heavy metals). However, in order to accumulate a significant proportion of mercury in the body, it is necessary to regularly stay indoors for several months or years with a significant excess of the MPC of this metal in the air.

The concentration of mercury vapor that can lead to severe chronic diseases ranges from 0.001 to 0.005 mg/m3. At higher concentrations, mercury is absorbed by intact skin. Acute poisoning can occur at 0.13 - 0.80 mg/m3. Fatal intoxication develops when 2.5 g of mercury vapor is inhaled.

Harm

Symptoms of mercury poisoning

Mercury is dangerous not only for humans, but also for plants, animals and fish. The penetration of mercury into the body most often occurs precisely by inhalation of its odorless vapors.

Mercury poisoning

Mercury and its compounds are dangerous highly toxic substances that can accumulate in the human body and not be excreted for a long time, causing irreparable harm health. As a result, a person is affected:

  • Nervous system
  • Liver
  • kidneys
  • Gastrointestinal tract

Mercury remains in the body for a year.

Mercury salt poisoning

Acute mercury poisoning manifests itself several hours after the onset of poisoning. Intoxication occurs mainly through the respiratory tract, about 80% of inhaled mercury vapor is retained in the body. Salts and oxygen contained in the blood contribute to the absorption of mercury, its oxidation and the formation of mercury salts.

Symptoms of acute poisoning with mercury salts:

  • general weakness
  • lack of appetite
  • headache
  • pain when swallowing
  • metallic taste in mouth
  • salivation
  • swelling and bleeding of the gums
  • nausea and vomiting
  • severe abdominal pain
  • mucous diarrhea (sometimes with blood)

In addition, mercury poisoning is characterized by a decline in cardiac activity, the pulse becomes rare and weak, fainting is possible. Often there is pneumonia, chest pain, cough and shortness of breath, often severe chills. Body temperature rises to 38-40 °C. A significant amount of mercury is found in the urine of the victim. In severe cases, the victim dies within a few days.


Symptoms of mercury vapor poisoning

With prolonged exposure to even relatively low concentrations of mercury - on the order of hundredths and thousandths of mg / m3, the nervous system is damaged. The main symptoms of poisoning:

  • Headache
  • Hyperexcitability
  • Irritability
  • Decreased performance
  • Fast fatiguability
  • sleep disorder
  • Memory impairment
  • Apathy

Symptoms of chronic mercury poisoning

In chronic poisoning with mercury and its compounds, the following symptoms appear:

  • Metallic taste in the mouth
  • Loose gums
  • Strong salivation
  • mild excitability
  • Weakening of memory

Since mercury belongs to AHOV (emergency chemically hazardous toxic substances), the household, in order to be taken away for recycling, will also have to pay the relevant organizations.

Mercury is a dangerous environmental pollutant, and releases into water are especially dangerous.

Benefit

Scope of mercury

Mercury and its compounds are used in engineering, the chemical industry, and medicine.

It is added in the manufacture of medicines and disinfectants.

Mercury quickly and evenly reacts to temperature changes, so it is used in thermometers and thermometers.


Mercury is also used in paints, dentistry, chlorine, caustic soda, and electrical equipment.

Organic mercury compounds are used as pesticides and seed treatments.

The thermometer crashed - how to collect mercury

Symptoms of mercury poisoning (when it enters through the esophagus) are immediately visible - cyanosis of the face, shortness of breath, etc. The first thing to do in such a situation is to dial the ambulance number and cause the patient to vomit.

In order to clean rooms and objects from contamination with metallic mercury and sources of mercury vapor, it is necessary to carry out demercurization. Currently, several companies produce kits (with instructions) for the neutralization of household mercury pollution.

In everyday life, demercurization is widely used with sulfur. For example, if a mercury-containing thermometer breaks, windows should be opened to allow fresh air to enter and lower the temperature in the room (the warmer it is in the apartment, the more actively the metal evaporates). Then carefully and carefully collect all the fragments of the thermometer and mercury balls (not with bare hands, if possible in a respirator). All contaminated items should be put in a glass jar with a sealed lid, or in plastic bags and taken out of the room.


