Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with mercury

how do you purge mercury from your body?

thermonuclear.jive.turkey — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 16:56:26 -0800

how do you purge mercury from your body? Hello,

Lately my consumption of sushi has ramped up. I'm starting to get concerned about how much of mercury I've probably accumulated in my body. (I do not show any symptoms of mercury poisoning, & AFAIK I think I still have a long way to get there).

However: is there a medically verified way to purge mercury from your body?

My google-fu tells me that if I had genuine mercury poisoning then a Dr. could give me perscription medication that purges mercury, and there are several drugs that can do this.

Short of that, however, my google-fu seems to indicate that there are a number of health-food type cures that assert that a particular vitamin/mineral/vegetable matter etc. remove mercury from your body. Now, the assertion may be correct, but it seems that many of these claims are made by web sites trying to sell you vitamins, or alternative-medicine sites that make me wonder if their claims are accepted by mainstream medicine...

So I ask: is there anything that is genuinely, widely agreed-upon by the medical profession, to remove mercury from one's body, short of perscription drugs?

What do you do with household mercury in India?

bookish — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 03:07:06 -0800

I would like to dispose of a thermometer that might contain mercury. What's the best way to do this, in India? I'm living in Jaipur, Rajasthan. My roommate bought a cheap thermometer a week ago, but the liquid has separated and it doesn't seem to be responding to the freezer. I'm not sure if it's mercury-- it has gray-black liquid and a silver bulb, and it's unmarked. I'd like to get rid of the damn thing, but I'm not sure how to do so responsibly here, especially if it is a mercury thermometer.

Municipal waste management seems to consist of a bunch of dumpsters scattered throughout town. People and animals go through these dumpsters pretty regularly to scavange, so it seems like tossing it there is a really bad idea. I've been looking for some info on hazardous waste in the city, but haven't found much, aside from this dispiriting article.

What's the best thing to do with a thermometer in these conditions?

Reasons for car heater to not blow hot air?

Houstonian — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 12:02:24 -0800

Need help from mechanics! Asking for a friend: On a 2005 Mercury Marquis, the air temperature control does not work. What could be the cause and possible ways to fix it? The air conditioner works fine -- it blows cold air. But, when we adjust the temperature to heat, the temperature stays cold and the heater does not get warm.

This has nothing to do with being in a super-cold environment (today it's in the 80s Fahrenheit).

How to deal with chemical warfare in my apartment building?

telegraph — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 14:28:15 -0800

Someone balanced a compact fluorescent lightbulb on my doorknob so that it would break inside my apartment when I opened the door. Can I do anything about this? Am I overreacting? I live in an apartment in a small building (9 units) in a major city. Sometime last night between 10 PM and 8 AM someone balanced a compact fluorescent lightbulb (CFL) on the doorknob of the external door of my apartment; the door opens inwards, so when I opened the door to leave this morning, the bulb was pulled into my unit and shattered (luckily not on my foot). Just so we're all on the same page here, note that CFLs contain a not insignificant amount of mercury, and require special disposal procedures.

I don't have any kind of relationship with the other tenants in the building so I really don't think this can be chalked up to "pranking" or anything like that. Also, there are no children or teens in the building -- as far as I can tell, at 21 I'm the youngest tenant. Normally I would say "wtf" and move on, but it upsets me greatly that now there's mercury in my apartment. I did my best to clean everything up (unfortunately in my haste I used both a broom and a vacuum, the two ways you are never supposed to clean up mercury, I learned later), but the fact remains that someone introduced a dangerous chemical into my home. Furthermore, since I can't see my doorknob from inside the apartment, there's nothing to stop whoever did this from doing it again.

What would you do in this situation? Should I tell my landlord or the property managers? Put a note on my door saying, I don't know, "dont put shit on my doorknob"? I don't even know. I'm completely flummoxed.

Question about mercury poisoning

unicazurn — Thu, 05 Feb 2009 10:21:28 -0800

The other day I accidentally stepped on a package of CFL lightbulbs, buried under a pile of clothing. When I looked at the package I saw that one of the light bulbs was broken, and noticed a small amount of powder escape while I was trying to dispose of it. Later I scoured the room but I couldn't see the powder anymore or find it on any of my clothing. I read online that if you get mercury on your clothing you're supposed to throw it out...but there was so much clothing on the floor that it would be a huge loss for me to throw all of it out, and I'm not sure where, or what amount, of mercury might have gotten on it. Do I have to throw out all the clothing it may have fallen on?

