TIMES RECORD • June 7, 2022
Mercury can be absorbed through the skin, or inhaled as an invisible, odorless, and very toxic vapor. In the home, mercury has most often been found in mercury thermometers, where it is not a problem until the thermometer breaks. Cleanup is then very difficult, so the best route is to deliver any such device you still have to Household Hazardous Waste Day before it breaks. Room thermostats were the other big source of mercury in the home. Mercury was much more widely used in the past, so even things as seemingly benign as old mirrors, vases, or pendulum clocks can contain significant amounts of mercury. All need to be discarded in a responsible manner that ensures they are disassembled and recycled, not dumped someplace where their toxins can spread. ~ Harry Hopcroft