- Knowledgebase: Child Safety, Injury Prevention and Treatment
- Questions about child safety and injury prevention, as well as treatment for minor injuries.
- 9. If a mercury thermometer breaks in your home... - Top
- What should people do if a thermometer breaks in the home?
Spilled mercury should never be removed with a vacuum since heat and agitation from the machine will turn it into vapor and spread it around the house.
Instead, while the room is being well ventilated, the mercury should be swept up onto a piece of cardboard. The mercury and the cardboard should be placed in a sealed bag. This bag should be properly discarded, treating its contents as a hazardous waste material. (See section III for details on properly discarding mercury.)
Spills larger than a mercury thermometer should only be removed by trained professionals. People should call their state health departments for guidance.
- Updated: June 26, 2001
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