Cover traces of mercury with sulfur powder (S). At room temperature, sulfur easily reacts chemically with mercury, forming a poisonous but non-volatile HgS compound, which is dangerous only if it enters the esophagus.

Treat the floor and objects that have been exposed to mercury with a solution of potassium permanganate or a chlorine-containing preparation. You should wash gloves, shoes with potassium permanganate and a soap-soda solution, rinse your mouth and throat with a slightly pink solution of potassium permanganate, brush your teeth thoroughly, take 2-3 tablets of activated charcoal. In the future, it is desirable to regularly wash the floor with a chlorine-containing preparation and intensive ventilation.


If a thermometer was broken in the apartment and visible balls of mercury were removed, then the concentration of vapors usually does not exceed the MPC, and in conditions of good ventilation, the mercury residues will evaporate in a few months without causing significant harm to the health of residents.

Mercury should not be poured into the sewer, thrown away with household waste. For questions about the disposal of mercury, you need to contact the district SES, where they are required to accept it. If this is not possible, then you need to collect mercury in a plastic bag, cover it with bleach (or chlorine-containing preparations), wrap it in several plastic bags and bury it deeper. Then mercury will be reliably isolated.

Mercury is a heavy metal. Its compounds are used in production. It is one of the components in some preparations that are used for disinfection, as well as in paints. At home, the cases in which we may encounter mercury are limited, but they do happen.

Mercury is present in energy-saving light bulbs and in a conventional thermometer. If such a light bulb breaks, then mercury poisoning is almost unrealistic, but if it is a thermometer, then the person will completely get poisoned, and therefore assistance and treatment are necessary. And the consequences of such poisoning are quite serious, so you should immediately consult a doctor and get the necessary treatment. And this should be done not in a week, but literally on the same day!

In severe poisoning, it is necessary to introduce an antidote as soon as possible so that the removal of the poison from the body begins. Often, in case of poisoning, the doctor prescribes an antidote in the following days in order to completely remove toxic compounds from the blood. And you can enter an antidote intravenously only in a medical facility. Therefore, in case of poisoning, you should call an ambulance. And the sooner treatment is prescribed and carried out, the better.

If signs of poisoning are found, then it does not matter how long the victim was in the room and what dose he received, you need to call a doctor as soon as possible.

Household thermometers contain almost two grams of mercury

What dose of mercury is toxic?

At home, mercury poisoning is accidental when a thermometer breaks. Is it possible to get mercury poisoning from a thermometer, how much should this heavy metal be for a person to suffer? Household thermometers contain almost two grams of this poisonous substance. And according to experts, even if half of this dose enters the human body, it can cause death.

In this situation, much depends on the age of the person, how much he weighs, and also on the size of the room where the contact took place. It plays a role and how long a person was in the room.

What happens with mercury poisoning?

Vapor poisoning from this substance can be acute when a person continues to be in a room where this poisonous metal is present. Chronic mercury poisoning is also observed when this poison enters the human body in small doses for a long time. Acute poisoning with this metal vapor is rare, most often in factories where mercury compounds are used.

Symptoms of poisoning: great weakness, severe headaches, memory loss, tendency to sleep

The consequences of mercury poisoning are different, depending on the dose of poison that has entered the body, as well as on how quickly and efficiently first aid was provided. The symptoms of mercury poisoning are as follows:

  • excessive irritability, lethargy;
  • great weakness, severe headaches;
  • memory loss, tendency to sleep;
  • fingers, tongue, whole body may tremble (the so-called mercury tremor);
  • often there are spasms, arterial pressure falls.

If the poisoning is acute, then lethargy appears, and then there may be a complete loss of consciousness, which turns into a coma. In case of poisoning with vapors of this metal, the esophagus, intestines, and stomach are seriously affected.. The victim develops vomiting, loose stools, a metallic taste in the mouth may be felt. If the mucous membrane in the mouth is damaged by mercury vapor, then diseases such as stomatitis and gingivitis develop in the future.

If mercury crumbled ...

What should be done if mercury crumbles? The very first thing is not to lose self-control and leave the room where she is. Be sure to open the windows, close the doors. Mercury collection is done only by adults and those who do not suffer from various chronic diseases. The collection of metal balls should be done with gloves, collect it in a sealed glass jar.

