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IndoleAmine
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| Joined: 09 Feb 2005 |
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working safely with elemental mercury
Sat Apr 02, 2005 7:54 am |
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Found in the Hive archive II...
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The following text passage is simply copied from the "HIVE laboratory and safety data sheets", found here:
Post 440024 (LaBTop: "©HIVE® Laboratory Safety & Data Sheets", Newbee Forum) ....
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M
MERCURY , MERCURY SALTS SAFETY
Practical considerations when working with elemental mercury in the laboratory.
SEARCH keywords : mercury , Hg , Hg salt , toxic , practical , spill , clean up , thermometer , liquid , metal , reuse , recycling , dimethylmercury , lab , laboratory , environmental , precaution , procedure , element , poison , poisoning , health , safety .
Is there a medical test to show whether I've been exposed to mercury?
Tests are available to measure mercury levels in the body. Blood or urine samples are used to test for exposure to metallic mercury and to inorganic forms of mercury. Mercury in whole blood or in scalp hair is measured to determine exposure to methylmercury. Your doctor can take samples and send them to a testing laboratory.
INDEX:
Introduction and Background
Working With Mercury in the Laboratory
Recycling Mercury in the Laboratory
Risks and Environmental Impact
Further Resources
Introduction and Background
With proper controls and training, elemental mercury , Hg , can be safely used in a laboratory setting. However, when spilled or misused it can present a significant hazard; see Cleaning Up The Quicksilver Mess
( http://www.msta-mich.org/publications/newsletter/newsletter.september00/mercury.html ) for a chilling example. Therefore, minimize your use of mercury and mercury compounds whenever possible.
Small amounts of mercury residues left behind on contaminated glassware can be removed (dissolved) with a dilute nitric acid solution, HNO3. Be sure not to pour the acid waste down the sink. Collect the used acid solution in a waste container that is used only for mercury-contaminated nitric acid waste and dispose of it properly.
The element mercury is a liquid metal with a vapor pressure of 0.00185 mm at 25 degrees C. This corresponds to a saturation concentration in air of 20 milligrams of mercury per cubic meter of air or 2.4 ppm . The American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists has established a threshold limit for mercury vapor of 0.05 milligrams of Hg per cubic meter of air for continuous 40 hour per week exposure. Long term chronic exposure to mercury vapor in excess of 0.05 mg Hg per cubic meter of air may result in cumulative poisoning. The use of mercury in laboratory amounts in well-ventilated areas is fairly safe; however, mercury can present a health hazard under the following circumstances:
. . . When a mercury spill is not cleaned up promptly it may be ground into the floor, fracturing into extremely small particles with a large total surface area (6.4 ft for 1 ml as 10 micron spheres). From such large areas mercury may vaporize at a rate faster than the room's ventilation can safely dilute it.
. . . The rate of mercury volatilization is directly related to temperature. Whenever elevated temperatures are involved special care must be exercised to provide adequate ventilation. A common occurrence is the breaking of thermometers in ovens due to bumping or raising the oven above the thermometer's capacity.
. . . The impact of mercury at high velocities or its release into high air velocity systems will atomize mercury into extremely small particle sizes and large surface area. This generally results from inadequate connections in pressure systems.
. . . Mercury is often dumped into drains. These drains may eventually leak and a workman using a torch to free the joints may, as the result of another's carelessness, receive an overexposure. [Such releases are also a violation of EPA regulations].
Mercury compounds can be quite dangerous. A professor at Dartmouth University (an experienced researcher and expert on the toxicology of heavy metal poisoning) died in 1997 after spilling just a few drops of dimethylmercury on her latex gloves ( http://www.denison.edu/naosmm/topics/dartmouth.html ).
In case of underground chemists, the chance to ever work with methyl or dimethylmercury is neglectible small.
Working With Mercury in the Laboratory
Whenever you perform any action with mercury it will spill and splash. It inevitably forms tiny beads that cling to many surfaces and roll several feet away. Large drops quickly break up into thousands of small ones as described above.
Mercury can be handled safely by a professional chemist, although you should minimize or eliminate its use whenever possible. Here are some prudent practices when using mercury:
1. Find an alternative to using mercury in the first place:
a. Use alcohol thermometers instead of mercury ones.
b. Use oil bubblers instead of mercury bubblers when possible.
c. Consider using reducing agents other than mercury amalgams in your laboratory procedures.
2. NEVER use a mercury thermometer in a laboratory oven. If it breaks in a hot oven, you have not only the obvious health concern, but also a possible unavoidable HazMat response situation. You'll have to shut down your lab completely, probably for several days, for cleaning and testing. The oven will have to be disposed of as hazardous waste. A break in a cold oven is an equally serious situation.