(I aired out the room, and put the package in a double garbage bag outside)

Best fish with the most omegas and least Hg

mateuslee — Wed, 14 Jan 2009 06:47:06 -0800

What is the tastiest seafood with the most omegas and the least mercury? I try to eat well, but always feel sort of lost in the fish department because I don’t know what to eat.

I want to find a fish (or seafood like shrimp, mussels, etc) that is easy to bake (can just be breaded and baked, for ex) and tasty, plus high in protein and omegas, but which has a low level of mercury and is safe to eat.

Is there a resource, for example, that charts mercury levels against omega content?

I live in the Netherlands, so this might limit some choices – and I rarely have time to go to the fresh fish market… so most of my food is bought in the supermarkets.

(Bachelor-friendly) recipes appreciated!

Help me save a friend from killer tuna

Acheman — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 14:28:31 -0800

I just found out that my friend is eating seven tins of tuna fish a week. I'm concerned about the levels of mercury he may be ingesting. He says he'll consider cutting down on the tuna if I can suggest an alternative that's high in protein, low in fat, not in need of refrigeration, portable and cheap. Any ideas? Any convincing arguments that my concern is groundless? This came about because he's asked me to do his online shopping for him, for reasons that are another story altogether. While I'm OK doing it, I'm not happy buying him enough tuna to poison himself with neurotoxins. I'm willing to consider evidence that this isn't in fact enough tuna to poison himself with neurotoxins.

Part of the problem seems to be that he is hearing about the risks at third hand - leading him to apportion them less weight - and isn't prepared to spend time investigating them himself. But he seems prepared to lower his consumption, if only to stop me from being so upset about it, so long as it doesn't have a significant impact on his lifestyle - bodybuilding (hence the high protein), dieting (hence the low fat) and not spending very much on food are all pretty central to him. I proposed nuts, for example, and he said they were too fatty and too dear. So: what's exactly like tuna, only safer?

What do you do with 3lbs. of mercury?

Flood — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 18:33:48 -0800

What do you do with 3lbs. of mercury? I have a friend who is an active scrapper. She is constantly collecting metals of all sorts, and periodically taking it all to the scrap yard, where she gets money for selling scrap metal. She is more than willing to dumpster dive to get a piece of copper or a few aluminum cans.

She works as a commercial cleaning woman, sometimes cleaning out buildings before and after construction.

She was recently cleaning out an old (semi-abandoned) 6 story building in Central Florida. One of the offices was once, a long time ago, a dentist's office. There, she found the mercury - 3lbs 2oz of the silvery liquid stuff. (Apparently, mercury was once used in dental fillings.)

She did not steal this mercury. She was given permission to take and scrap a lot of different metal from the building, while cleaning it out, getting the building ready to sell.

She initial thought the mercury would be valuable. She was very excited about her find. But, when she got to the scrap yard, they kind of freaked out. They told her it was a hazardous material, that she was crazy to carrying it around in a plastic bucket, and to take a hike.

OK, maybe she is not the brightest woman for taking this mercury, but now what does she do? The owner of the building refuses to take it back. The scrap yard seemed to indicate that she might have to pay money to dispose of it properly. Now, she is scared of it.

Her husband wants her to take it and just dump it in the woods - which seems to me to be a really dumb, and dangeruos idea. But, she is not going to pay money to dispose of it - she does not have much money to begin with.

It most have some value, right? What can she do with it? This is in Central Florida, along the I-4 corridor.

Any help would be appreciated.

How do I fix a thermometer if the mercury has separated?

odinsdream — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 09:46:38 -0800

How do I fix a thermometer when the mercury has separated? I purchased a freezer thermometer. After getting it home the mercury (or whatever liquid they use in them now) had separated near the top of the scale, so there are bands of air between bands of red.

I tried heating it up, but this just compresses the band separation, then it returns to normal.

Instructions online say the fix is to get it cold enough that all of the liquid is pulled into the bulb. This thermometer goes to at least -35F on the readable scale, and a little past that before it reaches the bulb, probably -50F from the looks of it.

How can I fix it? Alternatively - do you work with liquid nitrogen and would you like to fix my thermometer?

Swap out blower motor of 98 Mercury Mystique

charmston — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 14:04:46 -0800

I'm looking for detailed online directions to remove/change the blower motor from a 1998 Mercury Mystique (Ford Contour). I've checked the Contour Enthusiast Group and found nothing. Any suggestions?

Do I work in a toxic environment?

