Advertisement
Use the eyedropper to collect mercury
beads and place them in the plastic bag.
Hold the eyedropper at an angle to draw the
mercury into the tip. Keep the eyedropper at
an angle to stop the mercury from rolling
back out until you can put the mercury into
the plastic bag. Wrap tape (sticky side out)
around your gloved fingers and carefully
use it to pick up any remaining glass or
beads. Check again with the flashlight to be
sure that no beads of mercury remain.
At this point, mercury beads may still be
trapped in cracks or crevices on irregular
surfaces. Sprinkle sulfur powder over the
contaminated area and rub it gently all over
the surface and into the cracks with a paper
towel. Sulfur powder binds with mercury.
Use a paper towel dampened with water
followed by wiping with another damp paper
towel to clean up the sulfur and mercury.
Place the used paper towels in a zipper-type
plastic bag.
Put all the items that were used to pick up
the mercury, including index cards or
cardboard, eyedropper, contaminated
tape, paper towels, and zipper-type bags
into the trash bag. Carefully remove rubber
gloves by grabbing them at the wrist and
pulling them inside out as they come off.
Place the used gloves in the trash bag.
Carefully seal the trash bag that contains
the mercury contaminated waste and put it
in a secure place, preferable outdoors and
out of reach of children and pets until it can
be disposed of safely.
If possible, open a window and use a fan
to ventilate the area to the outdoors for
24-48 hours before resuming normal use. If
possible, heat the area (for example, with a
space heater) while still ventilating to the
outdoors. Avoid blowing the exhaust back
indoors or into other nearby residences.
Clothes or shoes that did not come in
direct contact with liquid mercury should
be removed and put into the trash bag
that was left outside the contaminated area
SAFETY INFORMATION
at the beginning of the cleanup. Close the
trash bag and take it outdoors. Carefully
remove the shoes and or clothing from the
trash bag and air them out thoroughly
outdoors for 24 to 48 hours. After the
outdoor airing, items that are washable can
then be laundered.
Dispose of contaminated items properly!
Mercury-contaminated items should not be
placed in the regular household trash.
Contact your town or county officials for
information about hazardous waste disposal
in your community.
Mercury Spill Kit Suppliers
Krackeler Scientific
Lab Safety Supply
Cole-Parmer
For schools and businesses only:
Fisher Scientific
Mallinckrodt/Baker
Sigma Aldrich
VWR Scientific
For schools only:
Flinn Scientific
3
800-334-7725
800-356-0783
800-323-4340
800-766-7000
800-582-2537
800-325-3010
800-932-5000
800-452-1261
Advertisement
