Posted on 09/10/2002 9:56:27 AM PDT by Korth
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Senate voted to ban the sale of mercury fever thermometers in order to curb a source of environmental contamination.
On a voice vote and without dissent, the Senate sent The Mercury Reduction and Disposal Act to the U.S. House of Representatives for concurrence.
The Environmental Protection Agency estimates medical mercury thermometers contribute about 17 tons of mercury to solid waste per year, said Sen. Susan Collins, a Maine Republican and chief sponsor of the measure.
The bill calls for a nationwide ban on the sale of such thermometers as well as a grant program to help consumers exchange them for digital ones or other alternatives.
"Mercury fever thermometers are very easily broken. When this happens, the improper disposal of the mercury can have severe environmental and physical consequences," Collins said.
"One mercury thermometer contains about one gram of mercury," said Collins, "enough mercury to contaminate all the fish in a 20-acre (8 hectare) lake."
Her bill would also create an interagency task force, headed by the EPA, to address the problem of the global circulation of mercury and ways to reduce the mercury threat.
When I was about eight years old, I decided to remove a mercury thermometer from the small board to which it was attached and take my temperature. When I put it under my tongue it broke, and the gram of mercury which would contaminate all the fish in a 20-acre lake spilled into my mouth. I was about four feet deep at the time. I also ate swordfish quite frequently. Does anyone know the side effects of mercury poisoning other than death?
Perhaps you should refresh your knowledge of Uranium before implying that atomizing a lump of Uranium and spreading it around the globe would do harm. It WILL NOT!
But I think you'll live ;)
Oh, that's right. We can't throw our thermometers away without harming the environment, but a little in our teeth is no problem. /sarcasm
Luckily the only side effect that I suffered was my Dad's unconcerned reaction: "That was a dumb thing to do." I suppose I'm still alive because my dentist insisted on replacing all my mercury filling$$$$, else surely I would have perished long ago.
"When liquid mercury is spilled, it forms droplets that can accumulate in the tiniest of spaces and in small pools and droplets and then emit vapors into the air. Mercury vapor in the air is odorless, colorless, and very toxic. Whole families have been poisoned from mercury spills in the home which have not been cleaned up or were cleaned up improperly, especially by using an ordinary vacuum cleaner. Children are at highest risk. Pets are at risk, also. The small amount of mercury in a fever thermometer or fluorescent bulb is not likely to cause a problem but should still be cleaned up. For additional information about mercury, including health effects, see the NJDHSS publication: n Your Mercury Exposure"
I was wondering if anyone else here had played with the stuff when they were young. How do you suppose the human race survived all our ignorance? (sarcasm on)
"When liquid mercury is spilled, it forms droplets that can accumulate in the tiniest of spaces and in small pools and droplets and then emit vapors into the air. Mercury vapor in the air is odorless, colorless, and very toxic. Whole families have been poisoned from mercury spills in the home which have not been cleaned up or were cleaned up improperly, especially by using an ordinary vacuum cleaner. Children are at highest risk. Pets are at risk, also. The small amount of mercury in a fever thermometer or fluorescent bulb is not likely to cause a problem but should still be cleaned up. For additional information about mercury, including health effects, see the NJDHSS publication: n Your Mercury Exposure"
I suppose I'm still alive because my dentist insisted on replacing all my mercury filling$$$$, else surely I would have perished long ago.
Oh, undoubtedly. ;)
One problem for people who get exercised about their fillings is that mercury reacts with aluminum, presenting yet another issue for those who prefer a certain type of headgear....
Not to mention highly radioactive 40K...
In all seriousness, I recall a move a few years ago by the EPA to shut down bakeries, due to emissions of certain organic compounds being above the legal limit. Those compounds were being emitted in the odor of baking bread...
A mercury barometer is really something. Mercury thermometers have the advantage of working over a wider temperature range than alcohol thermometers, that's all.
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