# What do I do with this little bit of mercury? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 17, 2005, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553 "2005-11-17T21:42:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/21 "2005-11-18T16:19:59Z")
So is there any hope for **Kalhoun**? Sounds like he’s a goner. I’ve got dibs on his stapler! ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/22 "2005-11-18T16:57:01Z")
By now, most counties seem to have household hazmat collection programs that will take just about anything\* off your hands - old paint, oil, cleaners, etc. And mercury. Ours will even give you a free digital fever thermometer or a free programmable thermostat when you bring in the mercury-filled version. Google up “\ county” “household hazardous waste” eg: _“San Francisco county” “household hazardous waste”_ - Our program won’t take medical, explosive or radioactive wastes, for example. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/23 "2005-11-18T18:00:36Z")
> [@Sal Ammoniac](#): > > So is there any hope for **Kalhoun**? Sounds like he’s a goner. I’ve got dibs on his stapler! I’m a she, and this thread certainly explains a lot about the time between my obsession with mercury and…well…who I am today! :eek: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/24 "2005-11-18T18:19:20Z")
My mom broke a mercury thermometer once and apparently the mercury jumped up and coated her wedding band. I guess the jeweler was able to remove it?? How is mercury retrieved in that case? ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 6:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/25 "2005-11-18T18:51:21Z")
> [@Kalhoun](#): > > I’m a she… Sorry about that. It was the mercury speaking. ---
**Author:** ![ombre3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/da6949/32.png) [@ombre3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ombre3)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/26 "2005-11-18T19:18:05Z")
Any truth to the rumor that Mercurochrome (which doesn’t seem to be sold anymore) had mercury in it? As a kid I always had only 2 choices for a bad cut. Iodine or mercurochrome. I always wanted mercurochrome. My parents always wanted to put iodine on it. Parents almost always won out. Gawd did that stuff sting!! ---
**Author:** ![js\_africanus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/87869e/32.png) [@js\_africanus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/js_africanus)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2005, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/27 "2005-11-18T19:39:57Z")
Put it in a bowl and poke with a pencil, because the stuff is really cool. When I was a kid I accidently broke a thermometer (sp?) and messed around with the mercury that was in it. It was super neat! Dangerous? Bah! I’ve got a double-digit I.Q., so I’m doing fine. From the mercury link given above: > [@](#): > > How toxic is elemental mercury? > Of all the forms of mercury, elemental mercury is the most commonly swallowed form of mercury, usually from a broken thermometer. Fortunately, elemental mercury from a thermometer is not absorbed from the stomach and will not cause any poisoning in a healthy person. In a healthy person, the slippery swallowed mercury will roll into the stomach, out in to the bowels and will be quickly eliminated without causing any symptoms. A person with severe inflammatory bowel disease or those with a fistula (hole or opening) in their gut may have problems with mercury if it is not all cleared out, resulting in prolonged exposure. Handling liquid mercury for a very short period of time usually does not result in any problems. An allergic rash is possible, though. Mercury is not well absorbed across the skin so skin contact is not likely to cause mercury poisoning, especially with a brief one-time exposure. Even if a person has cuts in their skin, mercury is too heavy to be contained by a cut. Merely washing the wound well will wash the mercury out of the wound. So, you **could** chug it and probably be okay. Personally, I wouldn’t touch it w/ my fingers, but I’m a hand-washing type of guy. ---
**Author:** ![Winkie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/41988e/32.png) [@Winkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Winkie)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/28 "2005-11-19T13:45:23Z")
> [@ombre3](#): > > Any truth to the rumor that Mercurochrome (which doesn’t seem to be sold anymore) had mercury in it? > > As a kid I always had only 2 choices for a bad cut. Iodine or mercurochrome. > > I always wanted mercurochrome. My parents always wanted to put iodine on it. > > Parents almost always won out. Gawd did that stuff sting!! Mercurochrome does indeed contain mercury - as does thimerosal/merbromin, another antiseptic / preservative. Mercury is a great antibacterial agent (aside from that whole neurotoxin issue), so it shows up in many places. The two biggest health risks to us are from exposure to: 1. mercury vapors - mercury vaporizes readily at room temperature. 2. methylmercury - mercury in our waterways is converted to methylmercury through a bacterial process. Methylmercury is much more toxic than elemental, and builds up in fish and other organisms. Our main methylmercury exposure comes from eating contaminated fish. ---
**Author:** ![QuickSilver](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/quicksilver/32/7832_2.png) [@QuickSilver](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/QuickSilver)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/29 "2005-11-19T14:56:40Z")
I’ve played with mercury from a broken thermometer as a young kid. I remember pushing it around the wooden parket floor with my fingers and being fascinated by the little balls of liquid metal, until my parents came to sweet it up. Good times… goooood times. 😃 Come to think of it, pehaps that’s what made me the evil villain that I am today. BWAHAHAHA!!! ---
