jonah brought me a broken thermometer he found in the playroom and i immediately jumped to the assumption that all thermometers were filled with mercury and i knew enough to know that mercury is dangerous. so i mentioned it to my periodic table loving husband who seemed equally as concerned even though he knew that mercury was silver and not red like the crippled one i was holding in my hand. so, we got online to read about the effects of mercury poisoning which was unsettling even though nobody seemed to be convulsing yet. for all i knew that thermometer could have been broken in there for days. the playroom is a sort of don't look, don't care zone. the kids are usually free to demolish until i finally muster up the courage to go in for damage control.but i digress, all the wisdom that is the world wide web told me i should call the department of health in the event of a mercury spill whether it be large or small. so i did. the woman there advised me that i could call a company in to test the air quality for no small sum, i could take the children in to the doctor for urine mercury testing, i could rip my carpet up and seal all contaminated items up tight and promptly and properly dispose of them, and i could call the local fire department to see what they would suggest. maybe she meant i should do all of these things, but all i heard was "second opinion". so i did. the fireman on the phone acted concerned and took my information with a promise to call me back, but he didn't.
after furthering my internet research i discovered the unlikelihood of being in possession of a mercury-filled thermometer seeing as how they are illegal in many states and not sold anywhere. apparently, typical thermometers nowadays are filled with alcohol and a red dye.
am i the last person on the planet to know this?
really?
come on, fess up. some of you still think the red liquid in your thermometers is mercury.
anyone?
[crickets chirping]
bueller?...
so why did nobody else mention that to me when they were telling me to call in the hazard patrol in their face masks and big white jumpsuits to whisk an entire room of my house away?
no, seriously, why?
stupid girl - garbage
3 comments:
Yeah, no kidding. A Dr. office that Coy worked at years ago had a mercury spill (from the blood-pressure machine) -- The doctors were sweeping it up with a broom! ... Coy was like, "Uh... shouldn't we call someone??" yikes.
bueller! LOL
seriously you should just tie your kids to a tree on a leash let em run around but not be able to get into anything!
i'm embarrassed to say i probably wouldn't have even though about mercury from the thermometer. ignorance is what will keep cps away from my house.
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