Many items of years gone by - including barometers, thermometers, lamps, clocks and mirrors - contain the toxin and can pose a real threat to health, according to an article in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, a publication of the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention.
Mercury can damage the nervous system, brain, kidneys, and developing foetuses. Over the time, mercury in antique items can leak out as seals age or when the items are damaged, dropped or moved improperly. Vacuuming up a mercury spill or vaporisation from spill-contaminated surfaces such as carpets, floors, furniture, mops, or brooms can release mercury into the air.
The article, written by experts at the New York State Department of Health, describes a number of cases where mercury leaked from antique items, including an incident in a Southhold, New York, home last year where about a half a litre of mercury leaked from an antique pendulum clock after it fell and broke open.
The residents of the home had to be evacuated until a full environmental cleanup was completed and it was confirmed that the home was safe.
In other incidents, mercury used to add weight to the base of a lamp oozed out on to a roadway as the lamp was being moved, and a small amount of mercury fell off the back of an antique mirror onto a carpet in a private home.
Comments
Comments are closed for this article.