Never use an ordinary vacuum cleaner to clean up mercury. The vacuum cleaner will release mercury vapor into the air and increase exposure. The vacuum cleaner will also be contaminated and must be thrown away.

Never use a broom to clean up mercury. It will break the mercury into smaller droplets and spread them.

Never pour mercury down a drain. It may cause plumbing problems and cause pollution of the septic tank or sewage treatment plant.

Never wash mercury-contaminated items in a washing machine. Mercury may contaminate the machine and pollute sewage.

Never walk around if your shoes might be contaminated with mercury. Contaminated clothing can also spread mercury around.

1. Have everyone leave the room. Do not let them walk through the breakage area.
2. Open windows and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.
3. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system to the affected area.
4. Put on rubber, nitrile, or latex gloves.
5. Use duct tape to pick up small pieces of glass and powder.
6. Carefully scoop up glass pieces and powder using stiff paper or cardboard.
7. Wipe hard surfaces clean with a damp paper towel or wet wipe.
8. Soft material such as clothing can be washed as long as it did not come into direct contact with the broken materials. If it did, it can be disposed of in the same manner as the glass and powder materials.
9. Place all materials in a sealed hard container.
10. Immediately place all cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area.
11. Wash your hands.
12. Check to see if your community has a household hazardous waste program. If not, check with your local landfill to see how to dispose of the material.
13. Mercury is not easily removed from carpets or rugs, so disposal is often the best solution.

The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming. Keep the systems off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming. After vacuuming the area for the first time, remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag and dispose of in the same manner as the cleanup material.

Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFL) contain an average of 4 milligrams of mercury, about enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. Therefore, different precautions should be taken when cleaning up a spill from a thermometer or a larger source of mercury than from a CFL.

1. Have everyone leave the room. Do not let them walk through the breakage area.
2. Open windows and leave the room for at least 15 minutes.
3. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system to the affected area.
4. Put on rubber, nitrile, or latex gloves.
5. Place a paper towel in a hard container. Pick up any broken pieces of glass or sharp objects and transfer them to the paper towel in the container. Seal and label the container.
6. Locate visible mercury beads. Use a squeegee or cardboard to gather mercury beads in one location. Use slow sweeping motions to keep mercury from becoming uncontrollable. Take a flashlight, hold it at a low angle close to the floor in a darkened room, and look for additional glistening beads of mercury that may be sticking to the surface or in small cracked areas of the surface. Mercury can move surprising distances on hard flat surfaces, so inspect the entire room when searching.
7. Dampen a paper towel and place it in a hard container. Use an eyedropper to collect or draw up the mercury beads and squeeze mercury onto the paper towel. Seal and label the container.
8. After you remove larger beads, use duct tape to collect smaller hard-to-see beads. Place the tape in a hard container. Seal and label the container.
9. Place all materials used with the cleanup, including gloves and sealed containers, in a trash bag. Secure trash bag and label it.
10. If the spill occurs on carpet or a rug, disposing of the rug or area of contaminated carpet may be required.  Mercury is not easily removed from carpets or rugs, so disposal is often the best solution to ensuring the mercury is properly cleaned up.
11. If you choose not to clean up the spill yourself, you may want to request the services of a contractor. Call DEQ or your local health district to inquire about contractors in your area and to verify what monitoring equipment should be used.
12. Remember to keep the area well ventilated to the outside for at least
    24 hours after your successful cleanup. Continue to keep pets and children out of the cleanup area. If sickness occurs, seek medical attention immediately. View information on the health effects of exposure to vapors from mercury. For additional information on health effects, see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry’s Mercury Fact Sheet.

1. Have everyone leave the room. Do not let them walk through the breakage area.
2. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system to the affected area.
3. Open windows to vent vapors, shut all doors to other parts of the house, and leave the area.
4. Call 911 to activate Idaho’s Emergency Response Network, which consists of state and local agencies (including designated DEQ regional office personnel), and, if necessary, federal agencies.
5. If the spill is greater than 1 pound (2 tablespoons), also call the National Response Center (NRC) at (800) 424-8802. Any time 1 pound or more of mercury is released to the environment, it is mandatory to call the NRC.