Any Chemistry folks out there? I've got a small mercury spill and need advice

[Emit]

I accidentally broke a thermometer last night, and of all places, a small drop of mercury landed on my wicker chair top. I sent the kids away, cleaned up what I could, but can't get the tiny drops off the chair top. I put the chair outside in the cold last night, and now have it covered with a large plastic bag.

Do you think I should try to clean it, or just get rid of the chair entirely? If I get rid of it, I can't just throw it away. I'd have to call around to see who deals with toxic waste, I assume (along with the rest of the mercury that I recovered).

Any advice would be helpful. Thanks.

[soleft]

1. In the news, a high school was recently evacuated because of a mercury spill

It could be VERY dangerous!

I would call the local EPA office ASAP!!!!

[Emit]

4. I immediately looked up how to deal with a spill

and followed all the cleanup procedures as suggested, including getting the chair isolated. I am confident that the inside of my home is safe; it's now just the chair I need to deal with. But, I may have to call someone on the matter, if I can't figure out what to do with the damned chair.

[soleft]

8. Sorry about your chair.

Please let me know what you find out. I'm curious as to what they say.

[Emit]

18. Well, I made several phone calls and here's what I've determined

Mercury is not well-absorbed unless it is heated up and breathed in or unless you have a cut on your skin or you ingest it.

So, it appears that I took the necessary precautions that were appropriate by putting the chair outside in the cooler temperature. The folks I talked to all agreed that if I can clean the chair, I should be able to keep it, because the tiny amount that might be left after cleaning will not be enough to be concerned about, even with kids and animals in the house.

If I choose to dispose of the chair, I need to call my trash pick up or the health department to find out how to do that properly. I need to call them anyway to ask about how to dispose of the mercury I collected, the broken glass and stuff I used to pick up the mercury.

So, now I will be off to make those calls and see if anyone in town will take it. I will try to clean my chair, since it was just a small amount (the bulk of the spill was contained inside the thermometer's case). If I can't get the chair clean enough, I'll just get rid of it.

Thanks again for your response and concern. I will also be buying a non-mercury thermometer to replace my old one. I don't want to go through this nuisance again! :hi:

[soleft]

26. I hope you get to keep it

Your kids are lucky you instinctively knew to do the right thing.

[TZ]

6. Small amounts of mercury

Aren't QUITE that toxic. This person did the right thing by taking the children out of the room.
I've been around a few broken thermometers myself. Staying away and getting the correct way of disposal (a link I provided) are the best. Overreaction is not necessary.

[Emit]

14. I feel better after some comments here and I do think I did the right thing

I have to leave the house and really have no choice but to abandon the chair now -- keep it contained outside. Thanks again for that link. While it provides pretty much the same info I read last night, and tried to follow, I think it is a bit more comprehensive.

[MorningGlow]

2. Don't have an answer for you; just want to say "I'm doomed"

Back when I was young and stooopid (in college, no less :eyes: ), my roommate dropped her mercury thermometer, and we had fun trying to nab all the little silver drops WITH OUR BARE HANDS.

I need a "d'oh"/headslap smiley.

[TZ]

3. So far you did the right thing

However your best bet would be to consult the EPA on this.
Here is a link which should be helpful:
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm
Hope this helps

[Emit]

10. Thank you much

Didn't get to that link last night. I am late for work, dammit, and need to make a decision here with this chair. I'm only in for a few hours today -- I think I'll leave the chair for later and see if I can use some of the advice at the link (I'll try to see if tape will help, and I might have to purchase some sulfur). I may just have to call someone about getting rid of the chair.

What a weird thing to deal with.

Thanks again.

And it doesn't help matters that I awoke with a headache this am. I'm sure it's sinus, but, shit.

[Rabrrrrrr]

5. While mercury is indeed poisonous, that little amount is not enough to go crazy.

Though you should, of course, still be very careful:

http://www.deq.state.la.us/portal/tabid/2083/Default.aspx

If the mercury that is on the chair won't come off, I'd just slice the wicker off, and put it in a plastic bag.

[NJmaverick]

32. This is probably the best suggestion

[Orrex]

7. Hang onto it if you have any vaccines that need preserving

I'm told that mercury works like a charm.

:sarcasm:

[TZ]

13. MUAHAAHAHA!

Would you like a side order of thimerosol with that burger?:P

[Sock Puppet]

9. My ex-husband vacuumed up a mercury spill once.

Even after I told him (on the phone) how toxic it was and how carefully he had to handle it. I guess I didn't specifically say "do not vacuum it up, dummy."
:eyes: :nuke: :eyes:

[Emit]

11. And all the links I read last night said

DO NOT VACUUM. :rofl:

[Duer 157099]

12. It's the aerosolization/vaporization of mercury that's most dangerous

I can remember as a kid playing with it also, from broken thermometers, rolling the little balls around until they all coalesced into one ball. Fun stuff! Oh, ignorance, how blissful thou art...

