Author Topic: Hg disposal (Read 3818 times)

ylid · « **on:** April 09, 2003, 02:45:00 PM »

A small idea based on previous posts on the topic of disposing of mercury-containing waste.

Pick up an old car battery.
Open it up. Neutralise the acid and pour it down the toilet. Avoid pouring away the solid white PbSO4.
Take out some of the lead and keep it for making NaNO2.
Pour in your waste and cover with powdered Cu, Ni, Zn, or S.
Screw the top back on. Make sure that lid is really screwed on tight and will not leak.
Shake the battery about until you think that the Hg is definitely amalgamated.
Chuck it in the trash.

Is this a good idea? I thought this might be ethical because car batteries contain heavy metal waste and so will hopefully be appropriately disposed of down at the trash plant. But I don't want to expose trash workers to mercury if they open up car batteries to recycle the lead.

hypo · « **Reply #1 on:** April 09, 2003, 03:16:00 PM »

drink it!

moo · « **Reply #2 on:** April 09, 2003, 03:56:00 PM »

Disposing mercury waste is ethical only if you know it is going to get treated properly. Who are you kidding?

calcium · « **Reply #3 on:** April 09, 2003, 06:55:00 PM »

If you're going to throw the battery in the trash, which probably goes to your local landfill, you may as well toss the mercury on the ground or in the toilet and not bother with the battery. However, taking the battery filled with your toxic waste to an auto parts store or other location where batteries are recycled becomes an environmentally friendly and stealthy way to dispose of a nasty problem. Nice idea for those who have the time and old car batteries lying about.

ylid · « **Reply #4 on:** April 09, 2003, 07:10:00 PM »

Perhaps the message I am getting here is 'newbees should think about not using Hg' which is a point I am well prepared to take on the grounds of my own personal safety if nobody else's.

As a discussion point, whether my particular idea is good or bad is less important to me than people thinking about safety issues generally when doing their org chem thing. The subject of Hg disposal did not merit more than a nod and a wink from Eleusis. That has got to be wrong.

foxy2 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 09, 2003, 09:01:00 PM »

Wait til lugh gets here, he's going to give you a spanking.

UTFSE
This HAS been covered!!
search under lugh for mercury or mercury disposal

Don't do the battery thing, recycle the battery!!!

ragol_67 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 10, 2003, 07:44:00 PM »

Say if you have like 1 mg of Hg, could you just dump in the backalley??

Cause wouldn't all the rocks dirt and sand filter it out?

Or should you take it to the Univeristy to have it disposed properly?

raffike · « **Reply #7 on:** April 10, 2003, 08:06:00 PM »

Mix your mercury with some sulfur.HgS is little less dangerous than metal.Anyway most of us pour Hg down the drain,they don't say they do,but they do.