Mercury

[rexmerdinus]

So, a family member was going through some of his stuff, and he came across a jar containing several pounds of elemental mercury. He would like very much to be rid of it in the cheapest, safest, and most legal fashion. Any ideas? He lives in PA, I live in OH. Thanks.

[Contradiction]

I was amazed that mercury would be in a hat so I googled that. I got:
1. pictures of the Roman god Mercury wearing a hat
2. pictures of Freddie Mercury (of Queen) wearing a hat
3. references to the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland
4. info on how mercury was used in the production of men's hats. https://www.levinehat.com/pages/is-merc ... dress-hats

Sorry, but I don't anything about how you can recycle or dispose of your mercury. My parents have an old thermometer with the stuff in it.

[rexmerdinus]

LOL, yep, apparently "jar" autocorrects to "hat!" It's definitely not a hat.

[Contradiction]

LOL, yep, apparently "jar" autocorrects to "hat!" It's definitely not a hat.

Yeah, sometimes I just want 5 minutes alone in a room with the guy who invented autocorrect.

[coppernickel]

Call the chemistry department at the local college.

They might be able to tell you what to do, and possibly have a use for it.

[natsb88]

Call the chemistry department at the local college.

They might be able to tell you what to do, and possibly have a use for it.

+1

Some prospectors and gold scrappers still use it and would be happy to take it too.

I wouldn't mind having some around. There's a lot of fear/hype surrounding mercury but liquid mercury isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Certainly don't eat it, get it in open wounds, or dump it down the drain or outside. But mercury vapor is the bigger health risk. Keep it in a sealed container, make sure you have backup containment in case it leaks, minimize the exposed surface area when you have it out (a small cup is better than spreading it out in a big bowl), make sure you are working in/over another container to catch any potential spills, and only use it in a well-ventilated area (ideally outside). [disclaimer: I am not an expert]

Cody'sLab has some fun mercury videos on YouTube. I don't necessarily recommend replicating them

[TXSTARFIRE]

Our local govt has a haz waste cleanup event twice a year where you can get rid of stuff like that. Check with your local county or city to see if they have a clean up event coming up.
tt

[Recyclersteve]

Amazingly mercury was once used for dental fillings. My wife still has a filling that has mercury in it. I know. I've tried telling her many times to have it removed, but she won't do it. It is amazing that if she broke her filling that a Hazmat team could have to come out.

[rexmerdinus]

Thanks for the ideas, all. Yep, I thought about calling a university, but I figured for a haz-mat like that they'd need to account for acquisition and disposition of all their inventory and so would be reluctant to take it in from a private source. As to how truly hazardous it is...we used to take it and roll it around in our hands when we were kids, so it can't be THAT bad! I called up a company that recycles it, and they wanted $379 a pound to recycle it. Maybe I'm in the wrong like of work!