MERCURY DISPOSAL SERVICE №1
Question: “The thermometer broke, what should I do?” – people are more and more interested in because the situation when a thermometer crashed is not uncommon and happens at least once in a lifetime in every family. So what do you do if the thermometer breaks? First of all, don’t panic. Although it is believed that mercury is a poisonous and dangerous substance, but with the right solution to the situation, nothing will threaten you and your family members.
It has been proven that it is not the mercury itself contained in an ordinary thermometer that is harmful, but its vapors. Therefore, in the event that a thermometer breaks, your main goal will be to eliminate the consequences of the incident by completely clearing the room of mercury residues. In a small room, mercury vapor can cause poisoning up to a severe form and hospitalization, the situation can be especially dangerous for young children.
Signs of mercury vapor poisoning : Read
In no case should you ignore what happened, leaving your family at risk – one broken mercury thermometer can cause big problems. The evaporation of mercury vapor in the closed space of a small room will continue until all of its microparticles are destroyed.
In the event that the thermometer crashed, it is quite difficult to solve the problem on your own. In order to completely secure the dwelling and not endanger the life and health of your family members, you should seek the help of specialists in St. Petersburg and Len. areas.
In the room where the thermometer crashed, it should be carried out mercury vapor measurement in the air, which is impossible to do on your own. Specialists will come to your aid immediately and promptly perform all the necessary measures – they will find all the centers of infection, collect the harmful substance, treat the centers of infection with special solutions, make control measurements with devices intended for this, and dispose of the mercury residues according to all the necessary rules.
What to do if a thermometer breaks in the house, your actions to call an emergency environmental service should be immediate. Prior to the arrival of specialists, the following measures should be taken:
– remain calm, without wasting time on panic and clarification of the circumstances of what happened;
– open windows and vents in the room (an exception may be situations when the air temperature outside the window is higher than in the room. In this case, it is not recommended to open windows, as mercury begins to evaporate more intensively at temperatures above +18);
– if possible, turn off heating sources – batteries or electric heaters in the room where the thermometer crashed;
– do not allow children, elderly family members and pregnant women to be in the room where the thermometer broke, for whom inhalation of mercury vapor can be the most dangerous;
– do not allow pets to be in the place where the thermometer was broken – the outbreak must be localized in the room where the situation occurred.
Specialists of the city mercury service No. 1 will arrive promptly, so you should not try to collect the remaining mercury yourself. Trying to collect and destroy the mercury balls that rolled across the floor, you can only expand the danger zone. Mercury instantly penetrates fabrics and soft surfaces, so do not collect it with a rag. If you collect mercury pellets yourself, you run the risk of getting a hazardous substance on your skin or clothing. This may happen imperceptibly, but the evaporation of mercury vapor from clothing will then occur in your home for decades.
If a thermometer crashed in the hands of a small child, it is worth treating the situation with even more attention and responsibility. Young children should always measure the temperature under adult supervision, but there are situations when a split second is enough for the baby to break the thermometer. If this happens, don’t panic. The first step is to call the emergency environmental service specialists, then examine the child’s hands and skin for signs of mercury residues. Mercury can get into the mouth of a child, because babies have a habit of literally tasting everything. If this happens, call an ambulance immediately, but you should not panic. A broken thermometer and mercury in the mouth is not fatal for your baby. Doctors will conduct an X-ray examination of the child, but after making sure that the child has swallowed mercury and it is in his stomach, they will explain to worried parents that this does not pose a danger to life and the substance will leave the child’s body naturally.
If the thermometer is broken – this is serious!
Do not endanger your life and the life and health of your loved ones – by contacting the specialists of the Mercury Expert service, you can avoid life-threatening mercury poisoning!
Mercury is our concern! Mercury Service No. 1 St. Petersburg and L.O. Mercury Expert”.
Assistance to the population 24 hours.