The cost of cleaning up a thermometer break in a laboratory oven far exceeds that of a new laboratory oven with a built-in digital temperature display and fail-safe mechanism.
3. Do not leave open containers of mercury in the laboratory. If used in a bubbler, the exhaust should go up a vertical tube to eliminate splashing and should be vented to a fume hood.
4. Do not keep excess mercury around if you do not need it.
5. Clean up spills promptly. When handling mercury use a glass, plastic or steel tray to contain any spills that might occur. Caution: mercury amalgamates with many common metals such as aluminum, so choose your container carefully.
6. Glass or plastic vessels should have a secondary steel or plastic container around them in case the vessel fails.
7. Do not use mercury where it could contact a hot surface and vaporize.
8. Avoid inhaling mercury vapor and use suitable gloves when working with it.
9. Put mercury waste in a special waste container. Do not combine it with "regular" organic or inorganic wastes. NEVER dispose of it down the sink!
10. Do not wear gold or silver jewelry when working with mercury; it will amalgamate and irreversibly damage your jewelry!
11. Although not a safety issue, mercury is very expensive to dispose of as waste.
12. Take appropriate measures in the event of a spill. Sprinkling elemental sulfur on spilled mercury is virtually ineffective; the reaction between Hg and S is not appreciable at room temperature. Amalgamation with fresh zinc dust works fairly well for "soaking up" those noisome tiny beads of mercury once the bulk of the spill has been collected manually.
13. Read the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) for mercury before using it. As indicated on the MSDS, mercury is dangerously incompatible with aluminum, ammonia, chlorates, copper, copper alloys, ethylene oxide, halogens, iron, nitrates, sulfur, sulfuric acid, oxygen, acetylene, lithium, rubidium, sodium carbide, lead, nitromethane, peroxyformic acid, calcium, chlorine dioxide, metal oxides, azides, 3-bromopropyne, alkynes + silver perchlorate, methylsilane + oxygen, tetracarbonylnickel + oxygen and boron diiodophosphide.
14. As with most other chemicals in your laboratory, access to mercury should be restricted to a locked cabinet or room. Do not leave mercury where a passerby or unauthorized person can swipe it (see the Quicksilver Mess article above).
Recycling Mercury in the Laboratory
Those who use mercury know that clean mercury has a wonderfully shiny surface. But over time, the mercury in your bubbler or diffusion pump tends to get dirty and contaminated, usually with a floating film of gray/black sludge. While you certainly need to clean your apparatus, you can easily recover most of the mercury for reuse rather than replacing it. This saves on disposal costs and reduces the amount of mercury you need to use.
The "best" cleanup method in a chemical sense would be distillation However, boiling mercury and then cleaning up the distillation apparatus afterward is not appealing for a number of obvious reasons. Luckily, there are two easier methods that work quite well for most needs. Before using either of these, set up a large steel or plastic spill tray in a fume hood! Do not try this on the bench because you will spill some mercury :
1. The syringe technique. Get a 10 mL syringe with needle. Stick the needle below the surface of the contaminated mercury and withdraw clean mercury. Hold onto the syringe with both hands when you withdraw it, keeping the syringe vertical and holding the plunger to prevent/reduce mercury from dribbling back out. Transfer the mercury to your recovery vessel (which should be only an inch or two away).
2. The filter paper technique. Fold a filter paper into quarters and then rip a tiny hole in the bottom of the cone. Place the paper in a glass or plastic funnel with the stem of the funnel as close to the bottom of your collection vessel as possible (to minimize splashing). Slowly pour your contaminated mercury into the filter. Most of the sludge will remain behind on the filter paper. You may need to refilter one or more times.
Clean mercury has a mirror-like surface. These cleanup methods work because the sludge is insoluble and less dense than mercury. If your mercury is contaminated with a metal that has amalgamated such as sodium, you may be able to remove the metal chemically, for example, by quenching the sodium metal using established procedures. If the metal is not easily or safely removable through such chemical means, then proper disposal (rather than dealing with distillation) is your best option.
Small amounts of mercury residues left behind on contaminated glassware can be removed (dissolved) with a dilute nitric acid solution. Be sure not to pour the acid waste down the sink. Collect the used acid solution a waste container that is used only for mercury-contaminated nitric acid waste and dispose of it properly.
Risks and Environmental Impact
Remember, inhalation is the primary danger from mercury, especially if there is no good ventilation.
