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Health Fact Sheets

Mercury Clean-Up

This fact sheet answers questions about broken thermometers and mercury. The effects of exposure to any chemical depend on how much you are exposed to, how long you are exposed, and how you are exposed.

What is mercury?

Mercury is a metal that exists naturally in the earth’s crust, soil, air, and food. In thermometers the mercury is a shiny, silver-colored liquid that is in the elemental form.

What happens to mercury when you break a thermometer?

When a thermometer is broken, the mercury can spill out. Because mercury evaporates at room temperature, mercury vapors will get into the air.

How can mercury affect my health?

The nervous system is very sensitive to all forms of mercury. Breathing mercury vapors can harm the nervous system, the lungs, and the kidneys. Mercury vapors pass easily from the lungs into the blood stream. Swallowing or touching elemental mercury will not harm a person. Exposure to the mercury in an ordinary thermometer will not harm a person if it is cleaned up correctly.

What do I do if I have breathed in or accidentally eaten mercury?

Call your local Poison Control Center: 1-800-222-1222

How do I cleanup the mercury from a broken thermometer?

DO NOT VACUUM UP THE MERCURY! BE CAREFUL WITH THE BROKEN GLASS!  

If the mercury spilled on a hard surface:

Use a piece of paper or cardboard to gently push the balls of mercury onto a piece of paper. Put the collected mercury into a jar with a lid or into a zip lock bag.

If the mercury spilled on a carpet or rug:

Clean it up as above. If it is difficult to gently push the balls of mercury through the pile of the carpet or rug, try using a medicine or eye dropper to pick up the mercury.

If all the tiny balls of mercury cannot be picked up from a carpet:

  • Gently work an absorbent material into the carpet (Capture ® Carpet Cleaner, kitty litter, etc.)
  • Leave it alone for ½ to 1 hour.
  • Open the windows.
  • Vacuum up the area and immediately take the vacuum cleaner bag outside to the garbage can.

If all the tiny balls of mercury cannot be picked up from a small rug:

  • Take the rug outside and shake it well.
  • If the clothes dryer is vented to the outside, dry the rug for a few minutes to let the mercury vapor go outside.

If the mercury spilled in the sink:

  • Collect as much of the mercury as you can, as described above.
  • Wash the rest of mercury down the drain with dilute chlorine bleach and run the cold water for about 15 minutes.

How do I dispose of the collected mercury?

Take it to the household hazardous waste disposal site in your county (call 1-888-891-8332 to find location and day for your county).

OR

If you cannot safely keep children away from the mercury, throw the jar or bag into the outside garbage.

What do I do if the mercury cannot be cleaned up immediately?

  • Cover the mercury with a piece of plastic wrap.
  • Open the window in the room with the broken thermometer.
  • Close the door to the room.
  • Keep young children out of the room until the mercury is cleaned up.

What do I do if I spilled more mercury than in a thermometer or what if the mercury went someplace besides a hard surface, a carpeted floor, or the sink?

Call Communicable and Environmental Disease Services, 615-741-7247. If a large spill (more than from a thermometer) takes place at night or on the weekend, call the local office of the Tennessee Emergency Management Agency (TEMA). They are usually housed within the Fire Department.