**Author:** ![SkeptiJess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@SkeptiJess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkeptiJess)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 3:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/30 "2005-11-19T15:08:28Z")
> [@QuickSilver](#): > > I’ve played with mercury from a broken thermometer as a young kid. I remember pushing it around the wooden parket floor with my fingers and being fascinated by the little balls of liquid metal, until my parents came to sweet it up. Given your user name, **QuickSilver** , we should have known you’d have an affinity for mercury. I’m another who played with mercury as a young child – it was lots of fun. I don’t have the slightest idea how my mother got rid of it after she took it away from me. I _think_ she flushed it down the toilet… apparently (according to the link earlier in the thread) that wasn’t a good idea! ---
**Author:** ![Balle\_M](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/13edae/32.png) [@Balle\_M](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balle_M)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/31 "2005-11-19T17:54:54Z")
Since mercury has an affinity for lead, use it to clean your revolver barrel. [Mr. Hainey] What, you **don’t** have a revolver…? [/Mr. Hainey] ---
**Author:** ![Giant\_Spongess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/94ad74/32.png) [@Giant\_Spongess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Giant_Spongess)\ **Post date:** [November 19, 2005, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/32 "2005-11-19T21:15:13Z")
Random tidbit: [Mad as a Hatter!](http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mmadhatter.html) ---
**Author:** ![Lillith\_Fair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/bb73d2/32.png) [@Lillith\_Fair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lillith_Fair)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 2:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/33 "2005-11-20T02:46:16Z")
> [@Hal Briston](#): > > Just put it over there on the shelf, next to the drops of Jupiter. I can’t stop laughing!! When we were kids some work man down the street at some kind of power station (I was under seven) gave my big brother and his friends some mercury. This was before it was well-known to be dangerous. They played with it. Then once when my mother was in the shower or something we thought my little sister got ahold of it. Boy, was there a panic attack!! They thought she had swallowed it or something. But then they found it in the sink. I forget what we did with it after that. ---
**Author:** ![Frank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Frank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frank)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/34 "2005-11-20T04:40:47Z")
**aruvqan** , I have removed your detailed instructions for making an explosive. Please do not post them again. ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/35 "2005-11-20T15:36:24Z")
> [@ombre3](#): > > Any truth to the rumor that Mercurochrome (which doesn’t seem to be sold anymore) had mercury in it? > > As a kid I always had only 2 choices for a bad cut. Iodine or mercurochrome. > > I always wanted mercurochrome. My parents always wanted to put iodine on it. > > Parents almost always won out. Gawd did that stuff sting!! Aaaahhhh…mercurochrome. My mother used to draw a kitty on my boo-boo thinking I would be fooled into believing that it didn’t sting. I hated cats until I was 20! ---
**Author:** ![BobLibDem](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/boblibdem/32/3149_2.png) [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/36 "2005-11-20T17:30:13Z")
Winkie already answered the factual question. One kid in class came in with half of a mayo jar filled with it. It was fun to watch people lift it, expecting it to be as heavy as a jar filled with water. I’m not sure how much you absorb through your skin by handling it, I suspect casual contact isn’t a death sentence. Since others made bad jokes, how about this: Did you hear that Ford recalled all their Mercury cars? They had traces of tuna! ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/37 "2005-11-20T17:53:46Z")
If I understand correctly, and I beg to be corrected if not, liquid mercury _per se_ is not dangerous in and of itself. The problem is that it volatilizes quite easily, and mercury **vapor** is in fact quite toxic. So having a small container of mercury, or even an unencapsulated globule, is not cause for calling in the E.P.A. per se, but one should take precautions to avoid inhaling over or near it, and attempt to pick it up and dispose of it without “breaking” it into smaller globules, which of course have more surface area and therefore more potential area for volatilization. ---
**Author:** ![raindog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@raindog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/raindog)\ **Post date:** [November 20, 2005, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553/38 "2005-11-20T20:03:03Z")
I’m an HVAC guy and replace many mercury t-stats. At least one of my suppliers has a barrell in the showroom to discard old mercury stats. Maybe a supply house will take it from you. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-do-i-do-with-this-little-bit-of-mercury/331553.md?page=1)