Tullyogallaghan — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:04:50 -0800

How unsafe is it to work in a warehouse filled with hundred + year old stuffed exhibits (buffalo, cougars, birds, snakes, etc.) It contains the archives of a natural history museum. One of the scientists there told me that, although they would like to get rid of some of these old specimens, no one would want them as they were taxidermed the old fashioned way with mercury and formaldehyde, etc. They, also, have a bar of radium from Madame Curie but its on a different floor. I've inquired as to how its packaged but I'd be surprised if its done properly in a lead box. I just read an article that made a connection with working around formaldehyde and ALS - my most feared disease. I only work (volunteer) there 2 days a week but am I in any danger doing so? Thanks

Is my car killing my stereo displays?

Uther Bentrazor — Mon, 07 Apr 2008 09:43:00 -0800

My car stereo display went blank, and it's not the first time. Is my car striking my car stereos blind? I drive a 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis. When I got it last January, the display on the stock radio was blank, but otherwise functioned normally. Shortly afterward, I bought and installed a new stereo, a Kenwood KDC MP632U to be exact. It came with a wiring harness and instructions etc. (I don't know a whole hell of a lot about a car's electrical system, but I have installed car stereo equipment before, and can match wires to other wires).

I suspected there might be electrical problems, or something amiss, as the cigarette lighter outlet didn't seem to work, but I never used it for anything so I didn't pay much attention. Everything else worked fine so I didn't really bother.

However, a few months ago during a particularly cold day, the stereo display took a bit longer than usual to come up. I assumed it had something to do with the temperature's effect on the LCD, but the blankout became intermittent before finally giving up altogether.

I checked the car's fuse box, and tested all of the fuses, even replacing one that appeared to be dead, and the stereo display came back to life, but went blank again shortly thereafter. I checked all the fuses again, even the one on the back of the head unit itself, but they all read normal. I went in and double checked the wiring, and I couldn't see anything obviously wrong (exposed copper, loose wire, etc) so I'm concerned it might be something deeper within the vehicle somewhere.

It should be noted that the Kenwood stereo functions completely normal, and even the blue and red lights on the face work, just not the actual readout, so I have to operate it blindly.

I wouldn't be terribly opposed to buying a new stereo altogether, but I fear that the same issue would arise again, and I don't wish to spend $100+ to test it out.

I feel like I'm missing something, or there's something basic that my ignorance of automotives is preventing me from seeing. Help me, fellow MeFites!

(note, this question, while similar sounding, is different from my last question on the topic, which was resolved)

It...it...flam - flames. Flames, on the side of my car, heaving...breath...insurance.

quakerjono — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 10:55:05 -0800

My car spontaneously combusted. Please help me avoid getting burned by the insurance company! Of all the values out there, which one is the closest to what they insurance company will offer me, which one should I be aiming for and how should I go about getting it? While joining friends for dinner on Leap Day 2008, my car literally burst into flames in the restaurant's parking lot for no obvious reason. I had taken my beloved 2001 Mercury Sable LS Premium, with CD changer, leather interior and moonroof into Midas at the beginning of February to replace the battery and get an oil change. They did their standard little once-over as well and said everything was in good shape, so I was stunned on several levels as I watched the fireman light his cigarette from the smoldering wreckage that used to be my car's hood. What's worse is I bought the car used in 2003 and still have around $3,000 on the 6-year loan.

After spending the weekend in mourning, I set about trying to find out how much I could reasonably expect from Progressive. I checked listings with Edmunds, Kelly Blue Book, NADA and through local car trader papers. I'm left with quite a range of figures (everything from around $3,585 for Edmunds' general trade-in value for 2001 Mercury Sables to $6,925 for NADA's retail value for the car with my specific options) and I'm not sure which ones are most accurate. I realize, since half the car looks like a bombed out apocalyptic nightmare, full retail value is out of the question. Bare-bones trade-in seems shockingly low, though, particularly given the extras the car had and how much care I lavished on it. I even have the maintenance records...or rather, I had them...in my glove box...which was attached to the dashboard...which the firemen impaled on their axe and hurled seemingly halfway across the parking lot.

This is the first time I've filed a claim with Progressive in the three years I've had them, and so far, they've been great. I filed Saturday morning, they called me back by 9 am the same day, I spoke with my specific claims adjuster this morning at 8:45 am and within a couple of hours has been contacted by Enterprise to let me know Progressive had my $40/day rental car reservation ready to go. So I'm hopeful they won't low-ball me, but I'm not even sure how I'll know if I'm getting a fair deal. Also, they'll only pay for three days of car rental after they tell me how much they're offering me so I don't have a lot of time to weigh options. While I can do without a car for awhile, longer than a couple of weeks becomes impractical to say the least.

