What should I do if the thermometer is broken?

Thermometers are very common in daily life, and the mercury in them can measure the normal temperature of the human body. If the thermometer is accidentally broken, a toxic substance will be produced. Since mercury is highly toxic, accidentally breaking it will be very dangerous to the body. After the thermometer is broken, you need to open the window for ventilation in time. At the same time, you should pay attention to breathing and not inhale harmful substances in the air.

What to do if the thermometer is broken?

1. First, ventilate in time

Mercury remains in liquid state at room temperature and is easy to evaporate at room temperature. Therefore, when mercury leaks from the thermometer, the doors and windows need to be opened in time to prevent the mercury in the air from not being able to diffuse in the room for a long time and being inhaled by the human body, causing the mercury to accumulate in the body. Since mercury vapor has a very high density, exhaust devices such as fans and ventilation fans can be used to speed up the removal of mercury vapor from the air.

2. Wear a mask and gloves

Mercury that falls from a thermometer will fall to the ground. Due to its liquid physical properties and volatility, you must take self-protection measures before handling it, such as wearing a mask to avoid inhaling the evaporated mercury. Mercury that falls to the ground is scattered beads. Do not touch it directly with your hands. Be sure to wear gloves. When collecting the lost mercury, do not collect it directly with your hands.

3. Collect the lost mercury with cotton swabs or adhesive tape

Mercury will form smooth small droplets on the ground, which are generally difficult to collect. You can use a moist cotton swab or tape to gently pick up the mercury on the ground. In addition, for mercury that falls on the ground and cannot be completely collected, you can sprinkle some sulfur powder to reduce the toxicity of the mercury. Note that the collection process should be fast.

4. The collected mercury should be sealed and handled properly

The collected mercury must be placed in a sealed container and marked "waste mercury" on the outside of the container. Finally, it should be properly handed over to the local environmental protection department for special disposal. Never pour the collected mercury into the sewer to avoid causing pollution elsewhere.

5. Clean rooms contaminated by mercury

Finally, for rooms contaminated by mercury, iodine and alcohol can be ignited for fumigation so that iodine reacts with mercury in the air to form non-volatile mercuric iodide, which can reduce the concentration of mercury vapor in the air. You can also use 10% bleach liquid to wash the mercury-contaminated ground, which also has a certain mercury removal effect.

Will a broken thermometer cause poisoning?

Mercury at body temperature is indeed a toxic liquid metal, and excessive exposure can easily cause mercury poisoning. However, the mercury content in a thermometer is relatively low and generally does not cause obvious symptoms of poisoning. Therefore, do not panic if a thermometer is broken and just handle it with caution. As long as you don't accidentally eat it, it won't be a big problem.

The thermometer is broken and the mercury cannot be found. What should I do?

Open doors and windows to let the wind ventilate the mercury, and at the same time, try to clean and sweep the floor. Do not touch it with your bare hands as mercury is highly toxic. After cleaning, don't worry about the mercury that can't be found, because the mercury will evaporate and it will evaporate away after a period of time. However, make sure the room is properly ventilated because volatile mercury is also toxic. The room where mercury leaked should be isolated from other rooms, and the room should be kept well ventilated and, if possible, the room temperature should be raised. If other rooms are occupied, it is best to maintain good ventilation as well.