A thermometer is in every house and apartment. It can be called an essential item, which is indispensable for any ailments. And since most of this device contains mercury, and the body is made of glass, there is a high probability of breaking it by negligence. And here it is important to know how long mercury evaporates, what its danger is and how to eliminate the consequences.
Mercury properties
Mercury is a metal that is marked as 80 elements in the periodic table. Being a cumulative poison, it belongs to the I hazard class. This is the only metal that does not become solid at room temperature, remaining in liquid form. The release of toxic substances begins when the temperature rises to +18 Λ, and since mercury evaporates for a long time, this makes it especially dangerous.
A typical thermometer contains from 1.5 to 2 g of liquid metal - this amount is very large, and if it evaporates completely in a closed living room, the area of ββwhich does not exceed 20 m 2 , the concentration of toxic fumes will exceed the permissible rate of 0.0003 mg per 1 m 3 .
Mercury Evaporation Rate
In one hour, 0.002 mg of mercury is evaporated per square meter. Thus, it is not difficult to calculate the rate of its evaporation in a living room at room temperature by multiplying this indicator by the total area (90 cm 2 ) of scattered balls: 0.002 x 90/10000 = 0.000018 mg / hour.
But at the same time, certain factors will always influence the speed of this process: temperature fluctuations, air circulation quality, surface area of ββscattered particles and the total amount of toxic substance. After all, it is not always possible to collect all the mercury. Some of it can roll under the baseboard, in cracks and small chips in the floors.
One small ball of mercury from a broken thermometer evaporates for a long time - at least 3 years. If the house has warm floors and rare airing, then this period will noticeably decrease, and, conversely, increase with constant ventilation.
You can also approximately determine how long 2 grams of mercury evaporates in a living room with normal ventilation. Having made simple calculations, we get a period of 30 years. But remember that everything is conditional.
If we talk about how long mercury evaporates on the street, then here this period will also depend on environmental conditions. It is known that under the influence of direct sunlight and air temperature from +35 Λ to +40 Λ, the evaporation rate increases by 15-17 times. In the cold season, it accordingly decreases.
And do not forget that over time, the rate of evaporation of mercury decreases - after a couple of weeks, about two times, and so on.
How dangerous is mercury?
So, we learned how long the mercury evaporates in the room and at what speed the process takes place, from which it follows that 0.18 mg of toxic vapor is released in one hour. Comparing this indicator with the maximum permissible concentration (0.0003 mg / m 3 ), we see a rather strong excess. But this still does not mean anything. The fact is that the maximum permissible concentration is calculated taking into account the initial criteria - the threshold concentration for a long time - from six months to a year, and plus a guarantee correction is applied, which reduces this value several times.
There is another value, which is defined as the weekly dose of mercury for humans. It is 5 mg per 1 kg of weight. Thus, it is not difficult to calculate the maximum allowable dose per family member. And taking into account the amount of air consumed by a person (25 m 3 per day), it is possible to calculate the maximum permissible dose. To do this, multiply this value by the permissible level of mercury vapor (0,0003). We get 0.0075 mg per day. We calculate the weekly dose by multiplying the result by 7.
And in order to understand how dangerous mercury is from a broken thermometer, you should determine the amount of air in the room that absorbs the vapor. Calculations can be made by multiplying the length of the room by the width and height of the ceilings. In general, it is immediately worthwhile to find out the amount of air in the entire apartment. This is due to the fact that the vapors of this substance are volatile, and since the mercury in the room evaporates for a long time, they will certainly spread throughout the premises. So, with a total area of ββ60 m 2 and a ceiling height of 2.7 m, we get a volume of 160 m 3 . We recall that the air is not static, with normal ventilation in one hour, 80% of the obtained indicator is replaced. Thus, circulation automatically increases the volume of air that mercury vapor consumes to 300 m 3 .
Now you can calculate the concentration of mercury. For this, the amount of evaporation (0.18) is divided by the volume (300). The result is 0.006 mg per 1 m 3 . Compare with the acceptable level (0.0003) and understand that not everything is as bad as it might seem at first glance. Before us is a double excess of the dose, which is not critical. However, it should not remain without attention.
Thus, knowing how much and how long mercury evaporates and weathers, one can easily determine its potential harm to a particular room and people living in it.
Symptoms of Poisoning
Mercury from one broken thermometer will not cause irreversible changes in the work of organs, paralysis and death. But still, the body is able to respond to harmful fumes by general weakness, decreased appetite, headaches, nausea, a metallic taste in the mouth and vomiting. And if such symptoms are observed, then the victim must urgently provide medical care. In addition, since the mercury from the thermometer evaporates for a long time, it will continue to affect the weakened person. And this, in turn, will aggravate the signs of poisoning, which will lead to bleeding gums, abdominal cramps, a sharp increase in body temperature and loose stools with blood and mucus. In this condition, urgent hospitalization is required.