How do I know what's a reasonable amount to aim for from Progressive and, if I think I'm being low-balled, how might I negotiate and increase in the offer?

Broken compact fluorescent bulb

LobsterMitten — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 02:07:06 -0800

I broke a compact fluorescent light bulb in my bedroom. Rudimentary cleanup, but I'm must go to bed, and my husband's already asleep in there. I saw the scary "leave the room for 15 minutes" mercury warnings on the government cleanup page. Anybody know the science? How bad is this? Some shards in the carpet. I've cleaned up the shards I could, probably still dust in the carpet; I've opened a window. Suggestions for more cleanup in the morning? Range of "how bad is this"? If it's bad, what will happen (what should we watch for)? No kids or pets involved.

Pascal's wager for mercury homeopathy?

meijusa — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 05:59:19 -0800

just got some amalgam tooth fillings removed, do I really need the (homeopathic) selenium and zinc my dentist prescribed to get the mercury out of my system? Thing is, I just don't believe in homeopathy and asked a pharmacist about a regular supplement, but she didn't think that would be necessary. So, what should I take? Nothing? Supplements? Homeopathic sugar pills?

What is wrong with the MIGHTY MERCURY?

ForeverDcember — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 11:35:30 -0800

What is going on with my 1998 Mercury Sable? I have a 1998 Mercury Sable with about 78,000 miles on it. Lately, and very, very randomly I have had a problem. Every once in a while (and only when it rains) I will back out of my parking place at work at 5:30pm and get to the stop sign when the battery light comes on and the steering locks up. The radio and air conditioner are still on and the engine is still running. After about a 45 seconds (long enough for me to curse and say "what is going on here.. rawr!") the light goes off and I can steer/drive again like normal. No other issues with the car. Less than 150 miles ago we had a full check up done on it with no issues. Any ideas as to what is going on? The car is running fine otherwise. This only happens about once every other week and ONLY when it rains (weird and probably not relevant). Thanks in advance for all the help :)

Bizarre IMAP mail server setup

BigSky — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 14:17:10 -0800

I want to run a mail server on my computer so that I can feed email from different POP accounts into an IMAP account. The weird part is I don't care to access by IMAP over the web, but I do want to POP it into GMail. Confused? Me too. Since I'm not so good with the HTML, I'm going to give you this address in text: http://lifehacker.com/software/gmail/import-old-emails-into-gmail-with-gmail-loader-245457.php

I want to backup all of my old email from five different accounts to my GMail. With a program like GMail Loader some of the fields, like From: and Date: display incorrectly. It seems the only way to do this where all the metadata will stay intact is to upload it first to an IMAP account and then POP it to GMail. I purchased an IMAP account but I keep getting error messages when I try and upload my messages to that account. After half a dozen tech support emails and a couple of hours on the phone I would like to try another solution before going back to pounding my head against the desk with customer service.

I want to follow Tomasso's plan. In his comment here, he seems to be saying that you can run an email server off of the same computer your email client is on, and that the server can hold the messages in an IMAP account, which you can then use GMail Fetcher from inside of GMail to pick up. First questions. Do I understand that right? When he is saying local server he means that the same computer can be used as the one I have Thunderbird on, not a different computer on the network?

Next questions. Assuming I've got that right, how do I make this work? I appreciate Tomasso laying this all out but I need a bit more detail. I've got the Mercury mail server downloaded and running, but I can't figure out how to set up an account in it. Considering I'm running into these issues at step 2, if you foresee future difficulties, let me have your insight.

How is the Climate Control wired in a Mercury?

Uther Bentrazor — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 11:03:37 -0800

I'm installing an aftermarket stereo in my 2000 Mercury Grand Marquis, and now the Climate Control won't turn on. I wired the wiring harness as specified in the instructions, and connected everything, however, there were 2 plugs left over from the car side. I presume one of them has something to do with the Climate Control display, but I have no way to be sure.

I didn't force anything or do anything that would otherwise damage the interior of the car. I am tempted to put the stock radio back in and take it to Best Buy, but I'd hate to pay $50+ for what may just amount to be one wire.

I've been searching Google all morning and have scoured countless dated forums, but the depth of the answers I've received is "use a wiring harness". I've done that, but i'm missing something. Any help would be appreciated!

caveat: I can install junk in computers, but I know virtually nothing about cars.

