Mercury is a dangerous substance. If a mercury thermometer crashes, you must immediately take measures and remove everything that is possible until the organisms of nearby people have time to get poisoning. Mercury can enter the human body through the respiratory tract or digestive tract - this must be borne in mind when you eliminate the consequences.
Mercury should not come into contact with exposed skin - always wear rubber gloves before collecting it. Try not to let anyone enter the room where the thermometer crashed - small particles of mercury easily adhere to surfaces and can be spread quite far if they stick to someone’s shoes.
Mercury cannot be sweeping with a broom - rods can grind balls to a state of dust, and collecting it will be more difficult. Both mercury particles and pieces of the crashed thermometer must be carefully collected in a glass jar filled with cold water - water is needed so that the mercury does not evaporate. Close the lid tightly. Collect small pieces and drops using a syringe, a rubber bulb, a piece of adhesive tape, a soaked newspaper are also suitable.
The room must be ventilated - if any vapor from the mercury still remains, they should disappear through the window. Places where mercury particles were present should be treated with a solution of chloramine or bleach. This leads to the oxidation of mercury; it comes into non-volatile state. In extreme cases, if such substances were not at hand, for processing it is necessary to at least prepare a hot solution of soda and soap - 40 g of grated soap and 30 g of soda per liter of water.
