What to do if a mercury thermometer breaks?

Mercury is a silvery, highly mobile "liquid" metal that can break into small spheres, is much heavier than water, evaporates at room temperature, and its vapors can be absorbed by any surface. Its vapors are poisonous. Mercury vapor poisoning is accompanied by general weakness, severe headache, speech disorder, and with further exposure can lead to severe consequences. The amount of mercury that has leaked from a broken thermometer is sufficient to create a great danger.

 If mercury spills, you must:
1. Remove all people and pets from the room.
2. Open windows in the room with spilled mercury for ventilation. Close doors and transoms in other rooms.
3. Prepare a jar with an airtight lid for collecting and temporarily storing mercury-containing waste. Protect your hands with rubber gloves.
4. Carefully collect all mercury balls and fragments of the mercury-containing device. Cleaning of the room begins from the periphery (from the entrance and walls) to the center of the spill. Large drops of mercury are collected with a sheet of paper and a brush or a rubber bulb. Small drops are collected with tape, copper wire, or bread crumbs. The use of a vacuum cleaner is not allowed.
5.  Apply a generous amount of soap-soda solution (40 grams of soap and 50 grams of baking soda per 1 liter of water) to the spill area. Wait for 2-6 hours. Thoroughly wash the treated surface.
6. Regularly ventilate the treated room for three days (at least 30 minutes 3-4 times a day).
7. If mercury gets on the carpet, collect visible drops of mercury from it, shake it out outdoors and ventilate it in the open air for 2-3 days.
8. If it is necessary to measure the concentration of mercury vapor in the room, contact the territorial center of hygiene and epidemiology.
If a lot of mercury has spilled and it cannot be collected – contact the rescue service by calling "101" or "112".