Quick! Mercury Spill Cleanup!

[grellobanans]

For some mysterious unfortunate reason, the bottle holding the 750ml alcohol + Hg just cracked and solution is everywhere. The spill was quickly wiped up and the floor was flushed with water. Is this enough? What else needs to be done?

[Rhodium]

Spreading out zinc dust or sulfur powder over the contaminated area, followed by collecting the powder again and treating that as mercury waste (consists of zinc amalgam or mercury sulfides) is a good idea. UTFSE for further tips.

[Rhodium]

http://www.cmmonline.com/article.asp?indexid=6633008

http://www.engr.usask.ca/dept/cen/safety.booklet/chem.waste.htm

Only store mercury in plastic bottles because of the obvious risk of it cracking with such a heavy metal inside.

[grellobanans]

Swim is also really worried about health issues. Some of the solution spilled onto swim, which was flushed immediately with water but swim is still freaking out. The amount of Hg in the solution was typical for one al/hg run.

[Rhodium]

As long as you did not ingest it, you are unlikely to suffer any acute health risk. The biggest risk is from long-term inhalation of vapor from mercury still on the floor.

[grellobanans]

Does the salt form give off vapors as well? This was mercuric salt, not elemental. Thanx for the quick responses!

[Rhodium]

Salts do not evaporate, but It may turn elemental over time together with standard dust, but if you scrub the floor with either Zn or S you will be okay.

[LaBTop]

If you are afraid of ingesting anything, drink 2 packs of milk, or/and consume the white of a few eggs.
As Rhodium already indicated, you need some active material which will amalgamate the spilled mercury forming a silvery surface.
If you can get hold of pure Iron dust by filing a piece of iron laying around in your garage, that will also help. Most people have no zinc dust laying around. Any Aluminium dust will also help.
Remember to brush up those amalgamated dusts, do NOT use a vacuum cleaner, or be prepared to throw that one away.

The problem is ofcourse the fact that you have a Hg-salt in alcohol spilled.
I look up the best way to deal with that.
Did you have it on a wooden floor, or concrete, or a tapestry? LT/

[LaBTop]

Another method would be the application of a sodium sulfide solution to the contaminated area. Discoloration in the form of dark reddish brown stains will indicate the presence of mercury.
Says the first link of Rhodium.

[grellobanans]

The tiled floor was scrubbed with Zn dust.

[grellobanans]

Swim is a lot calmer now. It was just a small amount anyway! maybe at most 400mg, probably 200. Swim's just annoyed because a day was lost. There are so many other ways one can die and be seriously maimed, just by walking down the street! Live life to the fullest!

[LaBTop]

The common practice of using sulfur should be discontinued because the practice is ineffective and the resulting waste creates a disposal problem.

NOTE:

Most mercury spills do not pose a high risk, so long as all the mercury can be contained and it has not contaminated anyone.

Mercury spills can be avoided by using supplies and equipment that do not contain mercury. LT/

[Prince_Charles]

There is a difference between strict environmental control of mercury and the health risk of individual exposure.

Based on the vapour pressure of elemental mercury, a normally ventilated room should not cause a problem of mercury exposure. Clean up, spread zinc powder to absorb any stray material You will not absorb a significant amount of mercury by skin contact. Occasional consumption of elemental mercury is not significantly harmful If you are concerned with regards to life expectancy, eat 5 portions of fresh fruit and vegetables and get 30 minutes of moderate to vigorous exercise each day.

[Nick_J]

I remember when some kid broke a mercury thermometer at school, probably a gram of mercury was spilled and those little droplets rolled everywhere...
What did the teacher do? Just put little piles of sand on the mercury that we could find, and we then continued with the 90 minutes of that lesson remaining! He didn't even bother to clean up the sandy piles until the morning of the next day.

I guess sand just stops much vapour escaping by killing any air currents around the metal.

Random mercury fact - apparently, the solubility of HgS is less than one molecule per litre!

[SPISSHAK]

use a product called mercury magnet, made by ajax it contains ferromagnetic metals along with metals that chealate mercury in any form and sulfamic acid to convert mercury to a sulfide salt it can be picked up using a mgnet also you can detect traces of runaway mercury using a flourescent bulb