Has mercury been banned in thermometers?
Has mercury been banned in thermometers, including cooking thermometers? If so, when?
How do you know if your thermometer has mercury?
My thermometer has red in the center of a glass tube? Is it mercury?
How do you safely dispose of these thermometers?
Thank you!
Tags: glass tube, mercury, thermometer, thermometers
Filed under: Cooking Thermometers | Apr 2nd, 2010.
Mercury hasn't officially been banned, but it is known to be highly toxic and hazardous. Most laboratories will try to avoid using them, but there are times when Hg (mercury) thermometers are needed. Your thermometer, that is red contains 'red alcohol' and not mercury. Unfortunately there is no way to get rid of mercury, because the halflife is something like 5000 years. But there are mercury clean up kits, and thats the easiest way to dispose of it.