How to collect spilled mercury

Shoe covers are put on the legs, and a bandage is put on the face. Drops of mercury are collected with pieces of paper, and the smallest balls are “caught” with adhesive tape. All things that have been in contact with this poisonous metal must be collected in a bag and then disposed of. Everything must be done quickly and accurately. And be sure to call the Ministry of Emergency Situations. Signs of mercury poisoning, as doctors say, will be individual.

If the heart rhythm and breathing are not disturbed, then you should rinse your nose, rinse your mouth, rinse your eyes. To do this, use pure water or a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate. When the victim is bleeding or breathing is disturbed, immediately call a doctor to help and prescribe treatment.

In the meantime, try to stop or slow down the blood loss. Gastric lavage is recommended to be done only through a probe so that the cauterizing effect of this metal is reduced. Antidote Unithiol is administered intravenously. Take the victim to the hospital, because this can only be done in a hospital.

A broken thermometer is a source of poisoning!

Mercury vapor poisoning is also dangerous for the respiratory system.

If urgent measures are not taken, then the condition can be quite serious, because the amount of mercury in the thermometer is enough for the body systems to be affected. If the poison came into the body from a broken thermometer, then the gums often acquire a bright red hue at first, and after a while they become covered with a dark shade. Ulcers can appear in the esophagus and intestines when poisoned by the vapors of this poisonous metal, which can cause internal bleeding.

Poisoning by the vapors of this substance from a broken thermometer is also dangerous for the respiratory system. If it is strong, then after a few days non-infectious bronchitis often develops, drops of blood appear when coughing. In severe cases, doctors do not exclude pulmonary edema.

What characterizes chronic poisoning?

Mercury can accumulate in the kidneys and also in the liver. If a person is under prolonged exposure to this poison, then he often has signs of liver or kidney failure. In acute poisoning, the risk of acute kidney or liver failure is quite high. And this threatens the life of the victim.

If there is a suspicion that you could be poisoned by mercury vapor, you should seek medical help.

Doctors warn that each human body reacts individually to poison entering the body, and therefore the classic signs of poisoning with this metal are one thing, but in practice it is often quite different. Therefore, if you have a suspicion that you could be poisoned, you should seek medical help. A timely examination, and, if necessary, appropriate treatment will save your health.

How to accurately determine whether there is poisoning?

If after some time after contact with mercury, you did not notice a deterioration in your condition, you should still consult a doctor. Only a specialist after examination and testing (a special blood test) can give an accurate answer: is there poison in the body or not. Symptoms of poisoning with this poisonous metal are similar to poisoning with other heavy metals.

But they are also characteristic of various inflammatory diseases. That is why signs of getting this poison into the body on their own can not be detected for a long time. Better to be safe and get tested. And the treatment, if necessary, in each case can be individual and it is determined only by the doctor.

Yes, a broken mercury thermometer really poses a great danger to human health. According to the Great Medical Encyclopedia, mercury is a highly toxic poison belonging to the first class of extremely dangerous substances. A medical mercury thermometer contains from 1 to 2 grams of mercury, if the substance is in the room, it begins to evaporate. The concentration of mercury vapor in this case can exceed the maximum allowable rate up to 1000 times. If the source of intoxication is not eliminated in time, then mercury vapor will not disappear on its own, they will remain indoors for many years. For this reason, mercury thermometers are banned in many countries.

What harm is done to health?

A few hours after mercury enters the room, acute poisoning can occur. According to the official website of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia, it is manifested by a lack of appetite, headaches, abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. A metallic taste may be felt in the mouth, it becomes painful to swallow, salivation and bleeding of the gums appear.

If the mercury particles are not completely eliminated, the fumes will continue to affect the nervous system. With regular contact with the substance, chronic poisoning occurs after 5-10 years. The Great Medical Encyclopedia indicates that it is accompanied by frequent headaches, dizziness, increased fatigue, general weakness, sleep disturbances, irritability, and respiratory diseases. Anxiety, anxiety, depression appear.

Intoxication with a low concentration of mercury, which is called micromercurialism, manifests itself after two to four years of constant contact with mercury fumes. It is characterized by increased excitability and disturbances in the emotional sphere.

