Bad thermometer (Hg)- safe to throw away?

[Muse]

A thermometer I have has gone bad - it's maxed out all the time above 120 degrees. Got no idea why. I wonder if it's OK to throw this in the trash or should I dispose of it as though it were toxic. Thermometers have mercury and mercury's a poison, and a pretty bad one, but I don't know if the sort in a thermometer (elemental, I suppose) is dangerous. As I kid I remember people playing with mercury because it beads up in such a wonderful way. Maybe that was really really stupid, I don't know. Anyway, what should I do with this thing? Thanks.

 

[Ylen13]

throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

 

[guyver01]

Even tiny amounts of mercury can cause enormous toxic damage in water and fish.

Old-fashioned fever thermometers contain only a gram of mercury. But that's enough to contaminate a 20-acre lake and render any fish in it inedible, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Concerned about mercury's potential to harm health and the environment, California lawmakers outlawed over-the-counter sales of mercury fever thermometers last July.

Now, health officials are encouraging people to safely dispose of their old thermometers at household hazardous waste collection sites or "thermometer exchanges."

Check on the internet for household hazardous waste collection centers.

 

[Muse]

I found this site on the subject. I don't know if this thermometer has Hg or not, but I've had it for several years, so maybe it does. If I think it may have Hg I will look for a place to get rid of it safely and not throw it in my trash.

 

[Ylen13]

Originally posted by: Muse
I found this site on the subject. I don't know if this thermometer has Hg or not, but I've had it for several years, so maybe it does. If I think it may have Hg I will look for a place to get rid of it safely and not throw it in my trash.

why do u care?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

I have a conscience. I don't want to feel like a rat. "Think globally act locally." "What goes around comes around." The law of karma. Yeah, you can take the Golden Rule too far, I realize. Anyway, I don't want to poison the environment.

 

[guyver01]

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

you are an asshat.
your id must indicate your age.
i hope he follows your advise, throws it away, and YOU end up eating it.

:|:disgust:

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Is it mercury or not? It's either silver or it's not mercury, no?

 

[Muse]

Originally posted by: Ylen13

Originally posted by: Muse
I found this site on the subject. I don't know if this thermometer has Hg or not, but I've had it for several years, so maybe it does. If I think it may have Hg I will look for a place to get rid of it safely and not throw it in my trash.

why do u care?

I care because I believe I will be happier in the long run if I don't just refrain from doing bad things because I can see definite negative consequences in the short term for myself. That's a little wordy, I know, but that's what I think. For the same reason, I don't discard NiCad batteries, but bring them to Radio Shack. Also, I don't throw used oil in my trash, but bring it to Grand Auto. If everybody had that philosophy it wouldn't be long before we'd ALL be poisoned. We wouldn't even have an Environmental Protection Agency. The whole world would be one big Alphaville.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: guyver01

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

you are an asshat.
your id must indicate your age.
i hope he follows your advise, throws it away, and YOU end up eating it.

:|:disgust:

Seriously. I doubt this guy realizes that many health experts warn against eating too much of certain fish because they absorb a lot of mercury from the water.

 

[Muse]

How can you tell if your thermometer contains mercury? This one's stripe looks kinda purple or blue or something (I'm kinda colorblind).

 

[minendo]

If you live in a town near a university, you could bring the thermometer to their chemistry department. They deal with broken thermometers all the time and know how to dispose of them properly.

 

[ThisIsMatt]

Originally posted by: Muse
How can you tell if your thermometer contains mercury? This one's stripe looks kinda purple or blue or something (I'm kinda colorblind).

Then I don't think it's mercury, someone correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[RbSX]

Originally posted by: Ylen13

Originally posted by: Muse
I found this site on the subject. I don't know if this thermometer has Hg or not, but I've had it for several years, so maybe it does. If I think it may have Hg I will look for a place to get rid of it safely and not throw it in my trash.

why do u care?

Because believe it or know shvthead people want to sorta save the environment.

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

Why don't you care?

Fscking asshat. I hope you die of mercury poisoning. :|

 

[Ylen13]

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

Why don't you care?

