Mercury thermometer exchange program expands

An award-winning program that has replaced hundreds of mercury thermometers in campus labs with non-mercury alternatives has been expanded to include residential users.

Campus community members can bring in mercury thermometers to the Environmental Safety Facility at 480 Oak Road and exchange them for free digital thermometers. Environmental Health and Safety (EH&S) and the City of Palo Alto Regional Water Quality Control Plant are program sponsors.

Mercury, a potent neurotoxin to people and wildlife, is a major polluter of the San Francisco Bay. Much of the mercury contamination in the bay comes from past gold and mercury mining (19th-century gold miners depended on quicksilver, or mercury, to process gold), but household items like thermometers, fluorescent lights and thermostats also are significant sources of mercury contamination.

To prepare a mercury thermometer for exchange, put it in its case and then place the case in two plastic bags; seal or tie off the bags so that the mercury will be contained if the thermometer breaks. One digital thermometer will be provided per household. (Only mercury thermometers are eligible for exchange; thermometers containing red or blue fluid do not contain mercury and cannot be exchanged for a digital thermometer.)

To schedule an appointment to exchange a mercury thermometer, contact Heather Perry, an environmental engineer with EH&S, at 723-1308. Information about mercury recycling is available at www.cityofpaloalto.org/cleanbay/mercury.html.