Dan – if you’re looking for incentives to go mercury-free, you should review the NIH efforts in their ongoing campaign. Here’s a link:

http://orf.od.nih.gov/environmentalprotection/mercuryfree/Pages/NIH-Mercury-Hazard-Reduction-Campaign.aspx. There are several lists of mercury-free alternatives provided for laboratories. The campaign was begun in 2001 and has reportedly been largely successful at eliminating mercury containing equipment on all NIH campuses.

Russ

Colleagues,

I’m looking for comparison data / recommendations I might use to assuage academic researcher anxiety with respect to swapping their mercury thermometers for spirit thermometers.

Reluctance to give up Hg thermometers is often rationalized by claiming spirit thermometers aren’t as accurate or aren’t appropriate for as many applications as a mercury-filled thermometer.

I would appreciate suggestions on where I might find performance-based support for spirit-filled thermometers.

I have information regarding comparisons of potential exposure health risk, spill clean-up expense and environmental contamination.

Thanks for your help in finding performance-based support for using spirit filled thermometers rather than mercury filled thermometers,

Dan

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Dan Blunk  PhD, REA  831.459.3541 

Environmental Programs Manager

Environmental Health & Safety Office

University of California Santa Cruz