Mercury Spills in Your Home

I BROKE A MERCURY THERMOMETER!  WHAT DO I DO?

Don’t panic!  Keep everyone away from the room where the spill occurred!  Open the windows near the spill, and close the registers for the heating system in that room.

DON’T TRY TO PICK UP THE MERCURY WITH A SHOP VAC OR HOUSEHOLD VACUUM CLEANER!  YOU’LL  JUST SPREAD IT FURTHER! 

Spill on a hard surface, such as a tile floor or a countertop: Assemble a clean up kit: You’ll need some flexible pieces of cardboard such as playing cards, a plastic bag that will seal tightly closed, and duct or masking tape.  Use edges of the cards to push the beads of mercury together.  Carefully scoop the mercury onto one of the cards, and then place the cards in the plastic bag.  Use duct tape (sticky side out) to try to pick up as many of the small beads as possible.  Place the duct tape in the plastic bag, too.  Call your local health department or EPA District Office for further instructions.

Spill on a soft surface (Carpeting, bedding:) If the spill occurred on a soft material like carpet or on bed clothes, they will have to be disposed.  Here’s how to remove the contaminated item safely:

Carpeting: Look for visible beads of mercury.  Carefully cut the carpeting at least 1 foot from the outermost beads. Lift the carpeting away from the tack strip at the wall.  Roll the carpeting from the wall toward the center of the piece that has been cut.  Stop when you’ve reached the middle.  Hold the rolled carpeting in place, and then roll the outer edge (at the wall and tack strip) towards the other roll.  Carefully slide the rolled up carpeting into a heavy plastic bag.  Put the bag in the trash.

Bedding: Carefully fold the sheet, blanket or comforter so that the mercury cannot roll onto the floor.  Roll the edges on each side towards the center to contain the loose mercury. Then put the item in a heavy plastic bag and put the bag in the trash.

If you need more information about spill clean - up, call the Franklin County Board of Health, (614) 462-3928, the Columbus Health Department (614) 645-5625, or the EPA Spill Hotline at 1-800-282-9378.