How to Manage Mercury-Containing Vials

Mercury is a metal that is a liquid at room temperature, and it's used in a variety of products from light bulbs to older thermostats. However, mercury is also a heavy metal that's responsible for large amounts of emissions and pollution. Exposure can lead to heath problems such as tremors, headache, fatigue, stomach ache, personality changes and permanent disability. Because of the risks, it's important to properly manage and store any containers and vials that hold mercury.

Things You'll Need

• Cool storage space
• Protective gloves
• Eye protection
• Respiration protection

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Instructions

• 1

  Put on protective eye, hand and breathing protection whenever you're handling mercury vials. Latex gloves are acceptable skin protection for mercury handling. You should have a respiration mask as well as eye goggles to make sure you're as safe as possible when dealing with mercury.

• 2

  Make sure that mercury vials are stored and handled in a cool, safe place like a laboratory workspace. Ideally there should be a minimum of transportation for the vials, so if they're going to be used, they should be stored near where they will be opened in the laboratory work room.

• 3

  Keep a list of which vials are taken out and who uses them. A sign-in sheet will help promote accountability, and it will keep a record of who had access to which vials of mercury at what time. This can be extremely helpful for checking who is responsible in case accidents happen or vials are broken.