In general, intoxication with mercury vapor affects not only the nervous system, but also the cardiovascular system and endocrine glands. The kidneys also suffer greatly, it is through these organs that mercury is excreted in large volumes from the body.

Inhalation of mercury vapor is especially dangerous for children, the elderly and pregnant women. Their body has less ability to resist toxic fumes. Symptoms of poisoning in these groups of people begin to appear faster.

How to treat poisoning?

In case of acute poisoning, you should immediately consult a doctor. You can not self-medicate, treatment should take place in a hospital.

If the poisoning has passed into the chronic stage, then you should also contact the specialists, follow their recommendations and take the medicines that they prescribe

Few people think about how dangerous mercury is until it comes to an accidentally broken thermometer or fluorescent lamp. In order not to panic in such cases, it is important to know what this substance is, what effect it has on the body and how to protect yourself from poisoning.

Few people think about how dangerous mercury is until it comes to an accidentally broken thermometer or fluorescent lamp.

What is mercury and what is its effect

Mercury belongs to the group of heavy metals and at room temperature is a dense silvery liquid. It is the only metal capable of being liquid at room temperature. The melting point of mercury is -38°C, the boiling point is 356°C. The substance is extremely dangerous: if it enters the human body, mercury can cause poisoning, even death.

By itself, the metal is practically not toxic, but the toxicity of mercury instantly increases when it enters the environment familiar to humans. At room temperature, the substance immediately begins to evaporate, and this is the most poisonous form.

Among the factors that increase the danger of this substance, they note the complete absence of smell (a person may not notice for a long time that he is breathing mercury vapor) and the ability to accumulate in the body for years, practically not excreted through the excretory organs.

How to properly collect mercury (video)

Use of mercury in the home

Until 1970, people did not know how bad mercury was for health, and they used it in many areas, especially in medicine: from making dental fillings to manufacturing medicines.

Nubuck material and care

Due to the danger to humans, today the use of the substance in everyday life is minimized. But still, sometimes you can't do without it. Mercury is used in the manufacture of thermometers - due to its high thermal conductivity and ability not to wet glass, such thermometers provide high accuracy of readings.

Mercury belongs to the group of heavy metals and at room temperature is a dense silvery liquid.

This poisonous metal is used in energy-saving gas discharge lamps and in medicine as a preservative for vaccines. We must not forget that some types of seafood are able to accumulate elemental mercury from their environment, and their consumption can be dangerous: in the body of shellfish and some fish, the concentration of the metal can be several times higher than in the water itself.

When used properly in everyday life, metal is not dangerous to people. Basically, poisoning occurs when safety standards are not observed in the workplace associated with mercury, or when devices or mechanisms containing this substance appear in residential premises. Such actions are extremely dangerous, and their consequences can be fatal.

Types of poisoning and their symptoms

At a high concentration of mercury vapor in the air (up to 0.25 mg/m3), it begins to be absorbed through the respiratory system. If its content exceeds this value, then absorption can occur directly through the skin, even intact. A lethal dose of mercury is inhalation of 2.5 g or more of toxic fumes.

How to clean the filter in the washing machine yourself

With a single ingestion of high doses of toxic fumes, acute poisoning develops. The first symptoms appear after 1-2 hours: weakness, headache, metallic taste in the mouth, pain when swallowing, salivation, lack of appetite. A little later, systemic symptoms also appear: cough, difficulty breathing due to inflammation of the respiratory tract, abdominal pain, bloody diarrhea, temperature up to 40 ° C. Medical intervention is necessary already at the first signs, especially if we are talking about children - they have a clinical picture of poisoning, as a rule, develops faster. In the absence of timely assistance, death occurs within a few days.

Chronic poisoning occurs with prolonged (two months or more) contact with small doses. A broken thermometer is dangerous because uncleaned mercury can be divided into very small balls and imperceptibly poison all living things that are in this room. It does not smell, and people may not guess for a long time what is happening to their health.

When used properly in everyday life, metal is not dangerous to people.

Symptoms of mercurialism, as chronic poisoning with this substance is also called, are manifested by constant severe fatigue, inability to sleep even with a normal sleep pattern, frequent dizziness and headaches, and weakness. At later stages, the so-called mercury tremor develops - trembling of the limbs, lips and eyelids. Sweating increases, the sense of smell and tactile sensitivity become dull.

