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Re: Mercury in Vermont

Posted By: Don Miner
Date: Sunday, 11 February 2007, at 12:02 a.m.

In Response To: Re: Mercury in Vermont (SVP Neon Equipment)


> Did that in the early 80's. Dangerous at
> best and not very effective in the long run.
> After a short time the small amount of vapor
> that was admitted into the tube was cleaned
> up and the tube gradually got dimmer and
> dimmer until it was just the gas left.

> Having a large quantity of mercury vapor
> present in the shop would not make me feel
> very comfortable. Not to mention OSHA would
> have a fit. The mercury would have to be
> heated to maintain a vapor. If the vessel
> broke, or was otherwise compromised, your
> shop would have to be quarantined and a team
> of toxic waste clean up specialist sent in
> to "hose" down the place. This is
> one reason why mercury diffusion pumps are
> rarely used any more in laboratory settings.
> They have been known to blow up (literally).
> When they do mercury vapor coats everything
> in the room with a nice gray color
> (condensed mercury). This happened one time
> at USC. It took several weeks to clean it up
> and almost an entire floor had to be sealed
> off until the clean up was finished.
Thanks Mark, I can always count on you to prove or disprove anyone's theories when it comes to technical issues. You made me see the errors of my ideas. Don


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