Mercury: Cleaning Up Spills

Before cleaning up the small spill, open all windows and doors to the outside in the room where the spill occurred to ventilate the area. Make sure you or anyone else does not walk through the mercury.

Clear the area to prevent spreading the spill by:

• Keeping children and pets away from the spill.
• Preventing anyone whose shoes have contacted mercury from taking their shoes beyond the spill area.
• Removing shoes and clothing that have contacted mercury and putting these items in two sealed plastic bags.
• Preventing mercury or mercury-containing items from being put in the trash or in a burn barrel.

Protect yourself from getting mercury on yourself and your clothing by:

• Wearing rubber gloves and safety goggles.
• Using plastic bags to cover your shoes or using disposable shoe cover booties. This way you can remove the booties or bags from your shoes instead of completely removing your shoes when you leave the room.

Do not pour or allow mercury to go down a drain and avoid washing mercury-contaminated items in a washing machine.

Mercury beads and vapors spread easily so follow these steps to prevent mercury spreading to a larger area:

• Place a barrier such as kitty litter, sand, or towels around the spill area.
• If you have it, use an amalgamating agent like powdered sulfur or zinc, on the spill. Amalgamating agents bind with the mercury, making it easier to clean up.
• Turn off heating, ventilation, or air conditioning (HVAC) systems and seal vents if you can. Close all doors to other parts of the house or spill site.
• Position a fan in a window that opens to the outside so the air blows out of the room to the outdoors.
• When the room with the mercury spill is not occupied, seal the door with plastic sheeting and tape to prevent mercury vapors from spreading.

Do not use a broom or vacuum to clean up mercury!

The filters in household and even high-efficiency vacuums will not remove mercury vapors. Instead, they will put more mercury into the air and contaminate the vacuum. If you already have used a vacuum to clean up a spill, carefully double-bag the vacuum, seal, and remove it from the building. Then call the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) for assistance: 800-943-0003.

Many cleanup supplies are available from hardware stores. The following are some common household articles that can be used for an in-home mercury cleanup kit:

For pick up:

• Eye dropper
• Syringe without needle
• Playing cards or index cards
• Powdered zinc or sulfur*
• Rubber squeegee
• Plastic dust pan

* Zinc and sulfur will bind with mercury reducing the amount of vapor. Sulfur will turn brown on contact with mercury.

For storage:

• Plastic container with lid
• Tray or box
• Plastic bags with zipper seal
• Trash bags
• Tape; wide, duct, or masking

For protection:

• Plastic sheeting
• Rubber gloves
• Booties or plastic bags
• Safety goggles

Step 1: Pick up visible mercury droplets using the supplies you gathered. Remember to never use a broom or vacuum to clean up the mercury droplets!

• Use a bright light to find any hidden droplets.
• Use a squeegee or index card and plastic dustpan to clean up any beads of mercury. Use the card to gently push the mercury droplets away from any carpet, fabric, or porous surfaces and toward other droplets to combine them into larger droplets.
• Slide the mercury onto an index card.
• Use an eyedropper or syringe to gather the drops of mercury if necessary. Tape can also be used to clean up any tiny remaining mercury droplets.

Step 2: Place picked up mercury into a plastic container.

• Place the mercury in a plastic jar or a small plastic zipper bag. Do not use a glass container since it can break.
• Fully zip the bag or tighten the plastic jar to securely contain liquid and vapors.
• Place the first plastic bag or the plastic container inside a second plastic bag for additional safety.

Step 3: Sprinkle powdered sulfur or zinc (if available)

• Powdered sulfur or zinc will bind to any remaining mercury that was missed in step 1. Powdered sulfur can often be purchased from garden supply stores and will turn brown when it contacts mercury. Powdered zinc and sulfur are also supplied in commercially available mercury spill cleanup kits.
• Sprinkle powdered sulfur or zinc over hard-to-reach areas, such as cracks and crevices to minimize releasing mercury into the air from missed droplets. Once used to collect mercury, the powder must be collected and disposed of following the same process you used in steps 1 and 2. 

Once you have cleaned up the small mercury spill, follow these next steps to make sure the spill area is safe. Remember to never put mercury or mercury-containing items in the trash, burn barrel, down the drain, or in a washing machine.

• Continue to air out the room where the spill occurred with outside air. Use a fan to blow air to the outside.
• Set aside everything that may be contaminated.
• Package any contaminated materials and label as “Mercury-Contaminated.” Specific labeling and disposal requirements may differ depending on whether the spill occurred in a household or a regulated business.

Consider removing carpet and other soft items.

• Carpet, rugs, and other soft items like furniture that had mercury on it may still be contaminated. You cannot vacuum these since vacuuming puts the mercury in the air, and breathing mercury is more harmful than touching mercury.
• Consider the amount of mercury that was spilled and the amount that was picked up. If you were not able to pick up all the mercury that spilled, consider who uses the room where the spill occurred. You may want to think about removing the carpet and discarding the soft items If young children or pregnant women use the room.
• Local health departments and spill response contractors may be able to monitor for the presence of mercury vapor on items, but private testing may be costly.
• Double wrap contaminated items in plastic trash bags if removing them.
• Do not burn or expose mercury-contaminated items to heat, as this will spread the mercury. Contact your local health department or DNR for proper disposal instructions.

Proper disposal of mercury is important to protect your health and the environment. Do not throw mercury-containing items in your household garbage, it’s best to find a recycling site near you that accepts items with mercury.

• Visit DATCP Clean Sweep Program collections for mercury and other household hazardous waste disposal options near you.
• Search “mercury” and your zip code on the Earth 911 recycling database to find a recycling site near you.
• Visit EPA storing, transporting, and disposing of mercury for information on how to prevent leaks and spills when packaging and transporting mercury-containing items to recycling sites.

Large spills, or more than 2 tablespoons, of mercury will need to be cleaned up by a professional.* Make sure you get a detailed report from any contractor you hire regarding the large mercury spill cleanup procedures they followed Remember that large mercury spills must be reported to the National Response Center at 800-424-8802.

North Shore Environmental
N117 W 18493 Fulton Drive
PO Box 367
Germantown, WI 53022
262-255-4468

Veolia Environmental Services
888-669-9725
National dispatch center number: 800-688-4005 or 877-722-2860

*Listing on this page is not an endorsement of any listed company's capabilities by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), nor does it imply preference over other companies not listed. The list is a resource to those interested in obtaining these specialized services, but not sure where to begin.

Cleanup kits* for mercury spills are useful for homeowners and business owners to have in the event of a small mercury spill.

Fisher Scientific
Customer Service
800-772-6733

Flinn Scientific
PO Box 219
Batavia, IL 60510
800-452-1261

Grainger Industrial Supply
800-GRAINGER

*Listing on this page is not an endorsement of any listed company's capabilities by DHS, nor does it imply preference over other companies not listed. The list is a resource to those interested in obtaining these specialized services, but not sure where to begin.