Mercury – Laboratory Spills/Releases

This information is intended to provide guidance regarding the procedures for handling mercury spills in laboratories. Mercury is a very toxic material and spills can be very difficult to cleanup. Due to the toxic properties of mercury and the difficulty in cleaning up spills, mercury is one of the most expensive materials to clean up and dispose of safely. For example, the current cost for cleanup and disposal of a small broken thermometer is $350. If the mercury splashes onto the floor or into difficult to reach areas, the cleanup costs will easily reach several thousand dollars. A mercury spill on one SPC campus in 2001 cost $7,000 for the services of a hazardous waste contractor alone. This did not include the costs for SPC staff time to manage the incident, delays in schedules and loss of use of a section of the building for most of the day and early evening.

A small mercury spill such as a broken thermometer can usually be cleaned up with a mercury spill kit designed for that purpose. These kits and instruction in their use should be available to you as a part of your department’s Chemical Hygiene Plan. Remove all gold and silver jewelry before cleaning up a spill, since mercury can easily bond to these metals. Wear vinyl, nitrile or latex disposable gloves to prevent contamination.

The basic procedures for handling a mercury spill of more than 30 milliliters, (approx. 1 lb.), a small spill spread over a large area or mercury released in a vapor form are very similar to most any hazardous material spill. First, follow the Chemical Spill Emergency Procedures for your site, which is posted in all laboratories and areas where chemicals are stored and used.

· Occupants should be evacuated from the area immediately.

· Call 911 if there are injuries or there is an immediate threat to life.

· Isolate the area by closing doors (locking if necessary), using barrier tape, and/or posting guards to prevent reentry and spread of contamination.

· Exhaust fans should be started or windows opened where possible to ventilate the area.

· Contact Facilities Services to shutdown the HVAC system to prevent contaminating other areas within the building.

· Contact Safety/Environmental Services at 3314, 3385 or 3192, which will coordinate the spill cleanup with our hazardous waste contractor.

· Document how the spill occurred, estimate the amount of mercury spilled and record the names of all individuals present at the time of the spill.

This information can be very important in evaluating how many people were exposed, determining their exposure levels, conducting medical evaluations when necessary, and assessing spill cleanup requirements.

· Complete an Accident/Incident report.

The best control method is to prevent mercury spills by;

· Replacing mercury-containing devices where possible

· Using secondary container (plastic or enameled pan) as a precaution to contain any spill and permit easy cleanup

· Not working over permeable surfaces or sinks where mercury can spill down drains

Safety/Environmental Services 10/03