Mercury Spills The standard technique in dealing with small mercury spills is t o dust with sulfur and later sweep. The fraction of mercury converted t o sulfide is relatively stable and thus rendered harmless. Recently while preparing some Charles' Law tubes we were presented with a spillage problem. At hand was a fresh roll of two inch white masking tape. We found that the mercury globules (including fairly large ones) adhere quite well when the tape is manipulated like a blotter. The used pieces of tape can be deposited on a sheet of paper. After clean-up the paper may he folded, bound withadditional tape and disposed of per individual lab policy. Robert L. DeNardis Robert Maslanka Williamsville South High School Williamsville, New York 14221
336 /Journal of Chemical Education