[youthere]

22. Yep..My brother and I had "mercury races"...

we each had a small gob we pushed across the bathroom floor.

[Emit]

15. Thanks for the quick response and sorry for the strange post

I feel calmer now after having some sound advice. I have to run to work and then attack this problem when I return later. I appreciate everyone's responses, both the serious and humorous -- they ALL helped me focus and put things into perspective!

Thanks, DUers :hi:

[Sweet Freedom]

16. I did that once too and called poison control.

They said thermometers do not have dangerous amounts of mercury, so you should be safe. To remove the remaining mercury, use duct tape to lift. If the mercury has stained, cover in baby powder and then use a stiff brush to remove. Works like a charm.

[qb]

17. I miss the good old days...

when the elementary school science teacher gave each student a hefty blob of mercury to play with...

[Taverner]

19. I would get rid of the chair

Mercury can be a dangerous substance, even if cleaned up.

[grannylib]

20. Glad you're all ok...mercury can be nasty, particularly if inhaled

or ingested in large amounts.
My youngest once bit the end off a mercury thermometer; we never did find the end she bit off, and most of the mercury rolled out onto the floor of the tent (we were camping at the time; she was supposed to be napping, and when I peeked in to check on her, she had emptied a backpack, including the contents of the first aid kit!)

All was well in the end, but holy shit, were we ever panicked at first...

Hope you can salvage your chair!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. When I was a kid, my dad had a plastic bottle of the stuff...

whenever a thermometer broke, he'd pick up the droplets of mercury with an eyedropper and put them in the container.

My mom eventually took the container to a hazardous household waste disposal fair.

[JanMichael]

23. oh shit. are you serious?

we used to play with that crap...and all our relatives lived into their nineties.

Dump it into a trash can and throw it away.

[theredpen]

24. Mercury is highly soluble in Gold

If you encase the chair in gold, the mercury will soak into it (like water into a sponge, but more effective).

After the mercury has soaked into the gold, the gold will have a dull, silver "oily" appearance. Now you can throw away the gold and keep the chair.

Seriously! I knew someone who spilled mercury on his gold wedding ring, ruining it. He managed to save the ring because he had access to pure gold wire used for specialized electronics. Using an entire $2000 spool of wire, he was able to soak the mercury out his gold alloy ring — worth at least $100! — into the pure gold wire. He didn't have to pay for the wire — and these were 1982 dollars and gold prices.

Hey you said any advice.

[skater314159]

25. Hmmm....

That can't be good for the chair... here's a link to a spill kit:

http://www.fishersci.com/wps/portal/PRODUCTDETAIL?productId=774447&catalogId=29104&pos=2&catCode=RE_SC&fromCat=yes&keepSessionSearchOutPut=true&brCategoryId=null&hlpi=y&fromSearch=Y

I dunno what you would do after you clean it up though... it's not like you have a chem lab toxic waste bin you can throw it into. And I'm not sure a chem dept would appreciate a toxic wicker chair showing up unannounced.

At least you didn't do what a friend I had in a class did when he broke a thermometer. He liked the Hg, so he got a baggie and put it into it and carried it around in his front pants pocket until it started leaking. Last I heard, he still doesn't have kids or much of a sex life. Na ja...

[Coyote_Bandit]

27. Well I guess I'm screwed

When I was a kid I broke a mercury thermometer in my mouth. Didn't think I would ever spit all the glass and mercury out but I finally did. Freaked my folks out. Still no ill effects all these decades later.

I think you should be able to clean the chair and keep it if you want. Good luck.

[quip]

28. kick, for comedy's sake

[Emit]

30. You know what's funny?

Here I was worried about saving the gawddamned chair (and of course, the safety of my family), so I put it outside to deal with later (too windy earlier to clean it) and now it's raining!

Shit. Something tells me somebody didn't want me to have that chair.x(

[buzzard]

29. I remember as a child breaking those damn thermometers on purpose so I could play with the round

ball of mercury, little did I know.

[woo me with science]

31. Oh for pete's sake.

Practically everybody here played with mercury during those fragile years of childhood, and, as we all know, everyone at DU is above average.

Just clean it up and don't worry.

[Emit]

33. And the Romans use to line their hot baths with lead, too. n/t