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Mercury found in residential properties is usually found in household appliances and lights. Items such as fluorescent and HID lamps, thermostats, water heaters, furnaces and ranges often have mercury containing parts in them depending on the year made and model number. If the light switches don't make a noise when you turn them off or on, most likely they contain mercury. Homes usually have a medical thermometer, a cooking thermometer and a thermometer outside the house telling the outside temperature. Commercial properties usually have larger water heaters, furnaces and appliances (depending on the type of property). Check to see if the owners of the building sold any mercury containing devices that might still be in it or require special kinds of cleanup. Boiler rooms usually contain mercury devices. Mercury switches are frequently associated with all types of heating and cooling equipment. Some homes have mercury gas flow regulators attached to the gas meter; some larger buildings have mercury manometers to regulate gas flow. For more information on the types of mercury containing devices in buildings, click here.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has developed the following helpful list of locations where mercury can frequently be found in large residential and commercial buildings:
Mercury is often found in dentists offices in the form of amalgam, a compound
containing about 50% mercury, which is used in dental fillings. A lot of amalgam
has been washed down sinks and drains. The amalgam will usually settle in the
drainage pipes leading away from the office.
For example, a dental clinic in Sweden was recently sampled to see how much
mercury was released from it in the form of amalgam. Over 15 pounds of Mercury
was found in only 33 ft of pipe. The cleanup of mercury in dentist's offices
is very similar to the cleanup of mercury in
schools.
When cleaning dentists offices, the majority of the mercury you will be working with will probably be located in the drainage pipes leading away from the clinic. The plumbing pipes inside the clinic are also good places for mercury to be found. Mercury will stick to the inside of cast iron tubes, and is usually found on the bottom of them. Check the mud that deposits at the bottom of the pipes. If it contains mercury, it should be treated as hazardous waste.
It used to be common practice for dentists to mix their own amalgam. So you should check all the cabinets and drawers for elemental mercury. Having an expert on hazardous waste management is a good idea when demolishing old dentists offices. Many common demolition activities such as cutting out sewage pipes can release large amounts of mercury steam and can be dangerous to the workers.
Elemental mercury is often found in school
laboratories. Many chemistry and physics labs study the unusual properties of
elemental mercury and mercury compounds. When cleaning out schools, look for
containers labeled Hg or Elemental Mercury, or compounds with the chemical symbol
for mercury (Hg) on the label. In addition to elemental mercury, school laboratories
often use mercury containing devices such as thermometers,
barometers and different types of pressure gauges.
Accidents and carelessness have often lead to large amounts of mercury found
in the drains and sewage surrounding schools.
When you start looking at the sewage and drainage of the school, analyze the mud at the bottom of the drainage pipes. If they contain mercury, they should be treated carefully and disposed of as hazardous waste. Be careful when cutting the pipes around the building not to cut where the mercury is. If sections of the pipe containing mercury are cut with a torch, it will likely vaporize the mercury and make it even more dangerous to the workers. The same precautions with mercury in schools should be taken as are taken in dentist's offices and in laboratories.
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Mercury is often found in industrial complexes in many forms. Most industrial
complexes use high intensity discharge lamps,
or mercury containing fluorescent lamps. Depending
on the purpose of the factory, different mercury containing devices could have
been used. It is best before demolishing a plant or industrial complex to check
what kind of activities went on there. Plants that produced fluorescent tubes,
electrical components or laboratory equipment are most likely to have large
amounts of elemental mercury around. Heating plants and boiler rooms often used
mercury containing thermometers or manometers.
Many factories use pressure regulators which contain mercury. A good rule of
thumb to follow is that most complexes that used asbestos also used mercury
because they both perform well in very high temperature. Most places will use
heating or refrigeration units that require thermostats which likely will contain
mercury. Level guards and flow meters are common in large factories that deal
with water flows and steam pressure. Different varieties of these products contain
mercury. If the complex was a chemical facility, find out exactly what process
went on there. Any activities involving the extraction of chlorine are a good
indicator of mercury use. Also, look for a list of chemicals that the plant
used.
It is also wise to get a list of devices in the building and check to see if they could be mercury or hazardous material containing devices. This information should be on the blueprints of the complex. You should check to see what activities went on at the factory before demolishing it to see if mercury was used in any of manufacturing processes. If it was, you should take the same precautions as working in a school, a laboratory, or a dentist office. It is likely that large amounts of mercury could be deposited in the pipes. Therefore, all the drainage pipes leading out of the building should be carefully checked for mercury content. The best place to check for mercury in pipes is the bottom of the pipes and the low points where the mercury will likely settle. Be careful when removing the mercury containing drainage pipes. The mercury filled pipes should be treated as hazardous waste and be taken to the local hazardous waste facility for the proper disposal and recycling of the mercury content.
The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has developed the following helpful list of locations where mercury can frequently be found in industrial buildings:
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Many scientific laboratories have elemental mercury or mercury compounds in
them. Before working on or demolishing a laboratory, contact the former owner
of the building and find out what type of work was done in the building. Also,
try to find out if any type of mercury was used in the laboratory. Many laboratories
use thermometers, pressure gauges and thermostats
that contain mercury in them. If you come across anything that looks like it
might contain mercury, put it in a separate container , label it as mercury
containing waste and recycle it. Don't forget to check for HID
lamps and fluorescent lights and dispose
of them properly also.
If the laboratory used mercury, you need to be careful when removing pipes and plumbing, similar to schools or dentist's offices. It is very probable that some mercury made it's way into a drain and accumulated in the plumbing of the building. When you find the drainage and sewage pipes, check the mud accumulated at the bottom of the pipes. If there is mercury present in the building, it should show up here in the pipe. When removing the pipe, do not cut the lower sections of the pipe. If the sections containing mercury are cut, the mercury will likely vaporize, becoming more harmful to the workers. When the pipes are removed, they should be treated as hazardous waste and properly recycled or disposed of.
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Most of the mercury in a wastewater treatment plant is found in the equipment, such as manometers, pressure gauges, float and level switches, and thermometers. Look for these devices in the same way you would look for devices in industrial facilities. Older wastewater treatment plants have pivot arms that used mercury as a lubricant. These devices were used as trickling devices that sprayed the waste into piles. The operators of the plant should know if these devices contain mercury. If you do run into one that contains mercury, the mercury is used as a lubricant in the middle of the arm where it pivots.
If mercury is used in the laboratory, be sure to follow a set of safety guidelines in the handling of mercury. In case of a spill in the laboratory or elsewhere in the plant, proper procedures for containment and clean up of the material is necessary for the prevention of human and environmental contamination. If you are in the process of updating the facility, be sure to locate and replace devices that contain mercury whenever possible.
Ferric chloride is sometimes used in treatment plants to precipitate phosphorus. This chemical is added in various locations in the liquid flow of the stream. There is a possibility of the chemical to be contaminated with mercury. When the chloride in the product has been obtained from a chlor alkali plant, the mercury used in that process may contaminate the finished product. To help prevention of environmental contamination, contact the chemical supplier and request a mercury analysis of the product or a certification that the product is mercury free.
Dairy Barns typically contain mercury manometers, connected to the milking machines.
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Motorcycle and outboard motor mechanics use mercury-containing carburetor synchronizers, a type of mercury manometer.
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