Mercury Poisoning

monkeyforest — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 08:12:01 -0800

Looking for a historical example of someone trying to build up an immunity to mercury poisoning (and obviously failing dismally). I seem to remember reading a story of a famous historical figure (I think it may have been a military figure) who was so paranoid about being posioned with mercury, they ingested a small amount of the substance each day to try and build up a tolerance or immunity to the toxic element. Who was it? My google-fu has failed me on this occasion!

Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

crazycanuck — Tue, 10 Oct 2006 09:58:36 -0800

Pregnant women are advised to get the flu vaccine. Pregnant women are also advised to avoid mercury. The vast majority of the flu vaccine stock available in the US contains thimerosol. Should a pregnant woman get vaccinated with a flu vaccine that contains thimerosol? Does your answer vary depending on the stage of pregnancy? Bonus question: if you think the woman should get vaccinated, do you also think that she should avoid tuna sandwiches? How much risk is too much risk when it comes to mercury exposure?

Mercury: Just lookin' for a good time.

eli_d — Tue, 22 Aug 2006 13:49:08 -0800

What are some fun and creative things to do with mercury, & when I'm done how do I dispose of it?!? Alright, I just took apart an old thermostat and have found a little glass tube of mercury. It looks like it'd be really fun to play with. Now I already know what to do, if I spill it, but I'm not really worried about that. So, please... any creative ideas would be great.

Also, I live in a small town that only has Hazardous materials collection twice a year. Should I feel guilty about tossing this thing in the trash, instead of having it sit around in my closed for a few months?

Mercury in ancient Cosmetics?

SpecialK — Sat, 15 Apr 2006 13:12:59 -0800

Did the greeks, romans, and egyptians actually use cosmetics with a mercury content? I can find a lot of popular articles that state that the romans and greeks and egyptians used cosmetics with a mercury base. But all of those references lead me in a circle; there doesn't seem to be a core article that stated what they used it in, why they used it, etc.

My hypothesis: The origin of that circle seems to be a misunderstanding of an article that stated that egyptian lipstick dye was made from a type of fennel; in herbology, fennel was a 'mercurial' plant, a category that includes all plants with frondish leaves, like Fennel, Speedwell, Lavender, etc... which in ancient herbology were said to have healing powers and worked within Mercury's domain, which was the mind. I think that the articles that say that cosmetics generally had a mercury content were incorrect, but I can't prove it. Can you help me prove or disprove this hypothesis?

This is for curiousity's purposes only, and for correcting some wikipedia articles. I don't need citations, and indeed didn't keep the ones I'd turned up all day. But it's been bugging me all day, especially when I read another reference to 'mercurial cosmetics' that's interpreted as 'cosmetics containing mercury' instead of 'made from a mercurial herb'.

Broken thermometer

jrossi4r — Thu, 23 Mar 2006 13:45:27 -0800

I just broke a glass thermometer and can't find the mercury. Help! I dropped a glass thermometer, which broke into pieces. According to the manual that came with it, it was a mercury thermometer. Unfortunately, I can't find the mercury to clean it up. Some of the glass pieces landed on the wood floor and some landed on the rug, so it could be on either surface.

Is there any way I can find it? What's the best way to clean the rug and the floor if I don't? So far, the only thing googling has told me consistently is that I shouldn't vacuum.

Whether to replace amalgam fillings

lilybeane — Mon, 20 Feb 2006 11:13:40 -0800

DentalFilter: Anybody else have their amalgam fillings replaced because they're old--NOT because you were worried about their possible harmfulness? So I've heard both sides of the controversy about whether amalgam fillings cause any harm because of the mercury they contain. My dentist told me that the anti-amalgam people are ridiculous and that no research has proven their claims--but he wants me to get my amalgam fillings all replaced just the same because he says they're too old (most are about 15 years old). I've researched online and haven't found many cases in which people get their amalgam fillings replaced with the white stuff simply because their fillings were old. His argument is that they start to recede and, because bacteria can then enter the cavity, new decay starts. This is going to cost me quite a bit of money (yeah, so I ate a lot of candy as a kid) and gain him quite a bit of money so I'm a tad skeptical. Or maybe I'm just looking for reasons to avoid dreaded dental work. Anybody else had theirs replaced because of age?

On the Destruction of Our Neighboring Planets

TwelveTwo — Sat, 24 Dec 2005 02:42:59 -0800

Given our current state of technology and the world's nuclear armaments, I ask the question that the world needs an answer to: Could we destroy Mars? How about Mercury? Could we even take down a gas giant or is that going too far? Which local planetary bodies could we possible annihilate? I am also curious about the repercussions of such actions. (Bonus: What about the astrological effects?)

Take your time, I seek accuracy bordering on technical pedantry!