Seek information from Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality at (601) 961-5171 on the proper disposal of mercury. Use fans for a minimum of one hour to speed the ventilation. Ventilate the room to the outside and close off the rest of the home or building. The scoop, paper or eyedropper should also be bagged and disposed properly. Place the mercury in a medicine vial or similar airtight container. Wear rubber gloves and scoop the mercury onto a sheet of paper or suck it up with an eyedropper. Remove all jewelry, especially gold because mercury readily combines with gold . Handle the mercury carefully. If mercury escapes into the environment there are several things that should be done to ensure safety and proper cleanup. Large spills of mercury can be life threatening and should be handled by professionals as quickly as possible to limit exposure. If there is a larger spill of mercury, professional assistance will be needed to cleanup the material. If there is an accidental release of mercury, there are safe practices that can be utilized while handling and disposing of small amounts (less than 1 teaspoon) of liquid mercury. Mercury can often be found around the home and business in thermometers, thermostats, and fluorescent lamps. In the case of a large mercury spill, all occupants should evacuate the area. Children and pregnant women should not be exposed to mercury. The effect on the body by mercury is cumulative and not readily reversible. Never use a vacuum cleaner to clean up a mercury spill. Even though symptoms do not appear, serious damage can be done to the human body. Mercury is also readily absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract and through the skin. Human exposure to mercury occurs primarily from breathing contaminated air. Mercury is extremely poisonous. Short-term or long-term exposures to mercury can lead to serious health problems, including death. The Recycling and Solid Waste Reduction Program maintains a Fluorescent Lamp and Mercury Recycling Directory to assist businesses and industries as well as the general public in finding locations to recycle fluorescent lamps and mercury. Whenever possible, attempt to recycle fluorescent lamps and mercury to prevent them from entering the landfill. It takes approximately 340 four foot lamps or about 183 eight foot lamps to total 220 pounds. Small and large quantity generators of hazardous waste (220 to 2,200 pounds/month are small quantity generators and over 2,200 pounds/month are large quantity generators) must manage fluorescent and HID lamps as hazardous waste. Companies that generate less than 220 pounds/month of hazardous waste including the lamps are conditionally exempt from the law and may dispose of the lamps as normal solid waste. Lamps generated by residential home owners are exempt from the law and lamps can be disposed of with residential garbage. Fluorescent Lamps How do I properly recycle/dispose of fluorescent lamps and mercury?īe extremely careful in the handling of both fluorescent lamps (they contain small quantities of mercury) and mercury.įluorescent and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps in Mississippi are covered under the Universal Waste Rule of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA).
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