Elemental or metallic mercury is a potent neurotoxin, even with small exposures. Avoid exposure by replacing broken thermometers and lamps, and use a spill kit to manage a spill clean-up.
Health effects of mercury
Mercury is a liquid at room temperature and readily evaporates into the air. People can be exposed if instruments or equipment containing mercury break and release mercury-containing dust, liquid or vapor. Health effects can include central nervous system disorders, reproductive effects and kidney damage.
Mercury at the UW
Thermometers, manometers, blood pressure cuffs and many other instruments contain elemental mercury and are easily broken. Small amounts of elemental mercury vapor can be found in ultraviolet lamps and fluorescent lamps.
Get a spill kit
If you have mercury-containing items in your laboratory, you must have a mercury spill kit.
Mercury spill kits are available from numerous vendors such as VWR, Grainger and NewPig.
Mercury spill kits are also stocked at the Chemistry Stockroom and Biochemistry Stores.
Cleaning up a mercury spill
For information on mercury and managing elemental mercury spills, see the Mercury Spills Focus Sheet.
For information on mercury-containing lamps including recycling and managing a spill cleanup, read the Mercury-Containing Lamps Focus Sheet.
Use a non-mercury thermometer
Inexpensive and safe non-mercury thermometers are widely available, and EH&S recommends their use whenever possible. EH&S is aware that research sometimes requires the use of mercury thermometers, for example in high-temperature applications (above 260°C/500°F), ASTM tests and equipment-specific mercury thermometers.
Services available
EH&S provides the following services:
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Mercury spill advice
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Mercury vapor monitoring
Call EH&S for spill advice at 206.543.0467.
Contact EH&S at 206.543.7388 to request mercury vapor monitoring.
Frequently asked questions
Review the Mercury Spills Focus Sheet for advice on managing complex mercury spills, and call EH&S for assistance. EH&S will arrange for a spill cleanup contractor at the lab’s expense.
In an emergency, call 4-5555 on a Harborview Medical Center telephone or 9-1-1 on other phones.
Harborview Medical Center personnel with exposure concerns can contact the Harborview Medical Center Employee Health Clinic at 206.744.3081.
Custom UW mercury spill kits are sold by VWR. Because this spill kit is a special item for UW, it is not in the general catalog. This spill kit is also available at the Chemistry Stockroom and Biochemistry Stores.
Please keep in mind that this spill kit is designed for handling small spills (less than 1 ml) on hard, nonporous surfaces.
Even trace amounts of mercury left behind create a problem. Post-cleanup monitoring must be done by EH&S or the spill contractor to ensure the cleanup is complete. Contact EH&S at 206.543.7388 to request mercury vapor monitoring.
More Information
For more information on chemical spills and emergency response in laboratories, take the EH&S Managing Laboratory Chemicals training.