What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks?
First of all, you should call the Ministry of Emergency Situations or the sanitary-epidemiological service, or you can also contact the hygiene center. In Moscow, for example, there is a hotline for the Mercury Recycling Service. Calling him is free.
Question and answer Do I need to change a mercury thermometer to an electronic one? There is no need to panic. If mercury has leaked from the thermometer, first of all, take everyone out of the room, including animals, so that they do not spread its small balls around the house, otherwise it will be difficult to collect them. Close all entrance doors tightly and open windows to ventilate the room. Wet a piece of cloth with the baking soda solution and spread the cloth on the threshold. It is better not to try to remove the mercury yourself, but to wait for the appropriate services to arrive.
If the thermometer body is not broken and the mercury has not leaked out, then take some sealed glass container. This could be, for example, a simple glass jar with a lid. Wear gloves, carefully move the thermometer into the jar and screw on the lid. Look on the Internet for the addresses of organizations that recycle broken thermometers, and take the thermometer in the bank there.
Do not throw away the mercury thermometer with other household waste, as this may expose other people to mercury vapor. In addition, if you throw the thermometer in the trash, you will be violating Article 8.2. Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation “Non-compliance with requirements in the field of environmental protection when handling production and consumption waste.” This violation entails a fine of one to two thousand rubles for individuals.
Mercury thermometer
During cold season, a thermometer is one of the most in-demand items in the house.
Many people prefer to use the good old mercury thermometer instead of electronic or infrared thermometers to measure body temperature.
But handing over a mercury thermometer for safe disposal in Russia is not so easy!
If you know points or organizations where they accept thermometers for recycling from individuals, write to us [email protected] and we will add this valuable information to our website
What to do if you break a thermometer:
- Call the emergency services hotline. Helpline of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia in Moscow . Unified “helpline” of the Ministry of Emergency Situations: 8 (495) 637-22-22
- Over the phone, they will explain to you how to collect mercury and tell you which fire department you can take the broken thermometer to.
- The fire department will transfer mercury and thermometers to recycling centers with which they have entered into appropriate agreements.
You can also contact a demercurization service convenient for you yourself.
If your thermometer is not broken, but simply damaged (for example, a piece of glass has broken off inside, but the thermometer shell is intact) or if you bought a new electronic thermometer and don’t know what to do with the old mercury thermometer, this article is for you.
Where can I take my mercury thermometer for safe disposal?
Mercury is a Class 1 hazard substance, so mercury thermometers cannot be thrown away with regular trash. Proper disposal of thermometers and other mercury-containing waste is carried out by specialized companies with licenses. A useful resource with information about thermometer collection points throughout Russia - Kudagradusnik.ru
1) State Public Institution “Fire and Rescue Center” - they cannot always confirm over the phone that there is a service for receiving thermometers. Nevertheless, our supporters handed over thermometers there. Phones: +7 495 414‑51-65, +7 495 414‑56-64 Open around the clock.
2) NPP "Ecotrom" website: https://www.ecotrom.ru/ Number: +7 495 374 62 35
We will accept from the population for neutralization (thermometers, tonometers and other household products containing mercury). Reception is carried out at the address: Moscow, Dorozhnaya street, building 3, building 16.
Reception hours: Monday – Thursday: from 9:00 to 16:00 Friday and holidays: from 9:00 to 15:00 The price of the service for neutralizing 1 mercury device is 50.00 rubles
3) GC “Waste Management” - disposal of a broken mercury thermometer costs 1,500 rubles .
4) Ecocycle:
- Noginsk, “Ecorecycle” www.rtutinet.ru Time from 9 to 15-30, lunch from 12 to 13 Address: Noginsk, st. Sovnarkhoznaya 1 Telephone 8 -496- 515-38-93 (You need to go to the checkpoint, dial internal number 966, take your passport with you)
5) You can also try to hand over the thermometer to one of the companies:
- Merkom LLC www.mercom-1.ru/servises.htm
- Environmental group www.econ-hg.ru – only for legal entities
- Venture www.fid-dubna.com
6) In theory, mercury-containing devices should be accepted by organizations managing apartment buildings.
- DEZ - directorate of a single customer
- UDS - united dispatch services
- Management Company is a management company (in most houses in Moscow this is the State Budgetary Institution “Zhilischnik”)
- HOA - homeowners association
However, all rules and regulations on handling devices containing mercury apply exclusively to mercury lamps ; there is no mention of thermometers. Some management companies may accept thermometers in containers for lamps, but are not formally obliged to do this, because Under a government contract, they hand over only lamps to the recycling company. Therefore, before going there, it is better to call first and check whether your thermometer will be accepted.
Lamp collection points under government contracts can be found on the open data portal of the Moscow government (there is a map). List of addresses of points from the website of the Department of Housing and Communal Services. Also, points checked by volunteers can be found on the map recyclemap.ru
In St. Petersburg, thermometers are taken out by the eco-mobile (from individuals the eco-mobile accepts: mini energy-saving lamps, batteries, medical thermometers (whole without packaging, damaged in a closed glass container), medical mercury tonometers (without housing), a limited number and size of LB lamp, mini batteries, office equipment and peripheral devices)
Alternatives to mercury thermometers
Nowadays, electronic thermometers are quite popular: experts claim that the accuracy of measuring temperature with such thermometers is not inferior to mercury thermometers. Therefore, this type of thermometer will be an excellent alternative.
