Elemental mercury is kind of in the same boat as elemental lead. It's poorly absorbed dermally and GI, so you need continuous exposure to be a real problem. It'

Elemental mercury is kind of in the same boat as elemental lead. It's poorly absorbed dermally and GI, so you need continuous exposure to be a real problem. It's worst when you're inhaling it, which is bad news because mercury does evaporate at room temperature, and especially when hot. I doubt you encountered enough mercury, and for long enough, to be any problem unless you were doing something unusual with it. Eating a lot of fish is much more dangerous mercury-wise.