Brief, one-time exposures on the skin (from handling mercury) or even ingestion (it has been used as a laxative) are not likely to produce significant health effects in most cases, but don't test your luck. Chronic (long-term) exposure of any sort can lead to all sorts of nasty effects including permanent central nervous system damage, fatigue, weight loss, tremors, personality changes and death.
Because of the ease with which mercury is spilled, the difficulty of ensuring complete cleanup, the curiousity factor of a room temperature liquid metal, and the known health risks, it is recommended that mercury use for fresh Newbees be discontinued entirely. This includes both mercury-containing compounds as well as equipment such as thermometers.
Further Resources
ATSDR has a Public Health Statement ( http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov/ToxProfiles/phs8916.html THE MOST EXTENSIVE MERCURY FACTS SOURCE THERE IS !!!) as well as a Toxin FAQ ( http://atsdr1.atsdr.cdc.gov/tfacts46.html ) on mercury.
Mercury In Schools ( http://www.mercuryinschools.uwex.edu/ ) is an excellent site with lots of additional information.
UNL has a page briefly detailing how to handle mercury spills in the laboratory ( http://bifrost.unl.edu/ehs/FactSheets/mercmetl.html ).
MSDS DATABASE
Search the SIRI MSDS database or check for an MSDS direct from the manufacturers lists, or, if you need chemical toxicity data , you can search Toxicology Reports here as well (These are NOT MSDSs), you can also search via CAS numbers you can find in chemicals catalogues :
SIRI MSDS Index :
http://hazard.com/msds/
MSDS Translation and MSDSs in languages other than English :
http://hazard.com/msds/language.html :
3DWord , http://www.3dword.com/msds.htm MSDS translation to all major languages
Racco Safety , http://www.raccosafety.com.br/ (Brazil) MSDS in Spanish and Portugese
Dell Tech- MSDS Authoring in English, French and Spanish , http://www.delltech.com/
Pro-Active Translations , http://hazard.com/msds/www.biomedtranslation.com
MSDS-Mexico , http://www.msds-mexico.com/ Automatic or manual creation of MSDS in Spanish
Harris , http://www.harrisind.com/spcat.htm Safety warnings and signs in Spanish
MSDS and Safety information in Italian , http://www.eidos.it/
Internet Resources for MSDS :
http://www.ilpi.com/msds/
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IndoleAmine
Dreamreader Deluxe
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| Location: Bahamas |
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How Not to Dispose of Mercury
Wed Apr 06, 2005 5:02 pm |
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http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/319/7206/366
Mercury poisoning after spillage at home from a sphygmomanometer on loan from hospital
Be aware of the potential for toxicity of mercury spilled from broken medical equipment
A C Rennie, senior registrar a, M McGregor-Schuerman, consultant paediatrician b, I M Dale, occupational hygienist c, C Robinson, staff grade nephrologist a, R McWilliam, consultant neurologist a.
a Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Yorkhill NHS Trust, Glasgow G3 8SJ, b Law Hospital, Carluke, Lanarkshire ML8 5ER, c Glasgow Occupational Health, 20 Cochrane Street, Glasgow G1 1JA
Correspondence to: Dr Rennie alisonrennie@compuserve.com
When patients are managed at home, they or their carers have to operate medical equipment. This case report highlights important educational and environmental health aspects of issuing hospital equipment for home use, a practice that is likely to become more common in the future. We describe a 9 year old boy who had neurological and renal complications after mercury spillage from a sphygmomanometer three months after it had been provided by the hospital for monitoring blood pressure at home. The family were unaware of the potential risks of mercury exposure before the patient became acutely ill.
Case report
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Case report
Discussion
References
A 9 year old boy presented to his local hospital with a three week history of abdominal pain, constipation, lethargy, limb pain, and unsteadiness. Physical examination showed mild facial weakness, areflexia, ataxia, and impaired sensation and led to a provisional diagnosis of Guillaine-Barré syndrome. The boy's constant restlessness was considered strange, but his mother described him as hyperactive and regarded this behaviour as normal. It was noted, however, that his handwriting and schoolwork had deteriorated over the preceding month.
Features of encephalopathy accompanied by peripheral neuropathy led to a suspicion of heavy metal poisoning. No history of likely exposure to lead could be found; there was no lead piping or paint at home. Further inquiry revealed that the patient's sibling had undergone renal transplantation as a result of nephrotic syndrome, and the family had been provided with a mercury sphygmomanometer for home blood pressure monitoring. Three months before presentation, our patient had dismantled the sphygmomanometer in his bedroom---spilling mercury on his bed and carpet---and had played with it for a day or two before informing his mother. Attempts had been made to dispose of the mercury by vacuuming, and then by flushing it down the toilet.