Information on how long mercury evaporates and how dangerous it is is especially important for parents and women during pregnancy. The main risk group is children who, with short-term inhalation, can develop kidney problems. Pregnant women should also beware - there is a risk of intrauterine damage to the fetus.
How to collect mercury?
Understanding how long mercury evaporates and what the consequences are, everyone should be able to collect it. First you need to lower the temperature in the room by turning off all heaters. If it is cold outside, you can open the window, but only one thing so that the draft does not break the scattered balls into smaller particles. In summer it is advisable to turn on the air conditioning. These activities will stop the process of poisonous metal evaporation.
For the cleaning itself, you will need a thin copper wire, metal filings or powder, a sheet of sandpaper, a sheet of plain paper and a hermetically sealed jar.
We remove mercury using copper wire
Since mercury evaporates for a long time, but also intensively at high air temperatures, it is advisable to protect the airways with a gauze bandage before starting cleaning.
Then we take the wire and wrap it in such a way that we get a tourniquet with a width of about 1.5 cm and a length of 15 cm. So that it does not fall apart during the harvesting process, we connect in the middle with a thread or a small piece of the wire itself. Cut the ends on both sides so that they look like brushes. With sandpaper, remove all the varnish and bend the beam in half. As a result, both ends should be on one side.
Around the loop we make several turns of tape. So it will be much more convenient for you to hold the resulting brush in your hand. Then, with your fingers, open the cleaned area a bit and bring it to the balls of mercury. Copper will begin to amalgamate metal particles, and soon they will all be at its ends. At the end of the procedure, you need to put everything in a jar (together with wire) and tightly close the lid.
How to use metal sawdust for cleaning?
To do this, they should be scattered on the infected area and carefully rub into the surface with a dry rag. As a result, it will contain all the scattered particles of mercury. Put them in a jar with sawdust and tightly close.
This method of cleaning mercury is quite simple, but it is suitable only for smooth coatings, for example, for linoleum, plastic, marble, etc. For surfaces with crevices and grooves, another method should be chosen.
Mercury on a carpet with a pile
It is important to carry out a thorough cleaning, as the mercury from the broken thermometer evaporates for a long time. If it is not completely collected, toxic substances will continue to be released, gradually accumulating in the human body. In this case, the symptoms of poisoning at first are invisible, the consequences can be felt after a few weeks. And this, in turn, will make diagnosis very difficult.
It is most difficult to collect all the mercury from soft coatings, especially if there is a long pile on them. But you need to try, otherwise the carpet will simply have to be thrown away.
We pour metal filings in the place where the thermometer crashed, and turn the carpet to this area. We wrap the area with mercury with polyethylene, carefully knock it out and leave to ventilate. We drop the mercury balls together with the film into a jar and close it well.
Clean the lint-free palace
It is much easier to remove mercury from such a coating than in the previous version. It is convenient to use a brush made of metal, but you can also use a small syringe or syringe. With the chosen tool, we collect all droplets of the substance and pack everything tightly.
What can not be done with mercury?
Sweeping mercury with a broom, especially from a carpet, is strictly prohibited. So you only break particles of matter, expanding the volume of vapor. It is also impossible to vacuum the infected area, otherwise a warm engine will increase the evaporation rate, and the vacuum cleaner itself will subsequently have to be thrown away.
If balls of mercury get on things, then they should be destroyed. Machine wash is prohibited, as it will not save clothes - it will become dangerous in the future.
It is not allowed to flush the collected substance into the sink or into the toilet, as it is heavy and will probably remain in the knee of the water supply. How long does mercury evaporate in such conditions? And for a long time, and intensively. This way, you will be constantly exposed to toxic fumes.
Even if the can with particles of toxic metal has been carefully clogged, you can not throw it into a garbage container or garbage chute. It will break sooner or later and other people will be in danger.
Where is mercury disposed of?
In general, if mercury was on a flat, smooth surface or on a lint-free coating, then collecting it would not be difficult. In addition to the above methods, you can use a sheet of plain paper. But what to do next with this jar if you canβt throw it away? Special organizations can help with this issue, such as:
- sanitary and epidemiological service;
- Ministry of Emergency Situations;
- mercury disposal service.
You need to call one of them and take the jar with the collected mercury to the specified address. Just make sure that it has been carefully packed. By the way, the clothes and shoes in which you cleaned, it is also advisable to recycle. For this reason, the collection of mercury is carried out with gloves and a special suit.
If mercury could not be collected
When the thermometer breaks, often the particles of mercury fly off quite far. They can get on upholstered furniture, in places where clothes and other things are stored, roll up under the baseboard or end up in the crevices of the floor. In such a situation, it is very difficult to collect all the droplets to the last. And only specialists are able to help here. Before the brigade arrives, you need to remove all people and pets from the infected premises and open a window.
Upon arrival, special services personnel will establish the level of concentration of mercury vapor, conduct a thorough cleaning and identify items that will need to be disposed of.