Not knowing how dangerous mercury is, a person may not associate these symptoms with a broken thermometer, for example, six months ago and treat the consequences for years, not knowing the real reason.

Chronic forms of poisoning are dangerous because, in addition to somatic abnormalities, mental ones also appear against its background. The person becomes emotionally unstable, irritable, has problems with memory. In this state, people are unable to lead a normal life, and the combination of these symptoms, which worsen over time, often leads to disability, both physical and mental.

Cleaning sewer pipes with baking soda and vinegar

For the treatment of chronic forms of mercury intoxication, in addition to hospitalization, they may prescribe a sanatorium course or even recommend changing the field of activity.

Mercury poisoning (video)

What to do with indoor mercury

The most common causes of contact with toxic metal in everyday life are a broken mercury thermometer or a fluorescent lamp. The amount of mercury in these devices is not deadly, but in order to avoid poisoning, it is necessary to start getting rid of the toxic substance as soon as possible.

  1. Remove people and animals from the premises.
  2. Close the door, open the window to ventilate the room as much as possible, but do not allow a draft. Metal fumes from the thermometer should not get into other rooms. It will be necessary to ventilate the room for about a week after removing visible mercury.
  3. Put on a respirator or gauze mask, rubber gloves on your hands.
  4. Carefully collect fragments of a thermometer or lamp and put them in an airtight bag.
  5. Point the lamp at the place where the mercury from the thermometer is spilled - the glare on the surface of the metal balls will not let you miss any of them.
  6. It is better to collect mercury with a brush or a brush with an amalgamation coating, but not everyone will have one at hand. For collection, you can use pipettes, syringes, paper napkins, wet newspapers, and for the smallest droplets - adhesive tape or adhesive tape.
  7. The collected volume of metal should also be hermetically sealed and, together with a broken thermometer, be handed over to the Ministry of Emergency Situations for disposal.

Mercury poisoning occurs not only in industry, but also in everyday life. This metal or its salts contain mercury thermometers, fluorescent lamps, and some drugs.

Source: rybnoe.net

Mercury is a heavy metal, the peculiarity of which is that at ordinary room temperature it is not in a solid, but in a liquid state of aggregation.

Mercury vapor and its compounds are dangerous, which have a cumulative effect. Even small doses of these substances have a pronounced toxic effect on:

  • eyes;
  • skin;
  • lungs;
  • liver;
  • kidneys;
  • immune system;
  • nervous system;
  • digestive organs.

Inhalation of vaporous mercury in the respiratory tract, its molecules are oxidized and then combined with the sulfhydryl group of proteins. The resulting substances enter the bloodstream and are carried throughout the body, causing damage to various organs.

Inorganic mercury compounds (salts) can enter the body through the skin or gastrointestinal tract. They have a pronounced irritating effect on the mucous membrane of the digestive tract, which leads to inflammation and then ulceration. Mercury salts accumulate in:

  • skin;
  • intestines;
  • lungs;
  • spleen;
  • bone marrow;
  • erythrocytes;
  • liver;
  • their especially high concentration is observed in the renal tissue.

Methylated mercury (organic compound) easily penetrates into tissues through the digestive tract and skin, quickly overcomes the erythrocyte membrane and forms a stable compound with hemoglobin, causing tissue hypoxia. Methylated mercury can accumulate in the nervous tissue and kidneys.

Symptoms of poisoning

Symptoms of mercury poisoning in each case will be different, since the clinical picture is largely determined by the way the toxic substance enters the body, as well as the duration of contact with it.

Acute mercury vapor poisoning is characterized by:

  • inflammation of the airways, proceeding according to the type of interstitial pneumonitis;
  • increased mental excitability;
  • tremor.

With chronic mercury vapor poisoning the nervous system suffers to a greater extent, which leads to the appearance of the following clinical signs:

  • fast fatiguability;
  • weight loss, anorexia;
  • dysfunction of the gastrointestinal tract;
  • pronounced tremor of the hands when trying to perform any voluntary movement, which later becomes generalized, that is, affecting all muscle groups;
  • the development of mercury erethism (high nervous excitability, insomnia, a sharp deterioration in memory and thought processes, timidity, and in severe poisoning - delirium).

