Mercury Management for Plumbers
Mercury is very toxic in its elemental form. Symptoms of toxicity include nervousness, nausea, diarrhea, eye and skin iratation and confusion. Long term effects include lung, kidney, brain and nervous system damages. To prevent mercury exposure, precautions should be taken when handling instruments containing mercury.
Plumbers traditionally use pressure gauges (manometer) that are filled with mercury and are easily broken. Nowadays, there are many alternatives to the traditional manometers and plumbers are encouraged to replace them with the ones without mercury as the indicator. Information is available about the safety measures to take in using and disposing of the manometers and available alternatives should you decide to replace them.