Best Management Practices for Mercury

• Remove any unnecessary mercury-containing items from the workplace.
• Replace mercury items with non-mercury containing alternatives.
• Clean up of mercury spills by trained personnel.
• Dispose of mercury containing spent fluids as hazardous waste.
• Recycle fluorescent tubes from overhead lights and fluorescent microscopes. Recycle fluorescent lights; listed below are two fluorescent light recyclers. (There may be other fluorecent light recyclers that we are unaware of; please contact us if you know of other recyclers.)
  • ATG
    47375 Fremont Blvd.
    Freemont, CA 94538
    1-800-227-2840
  • Superior Special Services
    5736 West Jefferson
    Phoenix, AZ 85043
    1-800-368-9095 x58
• Keep a record of all mercury containing devices within your facility

Hospital Items That May Contain Mercury and Alternatives

For a more comprehensive list for hospital and laboratory items see Mercury Sources and Alternatives in Health Care from Sustainable Hospitals Mercury Page.

Mercury Product	Alternative
Thermometers	Alcohol thermometers
Sphygmomanometer	Aneroid or electronic sphygmomanometer
Gastrointestinal tubes	Tungsten tubing as weight
Weighted feeding tubes	Virtually all new weighted feeding tubes use Tungsten, instead of mercury, as a weight
Mercury containing batteries	Lithium, Zinc, air, alkaline batteries
Fluorescent lights	Use the most long-lasting, energy-efficient lights available for your intended use and make sure to recycle them.

Laboratory Items That May Contain Mercury 

Mercury Product	Location/Use	Alternatives
B5	Cytopathology, Histology fixative	Zinc formalin such as Z-fix
Hemotoxylin	Microbiology, Histology stain solution	Sodium Iodate Gill's Hematoxylin Mercury-free Hematoxylin (mercuric oxide-free)
Immune saline	Blood bank saline	Thimerosol-free immune saline
Mercuric chloride	Microbiology test reagent	Nitric acid
Mercuric iodide	Histology stain	Phenate method
Mercuric oxide	Chemistry, used in Kjeldahl reactios in the determination of nitrogen-containing compounds	Use of copper sulfate or potassium sulfate as catalysts in Kjeldahl reactions, or the use of the Biuret method (where a copper sulfate solution is used)
Mercurochrome	Patient Care, used for the treatment of cuts	Neosporin Mycin
Mercury (II) sulfate	Chemistry	Potassium sulfate Silver nitrate Chromium-(III)sulfate
Phenolic Mercuric Acetate	Chemistry	Ion selective electrode
Thimerosal (common name) or Merthiolate	Various areas	Thimerosol-free products, where available
Zenker's solution/ Lilly's buffered (contains Mercuric chloride)	Pathology, Histology, Necroscopy	Zinc formalin

PVC Use and Dioxins

Dioxins are highly toxic to humans and other animals. Some major sources of dioxins include:

• Chlorine manufacturing processes
• Combustion of chlorine-containing products
• Inefficient combustion of garbage and medical waste
• Incineration of PVC containing medical products

Dioxins end up in the Bay through the precipitation of dust to surface waters. For more information on ways to limit the amount of dioxins entering the environment see our Dioxin page regarding purchasing PVC alternatives, biodiesel, and chlorine free paper.

PVC Alternatives

For a more complete list see the List of Alternatives to Polyvinyl Chloride (PVC) and Di-2-Ethylhexyl Phthalate (DEHP) Medical Devices from Health Care Without Harm.

PVC Product	Alternative
IV Bag	Non-PVC Polymer blend
Vinyl gloves	Latex**, nitrile gloves
Plasma collection bags	EVA resin bags
Sharps containers	Polyethylene containers, reusable containers

**Latex is a viable alternative to vinyl only in settings where no staff or patients suffer latex allergies or sensitivities.

Discussion Paper on Pharmaceutical Disposal to Sewer Systems

Pharmaceutical residuals from humans and animals, personal care products, and their metabolites are continually introduced to the aquatic environment as complex mixtures via a number of routes: discharge of treated domestic wastewater, treated industrial wastewater, commercial animal feeding operations, and surface application of manure. Potential public health and environmental effects from these compounds are being studied worldwide. There is increasing concern that the pharmaceuticals detected in surface waters could cause adverse environmental effects, including endocrine disruption in aquatic life and/ or increased antibiotic resistance. Read the White Paper.

Links to Medical Pollution Prevention Sites

Dental, Medical, and Veterinary Fact Sheet regarding hazardous waste disposal Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC)

Sustainable hospitals: Providing technical support to the healthcare industry for selecting products and work practices that reduce occupational and environmental hazards, maintain quality patient care, and contain costs

EPA Region 9 Hospital Pollution Prevention

A Guide to Mercury Assessment and Elimination in Health Care Facilities by the California Department of Health Services (PDF)
Warning this is an extremely large file and will take approximately 30 minutes to download on a dial-up modem.

For more information see the following pages:

Go to Copper Page
Go to Dental Mercury Page
Go to Dioxin Page
Go to Less Toxic Pest Control
Go to Mercury Page
Go to Facilities Maintenance
Go to Storm Water Page