Expert: Dr. Henry Boyter, Jr. - 4/8/2005

Question
Dear Dr. Boyter,

A couple of weeks ago my mother shook down a mercury thermometer, and accidentally hit the edge of a bookcase.  The thermometer shattered, and the mercury went somewhere.  We couldn't find any at all!

We have always been taught that mercury is poisonous, and to be careful when something like this happens.  I'm actually watching a rerun of CSI right now, where they are saying that it's the mercury VAPORS that are dangerous.

My mother is 72yo and ill with emphysema and kidney cancer.  She is worried about the mercury being in her living room carpet.

How really dangerous is mercury, under circumstances like this?  Is there any way to find it without spending a lot of money?  I mean, is it visible under a black light (which would be cheap!) or by some other means that would be available to “regular” people?  Naturally we vacuumed and wiped and dusted, but didn't see any signs of mercury.

We would appreciate any information you can give, and suggestions.  Thanks for your time, and for sharing your expertise on this web site.  It is greatly appreciated!

Sincerely,
Linda  

Answer
You need to talk you a local consultant who can actually come to the house (look under environmental or industrial hygiene in the phone book or on the internt). They must be local.  Alternatively, call your local health department or poison control center for advise. You might also call you local fire department and ask what they would do if they were called to this situation. I would not give anyone your name or address to begin with.  Cleaning up a mercury spill of any kind can be very, very, very expensive, but you are in a gray area of the rules and it will also depend on where you live.

I would review the following documents before you do anything.  They may satisfy all your questions.

www.mnpoison.org/mnpoison/pdfs/Hg_Cleanup-Nov03.pdf

http://www.healthyvermonters.info/hp/airquality/mercury.shtml#five

http://co.howard.in.us/swmd/mercury.html



Henry Boyter, Jr.
PhD Chemist


The opinions expressed are those of Dr. Boyter and
are provided for informational purposes only and
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