Sustainable Hospitals - Mercury Information Package

Mercury Reduction
Best Management Practices for
Mercury-containing Products in the Hospital
Fever Thermometers

Take-home thermometers
If some units of the hospital send thermometers home with their patients, hand out mercury-free thermometers. The take-home thermometer might be digital, chemical strips or a glass thermometer filled with a non-mercury liquid metal alloy. The use of a mercury-free alternative will prevent the release of mercury into the environment when the family breaks or otherwise discards the thermometer.

If an alternative has not yet been evaluated and chosen, and mercury thermometers must be distributed in the meantime, educate patients about how to recycle the mercury after a thermometer has been broken or if one is to be discarded. This can be done most easily by handing out written information with the thermometer. This information should also be available at the hospital's information desk.

Keep mercury thermometers out of
red bags and sharps containers
Mercury volatilizes easily. When a mercury thermometer has been placed in a red bag or sharps container that is incinerated or autoclaved, the mercury becomes a gas and enters the air. Mercury that has vaporized in an autoclave may also condense along with the steam and enter wastewater. Mercury thermometers should not be placed in red bags or sharps containers, even in an isolation unit. The hospital's protocol for isolation units should make it clear that thermometers can be removed from the unit as long as they are disinfected first.

Recycling/disposal of
mercury-containing thermometers
Develop a procedure for discarding mercury thermometers. The thermometers could be placed at a collection station that is convenient for nursing personnel and that is designated specifically for the temporary storage of hazardous materials. Make a container available at the collection station for the thermometers and label it clearly. The container could be emptied or picked up on a regular basis or on an as-needed basis, according to the instructions of the hazardous waste management coordinator.

Develop a protocol for the cleanup of a broken mercury thermometer and for transport of the spilled mercury to the designated hazardous waste collection point.

Best
Management Practices

Fever Thermometers

Sphygmomanometers

Gastrointestinal Tubes

Dental Amalgam and Mercury

Laboratory Chemicals

Pharmaceutical Products

Cleaners and Degreasers

Batteries

Lamps

Electrical Equipment

Thermostat Probes in Gas Appliances