Fscking asshat. I hope you die of mercury poisoning. :|

why should i care? Sorry but no i do not care about the environment. I will let other people that feel like careing to care about the environment.

 

[minendo]

Originally posted by: Ylen13
why should i care? Sorry but no i do not care about the environment. I will let other people that feel like careing to care about the environment.

Then stay the fvck out of this thread.

 

[SharkyTM]

wow... what a wonderful thread to expose the immature people among us. If your thermometer has a red or blue bulb at the bottom, or thats the color of the stripe, its alcohol-based. Its safe to throw away.
If its silver or black, its Hg (mercury) DO NOT throw it in the trash. If you break it, and theres merc. on the floor, use steel wool to absorb it, seal the steel wool in a bag, and take it to your local high school chem. dept. or College/University chem dept. Tell them you have mercury. They have special kits to dispose of it and contain it. Mecrury has appreciable vapor pressure at atmosperic pressure, which means it will vaporize and you can inhale it. IT IS HIGHLY TOXIC. anyhow... if you still have any merc. thermometers, you might want to get rid of them, esp. if you have kids.

Be safe,
SharkyTM

 

[Eli]

Originally posted by: Ylen13

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

Why don't you care?

Fscking asshat. I hope you die of mercury poisoning. :|

why should i care? Sorry but no i do not care about the environment. I will let other people that feel like careing to care about the environment.

wtf? The question is, why shouldn't you care? You think that just because you aren't contaminating your home that it doesen't effect you? Are you really that ignorant?

You do realize that this planet we call home is the only home we have, right?

You're probably one of those assholes that dump your used engine oil down the storm drains. Grow up and wake up. :disgust::|:frown:

 

[911paramedic]

Nothing, I was thinking about something else. LOL

 

[SuperTool]

Yeah,it's fine. Just make sure noone sees you

 

[SSP]

Originally posted by: Ylen13

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

Why don't you care?

Fscking asshat. I hope you die of mercury poisoning. :|

why should i care? Sorry but no i do not care about the environment. I will let other people that feel like careing to care about the environment.

This is the effect of mercury poisoning folks. Don't be a retard, and dispose it the right way.

 

[DeRusto]

Originally posted by: SharkyTM
wow... what a wonderful thread to expose the immature people among us. If your thermometer has a red or blue bulb at the bottom, or thats the color of the stripe, its alcohol-based. Its safe to throw away.
If its silver or black, its Hg (mercury) DO NOT throw it in the trash. If you break it, and theres merc. on the floor, use steel wool to absorb it, seal the steel wool in a bag, and take it to your local high school chem. dept. or College/University chem dept. Tell them you have mercury. They have special kits to dispose of it and contain it. Mecrury has appreciable vapor pressure at atmosperic pressure, which means it will vaporize and you can inhale it. IT IS HIGHLY TOXIC. anyhow... if you still have any merc. thermometers, you might want to get rid of them, esp. if you have kids.

Be safe,
SharkyTM

Wow, that is interesting, I know that the old thermometers we had at my high school were mercury thermometers(I know because one of them was broken in my class..NOT me, a friend) I am almost positive they had red stripes rather than silver or black. Of course, this was 5 years ago, so I may be mistaken.

 

[Harvey]

Most local agencies that handle trash pickup have people who can give you instructions about how they want you to handle hazardous trash.

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

Asshats like you are among the worst hazardous trash on the planet. I'm really sorry we can't leave you in a hazmat dump. :|

 

[UCDznutz]

Originally posted by: Ylen13

Originally posted by: Eli

Originally posted by: Ylen13
throw it away.Who cares if its toxic or not. As long as it will not affect your health directly just throw it away.

Why don't you care?

Fscking asshat. I hope you die of mercury poisoning. :|

why should i care? Sorry but no i do not care about the environment. I will let other people that feel like careing to care about the environment.

for a second there i thought you first post was just sarcasm and everyone was taking it wrong. guess i thought wrong. take some responsibility for the planet you live on.