The suspected diagnosis of mercury poisoning was confirmed by the finding of a serum mercury concentration of 1000 nmol/l (normal reference value <30 nmol/l). The boy was referred to a tertiary paediatric centre for further management. By now he was unable to pick up objects or to feel them in his hand. Physical examination showed that he was ataxic and areflexic and was exhibiting intermittent aggression and a fluctuating level of consciousness. He was started on sodium-(2,3)-dimercaptopropane-(1)-sulphonate (DMPS), a chelating agent which binds mercury and allows it to be excreted via the kidneys. This is given by intravenous infusion in a reducing dose over four days and is followed by oral treatment until the patient's clinical condition and results of laboratory investigations have improved. Our patient was treated for a total of 18 days; his serum mercury concentrations and urinary mercury excretion during treatment are shown in the table.
View this table:
[in this window]
[in a new window]
Serum mercury concentrations and urinary mercury excretion in patient with mercury poisoning
Other family members were investigated and were also found to have raised serum mercury concentrations, but in none were these high enough to necessitate treatment. Mercury was not detected in the patient's cerebrospinal fluid, but the protein concentration was very high at 1.9 g/l.
The boy developed hypertension. This was refractory to initial treatment and required an intravenous infusion of labetalol, with oral captopril, nifedipine, and atenolol before it was controlled. The hypertension settled with time and he was weaned off all antihypertensive drugs without long term complications.
The occupational health department found very high atmospheric concentrations of mercury in the boy's bedroom, particularly around the carpet. Bedding, carpets, and clothing had to be destroyed, as did the vacuum cleaner. A mercury vapour absorbing filter system was installed and used continually in the room for three months, after which mercury vapour concentrations were undetectable.
The patient made a slow neurological recovery. It took six months for him to return to his premorbid state. His behavioural problems persisted, and inquiries at school showed that he had longstanding problems. Indeed, the psychological services had been considering a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder---arguably a contributory factor to the initial dismantling of the sphygmomanometer. Further psychological assessment after recovery was not possible because the boy failed persistently to attend follow up appointments at hospital and at school.
Discussion
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Case report
Discussion
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This is an unusual case which presented a number of diagnostic, therapeutic, and management difficulties. Mercury is found not only in sphygmomanometers but also in thermometers and weather barometers, and many homes possess these. Even a small amount of mercury, such as that from a thermometer, can result in mercury poisoning, especially in children.1 Throughout the years, children---and particularly boys---have played with metallic mercury with no apparent ill effect. We believe that the design of modern homes, with fitted carpets, insulation, and poor ventilation, contributes to the more effective and prolonged dispersal of mercury vapour within the building. Vacuum cleaners have also been implicated in spreading contamination and recontaminating buildings through a reservoir of mercury in the dust bag and hosing. 2 3 Mercury spillage should be treated with extreme caution: a vacuum cleaner should never be used, and advice should be sought immediately from the local environmental health department. Our hospital has reviewed its policy on medical equipment issued for home use, and revised procedures for mercury spills have been drawn up.
Clinical management is straightforward once the diagnosis is suspected, and the chelation regimen described above is recommended. Hypertension may be difficult to control initially, 4 5 but should resolve eventually, as should the neurological complications.
Mercury poisoning was common in the 19th century. It was a known occupational hazard in some industries such as hat making---from which the term "mad as a hatter" originates. However, doctors today will rarely see a case of mercury poisoning, and the public and health professionals are often unaware of the toxicity of mercury and other heavy metals. Heavy metal poisoning should be considered in neurological cases with encephalopathy and unusual clinical signs.
Acknowledgments
Contributors: ACR produced the manuscript; MMcG-S, CR, and RMcW provided details of patient management and contributed to the final paper; IMD provided the occupational health data. RMcW is guarantor for the paper.
References
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Case report
Discussion
References
1. Cloarec S, Deschenes G, Sagnier M, Rolland JC, Nivet H. Arterial hypertension due to mercury poisoning: diagnostic value of captopril. Arch Pediatr 1995; 2: 43-46[Medline].
2. Bonhomme C, Gladyszaczak-Kholer J, Cadou A, Ilef D, Kadi Z. Mercury poisoning by vacuum-cleaner aerosol. Lancet 1996; 347: 115[Medline].
3. McClanahan MA. Mercury contamination in the home. Lancet 1996; 347: 1044-1045[Medline].
4. Swaiman KF, Flagler DG. Mercury poisoning with central and peripheral nervous system involvement treated with penicillamine. Pediatrics 1971; 48: 639-642[Medline].
