What to Do if the Mercury thermometer breaks?

Mercury vapor is the strongest poison, so if a mercury thermometer breaks in your house, you need to immediately take measures to clean the room in order to avoid poisoning and its consequences.

Why is a broken thermometer dangerous?

When the thermometer breaks, liquid mercury flows out of it, which disperses around the room, easily penetrates even small holes in the floor and remains on the carpet. At room temperature, mercury begins to emit vapors that poison the air in the room, if a person begins to constantly breathe this air, mercury accumulates in his kidneys, liver and brain, poisoning the body.

The first signs of mercury poisoning are:

Metallic taste in the mouth,

General weakness,

Tremor of arms, legs and whole body,

Headache,

Nausea and vomiting,

Loss of appetite,

Severe abdominal pain,

Diarrhea, sometimes with blood, body temperature rises to and 38-40 ° C,

Severe poisoning can lead to death. 

What can be done to prevent such problems?

When buying a thermometer, you should prefer a mercury-free gallium thermometer, which is accurate and safe.

However, if you bought a mercury thermometer and it broke, you must first remove children and animals from the room, as they may try to eat silver and externally attractive mercury balls.

Then you should call the Armenian Ministry of Emergency Situations and their staff will explain how to clean up the mercury and make the premises safe.