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(3) clean it up with a dustpan :-D Seriously, mercury is not dangerous unless inhaled or ingested. Suit up with a cheap hazmat and gloves and clean away...

mingabunga 11y ago
Yeha, I'm a bit dumbfounded about the calling of the fire dept, the reaction and so on. I would have just figured out where it was coming from and cleaned it up myself with some gloves and a dustpan.
- Xorlev 11y ago
  And if you miss any, your young daughter is going to find it. Seriously isn't something you want to mess with.
  - hliyan 11y ago
    This happened to me when I was about 9, when I didn't know what mercury was. There was a few droplets on the floor and I ended up poking it with my index finger for a few minutes. To this day I don't know what the medical effects were.
    - beeboop 11y ago
      Unless you licked your finger afterwards, nothing.
      - alextgordon 11y ago
        Even if you lick your finger, if it is elemental mercury then probably nothing either. But don't try it!
        cytzol 11y ago
        Just curious: what would it need to be for it to do something? Not that I'm planning to...
        beeboop 11y ago
        Atomized somehow so that it would be inhaled.
- duaneb 11y ago
  > Yeha, I'm a bit dumbfounded about the calling of the fire dept, the reaction and so on. I would have just figured out where it was coming from and cleaned it up myself with some gloves and a dustpan. This is probably why you don't clean up mercury for a living. You don't know the complications until you're taught them.
NamTaf 11y ago
This is all I'd do. Shit inside walls is likely never going to be disturbed, so a face mask + gloves + dustpan and brush would get me through cleaning up the spill. But then again, I have a generally lax regard for life and limb. The way I figure it, my drinking, obesity and other vices probably erode my life expectancy more than a single controlled exposure to mercury.
- witty_username 11y ago
  Well, that's the wrong logic. Exposure to mercury is bad and your other health problems will compound this. (Comorbidity).
duaneb 11y ago
I would imagine it's the verification and figuring out where it is that's a hard problem. How would you reassure yourself you got it all, especially if it seeped through the floor?
- ars 11y ago
  Buy a meter designed to detect any mercury vapor. I'm sure it's pricy, but it's less than $50K.

mingabunga 11y ago

Yeha, I'm a bit dumbfounded about the calling of the fire dept, the reaction and so on. I would have just figured out where it was coming from and cleaned it up myself with some gloves and a dustpan.

Xorlev 11y ago
And if you miss any, your young daughter is going to find it. Seriously isn't something you want to mess with.
- hliyan 11y ago
  This happened to me when I was about 9, when I didn't know what mercury was. There was a few droplets on the floor and I ended up poking it with my index finger for a few minutes. To this day I don't know what the medical effects were.
  - beeboop 11y ago
    Unless you licked your finger afterwards, nothing.
    - alextgordon 11y ago
      Even if you lick your finger, if it is elemental mercury then probably nothing either. But don't try it!
      - cytzol 11y ago
        Just curious: what would it need to be for it to do something? Not that I'm planning to...
        beeboop 11y ago
        Atomized somehow so that it would be inhaled.
duaneb 11y ago
> Yeha, I'm a bit dumbfounded about the calling of the fire dept, the reaction and so on. I would have just figured out where it was coming from and cleaned it up myself with some gloves and a dustpan. This is probably why you don't clean up mercury for a living. You don't know the complications until you're taught them.

NamTaf 11y ago

This is all I'd do. Shit inside walls is likely never going to be disturbed, so a face mask + gloves + dustpan and brush would get me through cleaning up the spill. But then again, I have a generally lax regard for life and limb. The way I figure it, my drinking, obesity and other vices probably erode my life expectancy more than a single controlled exposure to mercury.

witty_username 11y ago
Well, that's the wrong logic. Exposure to mercury is bad and your other health problems will compound this. (Comorbidity).

duaneb 11y ago

I would imagine it's the verification and figuring out where it is that's a hard problem. How would you reassure yourself you got it all, especially if it seeped through the floor?

ars 11y ago
Buy a meter designed to detect any mercury vapor. I'm sure it's pricy, but it's less than $50K.