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Do not touch the mercury. Remove all jewelry and watches from your hands, as mercury will bond with the metal.

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If the spill occurs onto or within a heated surface, do not attempt to clean it. Close the room and call the local Environmental Health Service.

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If the liquid mercury spills onto the floor, do not vacuum or sweep it up with a broom. (The mercury will contaminate your vacuum and the heat from the vacuum will evaporate the mercury, further distributing vapors throughout the house. A broom is easily contaminated and will only distribute the mercury into smaller beads).

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Open all windows to ventilate the area and keep children and pets away from the area. Move furniture and other objects away too. To minimize the mercury that vaporizes, turn off any heaters and turn up any air conditioners.

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Put on rubber gloves. If possible, wear safety goggles.

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Use tongs or other tools to pick up glass from the broken thermometer.

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If the surface of the floor's surface is hard, push the beads of mercury together with a stiff piece of paper or cardboard. Lift the beads with the cardboard and place it into a plastic container. An eyedropper can also be used to suction up beads of mercury. Carefully place the mercury in a wide mouth container.

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Use duct or packing tape to pick up any remaining pieces. Put the broken item, the mercury, the cardboard and the rubber gloves into the plastic container. Close the container tightly and seal it with tape. Label the container with a Hazardous Waste Label and call your State agency for appropriate disposal procedures.

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If the spill is on a carpet or rug, the mercury-contaminated section should be cut out. This cut-out section, along with all cleanup items, should be placed in a plastic bag for proper disposal (see above).

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Carefully inspect the area to ensure that the mercury spill is cleaned up. Use a flashlight - the light will reflect off the mercury beads and make them easier to find; mercury breaks into very small droplets that are difficult to see when spilled.

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Sprinkle sulfur powder (if available) on the spilled area after cleaning up beads of mercury; a color change from yellow to brown indicates that mercury is still present.

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Remember that any tools used for clean up should be considered contaminated and disposed of with the mercury.

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Commercial kits and devices for responding to small mercury spills are available. These include amalgamating powder that is sprinkled over the mercury droplets for easy recovery with a specially designed sponge. A properly labeled container for disposal is usually included in the kit.