A Clean, Quick, Salvageable Method for Treating Mercury Spills The masking taps-blotter technique for dealing with mercury spills [DeNardis and Maslanka,
J. CHEM. EDUC., 50, 336 (1973)l and the usual method of dusting with sulfur both suffer from the disadvantages of being time-consuming and rendering the mercury unusable. The best method the author has found far dealing with either large or small mercury spills is to add a small amount of a Dry lee-acetone mixture to the mercury. Within seconds the mercury is frozen solid and may then simply he picked up and placed in an appropriate container. When the mercury has melted, it is ready for use (for certain applications) or for purification.
Florida Technological University Orlando, Florida 32816
Volume 50, Number 11, November 1973
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