Newscripts
Curating quirky science since 1943
When a bar rag just won’t cut it
aren’t that surprising, Wozniak says. And it doesn’t help that people tend to underestimate its health effects, which typically come from chronic exposure. Spills, however, can result in long-term person walks into a bar carrying exposure if the challenging and expensive cleanups aren’t handled properly. What’s a jar filled with more than 5 kg more, spillage can release quicksilver of mercury. into the environment, where it can Although we wish we accumulate and remain a threat, says could follow that sentence with a Noelle Eckley Selin, who studies punch line, this actually happened persistent pollutants at Massain Armstrong, Iowa, in 2012. And chusetts Institute of Technology. it gets worse. The jar spilled. For example, the element Thankfully, nobody was hurt, can build up in seafood as toxic but it took Environmental Protecmethylmercury in some ecosystion Agency contractors a week to tems. “Mercury doesn’t just go fully clean the spill. Among the reaway,” she says. “Smaller spills mediation highlights, workers had certainly do add up.” to remove the bar’s flooring and Little brown As for what motivates someone treat several appliances in one of jugs—like to bring 5 kg of the glittery subthe patron’s houses as hazardous this one from stance into a bar, Wozniak doesn’t waste, including the washer, dryTheodore er, and vacuum cleaner. Gray’s personal hazard a guess. But the polymath A group of public health officollection—are Theodore Gray—who gave Oliver Sacks about 4.5 kg of mercury to be used as cials earlier this year wrote about college football on the famed neurologist’s 80th this and several other mercury birthday—shares some insight on trophies, spills, cluing the Newscripts gang that front. not mercury into just how often people acci“I can totally see myself docontainers. dentally—and avoidably—expose ing that,” he tells Newscripts themselves to this neurotoxic elof bringing a jug of mercury into a bar. “I ement (Morb. Mortal. Wkly. Rep. 2017, DOI: don’t know why that guy did it, but if I did, 10.15585/mmwr.mm6610a3). The authors it would be to let people experience the counted more than 60 nonthermometer mind-blowing density of mercury spills in five states mercury.” Five kilos of between 2012 and 2015. mercury is less than two Corresponding author cups, he explains. For comRyan J. Wozniak tells us parison, two cups of water that he and his colleagues has a mass of about 500 g. cataloged these cases to Gray, however, knows raise awareness about the how to handle his ooze. liquid metal. He stores mercury in “We find that many thick-walled, rubber-coatpeople still have old jars ed, shatterproof reagent of mercury in their gabottles, which are stored rages, basements, and in secondary containers. other storage areas,” says The element formerly “I might take 12 lbs of Wozniak, a toxicologist at known as hydrargyrum. mercury into a bar, but I the Wisconsin Department certainly wouldn’t take any chances with it of Health Services. That’s in addition to spilling,” he says. “One should not fear the other mercurial sources people may have substance, only the ignorance that leads to in their houses, including compact fluoits mishandling.” rescent light bulbs, old boiler heating systems, and grandfather clocks with mercury pendulums. Matt Davenport wrote this week’s column. As elemental mercury is accessible Please send comments and suggestions to and fascinating, spills like the Iowa case
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C&EN | CEN.ACS.ORG | DECEMBER 4, 2017
C R E D I T: TH EO D O R E GRAY/P E R I O D I CTA BLE .CO M ( J UG ) ; DAV E RO BE RTS/ P ER I O DI CTAB L E .CO M (M E RCU RY )
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