This is a good topic, Mercury waste should bee dealt with accordingly. Maybee Rhodium will put something on his page if we can collect some good information on neutralizing Mercury waste. A link in all procedures involving Mercury would be good. Also we don't want bee's to look bad for pollution.
Currently the treatment standard for elemental mercury waste (i.e., nonwastewaters)
contaminated with radioactive materials is amalgamation, which gives “a nonliquid, semi-solid
amalgam” as the final form (40 CFR Section 268.42). Amalgamation has been selected as the
technology-based standard because it reduces air emissions of elemental mercury vapor. The
following are some of the metals that form an amalgam with mercury: copper, nickel, tin, zinc,
gold, and silver.
Tin and zinc do not give an acceptable final waste form to meet DOE’s needs, but alloys
of these two metals may (U.S. DOE, 1998). To improve on amalgamation alone, encapsulation
of amalgamated mercury waste will further limit the volatilization and leaching of mercury.
Two generic processes are used for amalgamating mercury in wastes (Lopez and
Rosengrant, 1991):
• Aqueous replacement (solution) process - a finely divided base metal such as zinc
or copper is mixed well into a wastewater containing dissolved mercury salts; the
base metal reduces mercuric and mercurous salts to elemental mercury, which
dissolves in the metal to form a solid mercury-base metal alloy called an amalgam.
• Nonaqueous process - finely divided metal powders are used to contact waste
liquid mercury; the mass solidifies into a solid amalgam.
The aqueous replacement process is not applicable to water-insoluble mercury
compounds. The nonaqueous amalgamation process is useful for waste scrap elemental mercury
only, including waste mercury contaminated with radioactive materials. If oils, greases, or
emulsions are present, they may interfere with amalgam formation. Amalgamation does not
significantly reduce the leachability of mercury, according to Lopez and Rosengrant (1991).
Here is a spill procedure
Mercury Spills: When a mercury spill is experienced, the immediate area should be blocked off to prevent any accidental tracking of the metal. The bulk of the mercury is removed mechanically using a vacuum probe. There are clean up kits on the market which should be purchased if one is using any mercury. The proposed clean-up procedure for spilled mercury utilizes a 1:1 mixture by weight of zinc dust and sawdust to remove both the liquid and the mercury vapour in the area of the spill by amalgamation. It is best to avoid the use of zinc powder if at all possible since this adds another element to the disposal. The thoroughness with which the mercury and it's vapours are trapped and the relatively innocuous compositions of the decontamination mixture are attractive features of the procedure. The sawdust used provides a suitable vehicle for transporting the zinc and collecting the mercury droplets from pits and cracks in surfaces. Its porosity allows the mercury vapour to penetrate and deposit on the zinc powder that is dispersed throughout the sawdust mass. Estimate the weight of the remaining spill and apply 20 parts of the zinc-sawdust mixture for each part of the mercury spill (by weight). It is recommended that the zinc dust and sawdust be stored separately and mixed just before applying it to the spilled area. The mixture is then poured on the spill and on adjacent areas. The zinc-sawdust is mixed with the mercury using a brush or broom. The entire mixture should be allowed to stand for 30-60 minutes. The mixture is removed from the spill area by sweeping until no zinc-sawdust remains. The contents are placed in a plastic bag, sealed, properly labeled, encased in another container and disposed of appropriately. Utensils used in the sweeping should be placed in a plastic bag sealed and stored for future use.
The affected area should then be treated with a wash composed of equal parts of slaked lime and flowers of sulfur mixed with sufficient water to form a thin paste. This yellow wash should be liberally applied and allowed to dry on the floors, the lower parts of the walls, workbenches, and any other contaminated surfaces. Twenty-four hours later the wash should be removed with clean water and the surfaces again allowed to dry.
Here is some decent info
http://www.epa.gov/seahome/mercury/src/handling.htm
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