Mercury clean up

[Marine36]

I broke my manometer today. anybody know how to clean up mercury

[bwringer]

These instructions seem a little overboard, but...

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills

[uudfourty]

Shop vac?

I won't say anything if you don't.

[crag antler]

Shop vac?

I won't say anything if you don't.

Don't use a shop vac or any vacuum cleaner!!!!!!!!!
The mercury will go into the unit and then become airborne which is really bad.
While changing out some old blood pressure cuffs at work, one leaked.
I put on nitrile gloves, and was able to pick up the mercury with tape. A little time consuming but you really do want to make sure you get it all up.
Once you have it picked up, put in a sealed container and check with your local government to see when they have a hazardous waste day at your local dump.
Don't want to get any absorbed through your skin, so please do be careful.

[Old Colt]

I have spilled Mercury on my shop floor a few times, I seem to do in in unswept areas and have a hard time finding all the little shiny beads of it. My floor is a rough concrete so it is hard to clean.
If you are on a smooth surface you should be able to sweep/ squeegee it up.

I have to remember to not blow into the tubes to clear the bubbles, I actually think mine are overfilled since I can blow some out the vent.

[CB900SS]

I did HVAC in the past and a thermostat broke in the front of the truck, bread worked really well at cleaning it up.

[focus frenzy]

I did HVAC in the past and a thermostat broke in the front of the truck, bread worked really well at cleaning it up.

mmmmmm peanut butter jelly and mercury sandwich!!!

I used to take the stuff and put it in .22 hollow point bullets and cap it with some wax. man that stuff does some damage when it squirts out on impact.

I miss the good old days before everything was hazardous.

[mcloud]

Wife is diabetic. I used one of her serynge to pick-up the beads, put the cap back on, and took to hazardous mat'l day thing at the city dump, along with old batteries, left over paint, etc...

[courier11sec]

When I was little I used to break thermometers so I could play with the mercury.
Like Focus said, I miss the times before everything was hazardous.

[Road_Clam]

I broke my manometer today. anybody know how to clean up mercury

I just slurp in up with a straw, then spit it out near my neighbors drinking well.

[crag antler]

When I was little I used to break thermometers so I could play with the mercury.
Like Focus said, I miss the times before everything was hazardous.

Heck, I remember we used to play with it in junior high science class.

[lurch12_2000]

When I was little I used to break thermometers so I could play with the mercury.
Like Focus said, I miss the times before everything was hazardous.

Kidding aside, this is exactly what my brother and I used to do out of curiosity and for fun. We used break up the big blob into little blobs on the table and then see who could get the biggest blob from all the little blobs first.....we'll see if I make it to my 54th b-day????

[themess]

Hints from Heloise once recommended saving mercury from broken thermometers for the kids to play with.

I think that we've gone way overboard on handling mercury. It has essentially no vapor pressure, and I doubt that it's absorbed through the skin. Without having any information to go on, I'm also guessing that if we swallowed some, most of it would come out the other end. It is very bad when is is absorbed through the gut and distributed throughout the body in blood, but that isn't what would be happening with the metal. I think.