5. McNeil NI, Olver RE, Issler HC, Wrong OM. Domestic metallic mercury poisoning. Lancet 1984; i: 269-271. |
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Vitus
Psychoscientist
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| Joined: 19 Apr 2005 |
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| Location: Dunwich |
2608.18 Points
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Mercury & health
Wed Apr 20, 2005 9:22 pm |
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Elemental mercury and your health
From "La Nouvelle Pratique" by dr. O. Dubois, 110th edition, Paris (XII), phone Diderot 04.53
(p 496)
737. - MERCURY - Hydrargyrum -
Is a liquid metal, very heavy, that resembles molten lead in appearance. It is used in medicine, as well as its salts, against syphilis or as a general curative. The most commonly used salts are calomel, mercuric iodide and corrosive sublimate. It's very effective, but its use can sometimes be somewhat dangerous. Possible side-effects are gastritis, hypersalivation, the loosening and falling out of teeth, and a specific kind of poisoning called Hydrargyrismum. When a syphiloid ailment has to be cured without the exposure to the possible dangerous effects of mercury, one has to use it together with Blood-purifying Sirup(*) and Blood-purifying Pills(**), two very effective medicines.
Double mercury-containing pommade (Napolitan Ointment)
This ointment is made by extinguising metallic mercury in molten lard, a process which takes some time. The Napolitan Ointment is used to cure ailments of the glands and obstipation.
Napolitan Belladonna Ointment
30 gr Napolitan Ointment is mixed with 4 gr Atropa belladonna extract. It's used for orchitis (inflammation of testicle tissue) and painful obstipation, on the belly in case of inflammation of the peritoneum, etc...
Standard mercury-containing pommade (Grey Ointment, 300 gram)
Used against head lice and genital lice. When dissolved in the essence of turpentine it can be used to destroy bedbugs.
Mercury-containing paste (Vigo-Paste)
This paste, next to metallic mercury, also contain several resinous and aromatic compounds. Spread on sheets it becomes a Vigo-Bandage, very effective as a dissolving and decomposing cure for ailments of the glands, the plague, poisonous or dangerous cuts, and the early stages of paronychia. One cuts the bandage in the required size and shape, attaches it to the skin and let it sit there for some time.
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(*) Blood-purifying Syrup
This is a simple preparation of Hydriodates or Seaweed salt extracts. It's a clear yellow solution with a taste that reminds us of seaweed; it does not contain sugar. (...) A possible side-effect of this treatment is the emergence of pimples on the skin. If this should occur it is a clear sign that the treatment is effective, and the medicine should not be discontinued. In case of possible bad breath that occurs as a minor side-effect in some people, this can be circumvented when 1 or 2 teaspoons of alkaline phosphate salts are ingested together with the syrup.
(**) Blood-purifying Pills
Of all blood-purifying medicines, the Blood-Purifying pills are the most effective, as they are made from active plant constituents extracted from tropical plants which were carefully measured keeping the preferential activity in mind. (...) There exist other blood-purifying pills that are not related and inferior to these, so one has to keep in mind to always ask for the Blood-Purifying Pills of dr. O. Dubois, with signature, trademark and warrant seal.
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IndoleAmine
Dreamreader Deluxe
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| Location: Bahamas |
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Thu Apr 21, 2005 12:46 am |
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Whatta bullshit, mix together mercury and belladonna extract, and apply this "ointment" to your testicles then...
...if I've got nothing to do and don't like my testicles anymore, maybe... 
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Vitus
Psychoscientist
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| Joined: 19 Apr 2005 |
| Posts: 72 |
| Location: Dunwich |
2608.18 Points
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IndoleAmine
Dreamreader Deluxe
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| Joined: 09 Feb 2005 |
| Posts: 681 |
| Location: Bahamas |
18717.10 Points
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Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:10 am |
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Only if you add more belladonna extract, favorably in double strength too.
IMO.
The sublimate globuli sound interesting - will sugar disturb amalgamations or not? (maybe completely OTC reactions -involving still halfway filled coke cans- are possible with these?)
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Health Spa
Thu Apr 21, 2005 3:21 am |
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Combine Vitus' testicular ointment and this place and you have a mercury health spa. All ailments cured, permanently.
"Visitors enjoy quicksilver at the Almadén Mine. This kind of brief encounter is not harmful if you wash afterward. Chronic exposure to mercury vapor, however, is bad for everyone. Images by Pablo Higueras, University of Castille-La Mancha."
Linked to this one to spare those people on 1200 baud modems:
http://img67.echo.cx/img67/7228/almaden1m8rq.jpg |
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