For chronic inorganic mercury poisoning the same symptoms are characteristic as for chronic intoxication caused by prolonged inhalation of vapors of this metal. But in this case, the clinical picture also includes manifestations of stomatitis, gingivitis, as well as loosening and loss of teeth. Over time, patients experience damage to the kidney tissue, which is manifested by the development of nephrotic syndrome.

Exposure to mercury salts on the skin can cause various lesions, from mild erythema to severe forms of scaly dermatitis. In young children, skin contact with inorganic mercury causes the development of pink disease (acrodynia), which is often regarded as Kawasaki disease. Other symptoms of poisoning with mercury salts when they enter the body through the skin are:

  • hypertrichosis;
  • photosensitivity;
  • generalized rash;
  • skin irritation;
  • profuse sweating, which often leads to desquamation of the superficial skin cells of the hands and feet.

For acute poisoning with mercury salts, penetrating through the digestive tract are characterized by:

  • nausea;
  • vomiting with an admixture of blood;
  • stomach ache;
  • tenesmus;
  • bloody stool;
  • necrosis of the intestinal mucosa;
  • acute renal necrosis.

Severe poisoning is often accompanied by a massive loss of fluid. As a result, the patient develops hypovolemic shock, which can lead to death.

Methylmercury poisoning is extremely dangerous. They are accompanied by the following features:

  • cerebral palsy, the development of which is associated with atrophic processes in the cerebellar cortex and cerebral hemispheres;
  • headache;
  • paresthesia;
  • speech, hearing and vision disorders;
  • memory loss;
  • impaired coordination of movements;
  • erethism;
  • stupor;
  • coma.

In severe poisoning, death is possible.

Source: depositphotos.com

First aid for mercury poisoning

In case of acute poisoning with metallic mercury vapors the victim should be taken to fresh air, unfasten tight clothing.

In case of acute poisoning with mercury that has entered the body through the gastrointestinal tract, it is necessary to urgently wash the stomach. To do this, drink a few glasses of clean water, and then, pressing on the root of the tongue, cause reflex vomiting.

Preparations with an absorbent effect do not interact with mercury, so it is pointless to take them.

Skin contact with mercury or its compounds, they must be thoroughly washed with a pale pink solution of potassium permanganate.

When is medical attention needed?

In case of any type of mercury poisoning, it is necessary to consult a doctor as soon as possible - either call an ambulance team, or independently ensure the delivery of the victim to the hospital.

To bind toxic mercury compounds that have entered the digestive system, the patient is prescribed polythiol resins.

With a high concentration of mercury in the blood serum and urine, complex-forming therapy is indicated, for which Dimercaprol and D-penicillamine are prescribed. The main goal of this treatment is to accelerate the excretion of mercury in the urine and reduce the severity of clinical symptoms of intoxication.

Possible consequences

Mercury poisoning often has a severe course and results in the development of complications. Possible consequences:

  • disorders of higher mental activity, up to disability;
  • mercury poisoning during pregnancy can cause the development of various abnormalities in the fetus;
  • fatal outcome.

Prevention

To prevent household mercury poisoning, any devices (household, medical) containing metallic mercury or its compounds should be used very carefully.

If mercury has spilled in the room, you should contact the SES and call a team of specialists for demercurization (removal of mercury). If this is not possible, they start demercurization on their own.

  1. Collect spilled mercury in a hermetically sealed container using a pipette or wet cotton balls.
  2. Pour plenty of baking soda or salt into the place where mercury has poured out, after 2-3 hours remove the powder, carefully treat the surface with a weak solution of potassium permanganate.
  3. The room is constantly ventilated for a week so that the vapors remove mercury vapors as completely as possible.
  4. It is forbidden to use a vacuum cleaner and a broom to clean up mercury, pour the collected mercury into the sewer, use and wash clothes and other textile products that have been exposed to mercury - they must be disposed of.

In industries that use mercury compounds in their work, careful monitoring of compliance with safety regulations should be carried out.

Video from YouTube on the topic of the article:

Similar posts