Get rid of your glass mercury thermometers

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Years ago, when my children were young, I remember walking into the bathroom to find a shattered thermometer on the counter, bits of glass and little beads of mercury scattered about. I was horrified that one of my kids had been exposed to the mercury or cut by the glass, and it took a fair bit of questioning on my part (and finger-pointing on theirs) to resolve the issue and conclude that everyone would live.

This week, researchers at Children’s Hospital Boston remind us that glass mercury thermometers are a relic of the past and a needless risk in most homes. Some states, including California, have banned the sale of mercury thermometers. But many still remain in use. Mercury exposure isn’t the only danger from the thermometers, according to the new study, published in the October issue of Pediatric Emergency Care. Researchers found 33 children were admitted to the Children’s Hospital Boston emergency room from October 1995 to October 2007 with thermometer-related injuries, and 84% had broken-glass injuries to the mouth or rectum. Some of the injuries required surgical excision of the glass.

Glass mercury thermometers are favored by some people because of their accuracy. But pinpoint accuracy is not necessary for most home uses, the authors said. Some thermometers are still marketed that are made of glass but contain a chemical other than mercury. Those, too, should be avoided, they said. Parents of young children should use non-glass, non-mercury thermometers.

Information on how to properly dispose of a glass mercury thermometer can be found on the Web page for California’s Mercury Reduction Act.

-- Shari Roan