Sciencemadness Discussion Board

spilt mercury thermometers

bariumbromate - 14-10-2025 at 23:11

a bush turkey has gotten into my (outdoors) lab and broken about 3 of my mercury containing thermometers. i was not there when it happend so i don't know where the spilt mercury is.


what would i use to detect where the mercury is?

[Edited on 15-10-2025 by bariumbromate]

bariumbromate - 14-10-2025 at 23:12

could it be fine though? my lab is completely ventilated so would the mercury just evaporate after a few months?

j_sum1 - 14-10-2025 at 23:27

Personally, I would not be too concerned unless you are spending long hours in there.
Remember that people used to handle mercury in high quantities for years back in the day. No, not ideal, but not catastrophic either.


As a bit of a precaution, I would liberally sprinkle sulfur on the floor, sweep it into any cracks, and leave it for a while.

bnull - 15-10-2025 at 05:42

Quote: Originally posted by bariumbromate  
a bush turkey has gotten into my (outdoors) lab

I wouldn't believe it if it had happened someplace other than Australia.

Do not use a broom or vacuum cleaner. The broom will simply split the beads into smaller beads, harder and nastier to deal with. The cleaner ends up contaminated, not to mention that more mercury vapor is expelled out in the air.
Quote: Originally posted by bariumbromate  
what would i use to detect where the mercury is?

Sulfur. It changes color when it reacts with mercury because mercury sulfide is black or red (depending on the crystal structure). Sprinkle more sulfur wherever it turns brownish.

I I know you like playing with pyrotechnics, so be careful with all the sulfur.

By the way, leave your lab alone for a couple of days after sulfuring the floor. Just to make sure.

woelen - 15-10-2025 at 06:26

If your lab is really open to outside air and you have continuous ventilation, especially if there is a breeze, then I would not do anything. Then the mercury slowly evaporates and after a year or so, it will be gone, especially if the drops are split up in many micro droplets.

As j_sum1 already wrote, I would not worry too much if you are in that well-ventilated lab for a few hours per week. The amount of mercury vapor will be very low, due to the continuous ventilation.

If you add sulfur or other compounds (e.g. zinc powder) to bind the mercury, then you convert it to a completely non-volatile compound and it will remain in your lab forever.

I would not use a vacuum cleaner in your lab. You may suck up the droplets, but they will be broken into a bazillion small droplets, which may be spread to other places, where you also use the vacuum cleaner, and where you have much less ventilation (e.g. in your house, the rooms where you live, sleep, etc.). Using a broom is an option. You also break up the droplets, but that speeds up evaporation, so that the mercury is gone more quickly. The broom should not be used in other places than your lab, certainly not inside the house.

jackchem2001 - 15-10-2025 at 12:45

Quote: Originally posted by woelen  
If your lab is really open to outside air and you have continuous ventilation, especially if there is a breeze, then I would not do anything. Then the mercury slowly evaporates and after a year or so, it will be gone, especially if the drops are split up in many micro droplets.

As j_sum1 already wrote, I would not worry too much if you are in that well-ventilated lab for a few hours per week. The amount of mercury vapor will be very low, due to the continuous ventilation.

If you add sulfur or other compounds (e.g. zinc powder) to bind the mercury, then you convert it to a completely non-volatile compound and it will remain in your lab forever.

This is an interesting perspective. Here's an idea - why not intentionally spill a small amount of something a bit more volatile and odorous like turpentine and the see how long it takes for the smell to disappear. If the smell is still strong after say a week then it means the passive ventilation in your lab is not good. Obviously the test is a bit flawed because the diffusivity of turpentine in air is different to Hg and also the driving force behind mass transfer is more than Hg

MrDoctor - 15-10-2025 at 13:27

have you seen how mercury vapors absorb UV light?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JABbofwD3MI

If you have some more mercury free you can test light sources, otherwise i think a sort of, slotted UV light so it outputs a nice little circle far away should visualize fumes in its path, on a spare used TLC plate. UVC lamps while not ideal to be around should emit the right spectrum of light for this, you want the sort of UV that tends to appear as dull blue to white rather than violet, but, go with what you got.
otherwise too if you broadly know where it is, and the issue is your floor is too nasty/textured to spot the blobs, try laying down aluminum foil?
idk if it actually does it, but if the mercury fumes can alloy even slightly with aluminum, the result will be completely blackened oxide patches.
if you get lucky and it makes contact (youd have to weigh it down tho), then the foil will outright disintegrate. again if you have extra mercury, do a test to see if/how quick this works, it might take a whole day of exposure to permit a visible amount of black oxide formation.

testing with UV interception against a phosphorescent screen, id recommend doing it in a cardboard box, laid on the ground, working in sectors, if its too drafty


[Edited on 15-10-2025 by MrDoctor]

opinion...

Sulaiman - 15-10-2025 at 16:38

I would not want to breathe the air near the floor because that is where any mercury vapour will be.

Recently I read or saw that if mercury droplets are undisturbed thay may remain for decades.
( and native elemental mercury naturally exists )
I would ventilate well then have a look for any recoverable droplets
(eg using a syringe or better, a disposable pipette, that can easily be heat sealed to form a vial)

From my most recent thermometer accident I recovered about 4.1g Hg (it was a nice thermometer)

If practicable I would:
lightly sprinkle sulphur powder over the floor and leave for a while,
(sulphur and mercury react very slowly but the sulphur does stick a little,
(I would not use zinc powder because it is too valuable)
then, wearing goggles and a dust mask, hose down the floor washing everything out of the lab into an open air area, preferably a drain.

Your lab floor needs a good clean anyway :D

bariumbromate - 15-10-2025 at 19:55

yes it is open to the air so it should be fine.

Axt - 15-10-2025 at 22:28

Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  


From my most recent thermometer accident I recovered about 4.1g Hg (it was a nice thermometer)


That's a serious thermometer. I snapped a Brennan one in half last week, smashing the bulb to recover the mercury only amounted to 0.6 g.

Sulaiman - 16-10-2025 at 03:48

Quote: Originally posted by Axt  
Quote: Originally posted by Sulaiman  
From my most recent thermometer accident I recovered about 4.1g Hg (it was a nice thermometer)
That's a serious thermometer. I snapped a Brennan one in half last week, smashing the bulb to recover the mercury only amounted to 0.6 g.
yes, it was my favourite, 0-50oC, the huge bulb (4.1g Hg = 0.3ml) allowed a thick mercury column that was so easy to read,
and accurate.
I have a thing for mercury thermometers - at least a dozen of various types.
Used via eBay old brands like Fissons, Zeal, Griffin & George etc.
(only one of the rubbish new types with invisibly thin threads of mercury)
Despite being manufactured before the internet was invented, they are all still surprisingly accurate.