Patient's question:
Doctor, hello. I would like to ask, is the mercury in the thermometer toxic and harmful to babies?Doctor's answer:
A mercury thermometer, when measuring body temperature, may break due to improper use, causing the metallic mercury to vaporize and disperse in the air. The maximum allowable concentration of metallic mercury in the air is typically 0.01 mg/m3. Under normal circumstances, exposure to an environment with a mercury concentration of 1.2-8 mg/m3 can quickly cause poisoning. A single mercury thermometer contains 1g of mercury. If it breaks and falls onto a 15m2 floor, if the mercury completely vaporizes, the concentration of mercury in the indoor air can reach 22 mg/m3. This figure far exceeds the allowable standard and poses a serious threat to human health.