Mercury

[Sam Thompson]

A friend has just moved into a new workshop and has inherited from the previous owner (who repaired barometers) a couple of bottles of mercury, about 1/4 of a pint. Is it valuable and does anyone know who's likely to be interested in it? There's no provenance or documentation.

[beth]

hi sam- i would like it if its not worth too much! seriously - i love the stuff... let me know when he finds out the value not sure how easy it would be to try to buy elsewhere so please let me know ! thanks :)

[SteveW]

Be very careful with it chaps it is very very toxic, not just the material, but the fumes too.


Steve : in Granny sucking eggs mode.....

[Sam Thompson]

Hi Beth, I'll ask him and pm you.

Yes, Steve I know it's dangerous although they used to let us chase it around on the benches at school 40 years ago. I believe the soluble forms are nasty, the pure metal less so.

[aquamanlr]

Sam
Mercury is a heavy metal, and it is some of the causes of cancer amonge other things.

IF YOU ARE GOING TO USE IT, PLEASE WEAR PROTECTION GEAR. IT CAN BE ABSORBED THROUGH THE SKIN.

It is one of the things that people was trying to get out of the gound and streams, but now the light buld industrey is using it in the new save energy bulbs. Rember they was trying to get rid of flouresent light bulbs because of the mercury that they containd. The new energy savers has 4 times as much mercury in them as flouresents.

Mercury is still used in prospecting. If you know of places that sell prospecting equipment, they might have some on hand. It is not very expencive.

LeeRoy

[SteveW]

So did I many years ago Sam it was the highlight of otherwise boring chemistry lessons

My step son wasn’t so lucky though, he and a friend stole a flask of mercury from the school lab and played with it around the school during the lunch break. Once the teachers found out the school was evacuated and all soft furnishings carpets chairs etc had to be removed and replaced by a firm of hazardous materials specialists. They were lucky not to get expelled. Times change eh… ;)

[781]

As a child we used to go to my grandparants place and play with mercury.
We would push it around pick it up with our hands ect the eat fried chiken with out washing our hands.

Several years ago in Minnesota some kids broke into a buisness stole some mercury then took it home to the trailer park. They brought in a hazmat clean up crew and had the trailer park closed for weeks until they finished the clean up. I think it was only a few OZ of mercury

Times have changed
Of course I remember 28 cent a gal gas and once bought a 25# little giant hammer for $5

[dimenickel]

25lb LG for 5... i only wish... wow


mercury is quite interesting.. and i thought it was gettin harder and harder to get..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minamata_disease



i also remember a particular school teacher putting it on her desk and showing the class how it balled up and rolled around.....

Sam... i'd tell your friend to make sure his shop is very well ventilated

oh.. and never ship the stuff by air... mercury loves aluminum


take care
Greg

[bigfootnampa]

My googling is not real clear but seems to suggest that the type mercury that you have (pretty pure but no lab type certification)would be worth somewhere around $6 to $7 per pound or less. It's a problem to ship so best to find a local buyer. Some specialty scrap dealers will buy it. Craigslist or a similar venue might be a good solution.

[pkrankow]

I was getting $1 per thermostat/mercury switch when I was doing some remodeling/handyman work in college. I think I switched out a couple dozen devices for several of my profs. I graduated in 2000.

Phil

[keithgartner]

My recollection, is $67.00 @ lb, US, in 1998. I played with it as a youngster also, and I'm only half as "mad as a hatter". Keith

[pkrankow]

I have a friend who's dad makes daguerreotype photographic images. A polished and prepared silver plate is exposed then developed with mercury to show an image. Traditionally the mercury was heated to vaporize, the vapor would condense on the silver to develop the image. He was using a vacuum process to increase the relative concentration of the mercury vapor at much lower temperatures, IIRC: room temperatures.

Slick things have been done with mercury, but care in handling is very important.

Phil

[ThomasPowers]

I think seriously about scrapping it rather than increasing my personal liability!

[Sam Thompson]

Thanks for all he advice; I should make it clear: It's not mine. It's not on my property. Neither I nor my mate have any intention of opening the bottles. If anyone wants it I will put them in touch with the owner.

[beth]

i must say we all used to play with it at school too... another thing i can say about it is that not that long ago my 4 yr old bit the end off a beer themometer , glass mercury and all..... so i phoned NHS direct straight away in a panic, ( which is uk version of instant phone doctor) and i was assured that contrary to popular belief it is only dangerous when breathed in vapour/fume ,and swallowed like she did would simply go straight through her.. and she came to no harm thank goodness. so all that rolling it around in your palm is apparently not so bad as we were told... probably not ideal to drink it non the less sam i would still like it if its easy enough to post!

[Sam Thompson]

I'm still trying to get hold of him, I'll pm you when I've spoken to him. I don't think it's postable... It weighs a ton (when I first tried to pick up the bottle I thought it was stuck to the shelf!). Ludlow's not too far from Gloucestershire; if it's any help, I occasionally go to Ledbury.

[pkrankow]

13.5 g/CC (or so) X 1/2 pint or 250CC=3375g, or 3.3 kg

in rough numbers.

That's 7 1/2 pounds for us Americans.

Phil

[Rob Browne]

Mercury is very dangerous but its mainly the vapour that gets you. Its a heavy metal and really affects your central nervous system when inhaled or absorbed through the skin, to a lesser but still significant extent). Its use in laboratories is strictly controlled and any spill is treated with great respect.

Sure we used to roll it around in our hands when we were kids but here we are hittin hot steel instead of sending rockets to Jupiter.

Take all the warning seriously!

[Sweany]

I remeber reading a outdoor life adventure book when I was in 5th grade.
There was a mountain lion terrorizing the country and the hero of the story drilled out his bullets filled them with mecury and capped them with wax.

I always remember that when someone tells me mercury is dangerous.

[njanvilman]

Weren't mercury filled bullets also used in "Day of the Jackel"? I seem to recall the assasin modifying bullets in that manner.

[Sask Mark]

When I worked in a lab we had a mercury spill kit that consisted of a vaccuum pump that sucked the spill into a water filled jar where it was kept until disposal. The water prevented the release of mercury vapours. We finally switched over to alcohol thermometers with the exception of our calibrated reference thermometers which were only used occasionally for standardization and verification of the alcohol thermometers.

[NeatGuy]

Black powder people like it to remove lead from the barrels of their firearms. if you want to dispose of it they may be a good source.

brad

[Sweany]

I pulled this off the web.

Other physical properties:

Mercury freezing point: -38.72 degrees C

Mercury boiling point: 357 degrees C

Mercury density 13.6

So mercury vapor will not occur until it reaches 357C.?

Maybe some mechanical thrashing could produce vapors?

Mecury doesn't sound that vaporous to me. ?? is it?

[Sask Mark]

There will almost always be some vapours. The boiling point is where all the mercury would be vapourized.

You can relate it to humidity in the air. The water isn't 100 degrees celcius(or whatever the boiling point is for the elevation/pressure of your location) yet there is always some humidity in the air.

[BIGGUNDOCTOR]

At the Exploratorium in San Francisco they had one exhibit that used mercury. The display had a tub that was about 24" IIRC that was filled with mercury. The tub had a motor to spin it, and as you turned up the rheostat it slung the mercury out by centrifugal force. What that did was change the shape of the mirrored surface of the mercury, and the image of you as you looked into it. Must have been at least 100# in that display.

You can check the spot metal prices for value. It is usually listed for a 76# flask. I have a few pounds that I have salvaged out of switches, etc over the years.