Julie Ortega's List: Mercury Research

• The term mercurius was first employed about the 6th century by alchemists who used the symbol for the planet Mercury to represent the metal, which because of its mobile form and its color, was called "quicksilver".
• was found in tubes in Egyptian tombs dated from 1500 B.C.
• only common metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures.
• poor conductor of heat
• easily forms alloys with many metals, such as gold, silver, and tin, and these alloys are called amalgams.
• Amalgams are used extensively in dentistry for fillings.
• Methyl mercury is a lethal pollutant found in rivers and lakes.
• is a virulent poison and is readily absorbed through the respiratory tract, the gastrointestinal tract, or through unbroken skin.
• The danger increases at higher temperatures; so It is therefore important that mercury be handled with
• • care.
    
  • Containers
• Mercury should only be handled in a well-ventilated area.
• The appearance of mercury is well known because of its use in many thermometers.
• , this method forms the basis of commercial extraction.

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• It   exists in several forms: elemental or metallic mercury, inorganic mercury   compounds, and organic mercury compounds
• cannot create or   destroy mercury
• a liquid metal, sometimes referred to   as quicksilver that volatizes readily
• element in the earth's crust.
• to   make products like thermometers, switches, and some light bulbs.
• found in many rocks including coal.
• When coal is burned,  mercury is released into the environmen
• Exposure to mercury. Mercury in the air eventually  settles into water or onto land where it can be washed into water.  Once deposited, certain microorganisms can change it into methylmercury,   a highly toxic form that builds up in fish, shellfish and animals that   eat fish. Fish and shellfish are the main sources of methylmercury   exposure to humans. Methylmercury builds up more in some types of fish   and shellfish than others. The levels of methylmercury in fish and   shellfish depend on what they eat, how long they live and how high   they are in the food chain.
• Mercury exposure  at high levels can harm the brain, heart, kidneys, lungs, and  immune system of people of all ages
• most people's  fish consumption does not cause a health concern
• high levels of methylmercury in the bloodstream  of unborn babies and young children may harm the developing nervous  system
• making the child  less able to think and learn
• methylmercury's  harmful  effects on these animals include death, reduced reproduction, slower  growth and development, and abnormal behavio
• EPA issues regulations that require industry to reduce mercury releases to air and water and to properly treat and dispose of mercury wastes

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• rarely occurs free in nature and is found mainly in cinnabar ore (HgS) in Spain and Italy.
• is a fair conductor of electricity.
• The most important salts are mercuric chloride HgC1₂ (corrosive sublimate - a violent poison), mercurous chloride Hg₂Cl₂ (calomel, occasionally still used in medicine), mercury fulminate (Hg(ONC)₂, a detonator used in explosives), and mercuric sulphide (HgS, vermillion, a high-grade paint pigment).
• Mercury vapour should not exceed 0.1 mg m^-3 in air.
• The danger increases at higher temperatures
• Small amounts of mercury spillage can be cleaned up by addition of sulphur powder
• The crude mercury is then washed with nitric acid and treated with air in order to remove impurities as oxides or into solution

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