How to prevent mercury poisoning? It turns out there are 4 ways

When measuring body temperature, people sometimes accidentally break the mercury thermometer, which makes people very worried and afraid that improper handling will cause mercury poisoning. So what can we do to effectively prevent mercury poisoning? In fact, there are four prevention methods in daily life. The best method is to use electronic instruments instead of mercury thermometers.

1. Replace mercury with non-toxic or low-toxic raw materials, such as replacing mercury meters with electronic meters and replacing metal mercury thermometers with alcohol thermometers.

2. When smelting or pouring mercury, an exhaust hood or a sealed device should be installed to prevent the escape of mercury vapor, and the mercury concentration in the workshop air should be measured regularly. The surfaces of the walls, floors and operating tables in the mercury operation workshop should be smooth and free of cracks to facilitate cleaning and detoxification. The workshop temperature should not exceed 15-16℃. The maximum allowable concentration of mercury in workshop air is set at 0.001 mg/m3.

3. Workers working with mercury should undergo a physical examination once a year to promptly detect patients with mercury absorption and early mercury poisoning so that they can receive early treatment. Waste gas, waste water and waste residue containing mercury must be treated before discharge.

4. The way to deal with household mercury leakage is: if there is still liquid, you should sprinkle sulfur powder on it to let it react; if it has evaporated, pay attention to indoor ventilation and do not touch the mercury directly with your hands to avoid skin allergies.

treat

1. First aid treatment

People who are poisoned by oral intake of mercury and its compounds should immediately wash their stomachs with sodium bicarbonate or warm water to induce vomiting, then take raw egg white, milk or soy milk orally to absorb the poison, and then use magnesium sulfate as a laxative. Those who inhale mercury poisoning should immediately evacuate the scene and change clothes.

2. Mercury removal treatment

For acute mercury poisoning, 5% sodium mercaptopropyl sulfonate solution can be injected intramuscularly; then once every 4 to 6 hours, and after 1 to 2 days, once a day. Generally, the treatment lasts about 1 week. Sodium disodium thiocarbamide or dithiocarbamide may also be used. If the patient develops acute renal failure during the treatment, mercury removal should be temporarily suspended and renal failure rescue should be the main focus; or small-dose mercury removal treatment can be performed in conjunction with hemodialysis. The commonly used drug for the treatment of chronic mercury poisoning is 5% sodium mercaptopropyl sulfonate solution, which is injected intramuscularly once a day for 3 consecutive days, and a course of treatment is 4 days of stopping the drug. The number of treatment courses is determined based on the condition of the disease and the results of mercury removal.

3. Symptomatic supportive treatment

Rehydration, correction of water and electrolyte imbalance, oral care, and application of glucocorticoids can improve the condition. When contact dermatitis occurs, 3%% acid can be used for wet compresses.

Once the history of exposure to organic mercury is confirmed, mercury removal treatment should be initiated regardless of the presence or absence of symptoms. The method is the same as that for chronic mercury poisoning, but the first week should be treated as acute mercury poisoning; those with oral poisoning should undergo gastric lavage in a timely manner. Symptomatic supportive therapy is particularly important for organic mercury poisoning, mainly to protect the functions of important organs, especially the nervous system, because simply removing mercury cannot prevent the development of neuropsychiatric symptoms.