Best known is mercury(II) chloride, an easily sublimating white solid. [142] There are restrictions for mercury concentration in packaging (the limit is 100 ppm for sum of mercury, lead, hexavalent chromium and cadmium) and batteries (the limit is 5 ppm). [108][109], Mercury also enters into the environment through the improper disposal (e.g., land filling, incineration) of certain products. There are seven stable isotopes of mercury, with 202Hg being the most abundant (29.86%). The first edition of the Merck's Manual (1899) featured many mercuric compounds[48] such as: Mercury is an ingredient in dental amalgams. Today, the use of mercury in medicine has greatly declined in all respects, especially in developed countries. The three largest point sources for mercury emissions in the U.S. are the three largest gold mines. It is a standard in electrochemistry.
For example, the amount of mercury sold in thermostats in the United States decreased from 14.5 tons in 2004 to 3.9 tons in 2007.[111]. Mercury(II) oxide, the main oxide of mercury, arises when the metal is exposed to air for long periods at elevated temperatures. Edlich, Richard F.; Rhoads, Samantha K.; Cantrell, Holly S.; Azavedo, Sabrina M. and Newkirk, Anthony T. standard conditions for temperature and pressure, membrane cell or diaphragm cell technologies, United States Environmental Protection Agency, Mercury-Containing and Rechargeable Battery Management Act, "Magnetic Susceptibility of the Elements And Inorganic Compounds", Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, "Why is mercury liquid? Hydrogeochemical release of mercury from gold-mine tailings has been accounted as a significant source of atmospheric mercury in eastern Canada. HgCl2 forms coordination complexes that are typically tetrahedral, e.g. Mercury can cause both chronic and acute poisoning. Initially, the Spanish Crown's mines in Almadn in Southern Spain supplied all the mercury for the colonies. The most toxic forms of mercury are its organic compounds, such as dimethylmercury and methylmercury. Preindustrial deposition rates of mercury from the atmosphere may be about 4ng /(1 L of ice deposit).
It reacts with chlorine to give mercuric chloride, which resists further oxidation.
[94] It is also used as a disinfectant. Although it was widely speculated that this mercury-based preservative could cause or trigger autism in children, scientific studies showed no evidence supporting any such link. The rule was deemed not sufficient to protect the health of persons living near coal-fired power plants, given the negative effects documented in the EPA Study Report to Congress of 1998. Mercury remains in use in scientific research applications and in amalgam for dental restoration in some locales. The average was 0.069g/m3.
[15][16], Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC. Thermometers and sphygmomanometers containing mercury were invented in the early 18th and late 19th centuries, respectively. They form tetrahedral complexes with other ligands but the halides adopt linear coordination geometry, somewhat like Ag+ does.
Mercury dissolves many metals such as gold and silver to form amalgams.
Review of its safety has found that cinnabar can lead to significant mercury intoxication when heated, consumed in overdose, or taken long term, and can have adverse effects at therapeutic doses, though effects from therapeutic doses are typically reversible.
", "Two States Pass First-time Bans on Mercury Blood Pressure Devices", "Title 21Food and Drugs Chapter IFood and Drug Administration Department of Health and Human Services Subchapter DDrugs for Human Use Code of federal regulations". induces disproportionation to Hg2+ and elemental mercury. STANDS4 LLC, 2022. In alchemy, the seven metals known before the 16th century were associated with the seven planets, and quicksilver was associated with the fastest planet, which had been named after the Roman god Mercury, who was associated with speed and mobility. [70], A study in geometric mean urine mercury concentration identified a previously unrecognized source of exposure (skin care products) to inorganic mercury among New York City residents. 21 Jul 2022. This process is called biomagnification. Or, why do relativistic effects not get into chemistry textbooks? In March 2005, the EPA promulgated a regulation[137] that added power plants to the list of sources that should be controlled and instituted a national cap and trade system.
[35] In China, prison labor was used by a private mining company as recently as the 1950s to develop new cinnabar mines.
Most contain comparatively non-toxic inorganic mercury, but products containing highly toxic organic mercury have been encountered.[124][125].
Usually the salt is dissolved in water to produce a brine.
The mercury-containing organohalide merbromin (sometimes sold as Mercurochrome) is still widely used but has been banned in some countries such as the U.S.[96].
This page was last edited on 17 July 2022, at 02:34.
[119] These concentrations are far higher than those shown in salt marsh river creek sediments of New Jersey and mangroves of Southern China which exhibit low mercury concentrations of about 0.2mg/kg.[120][121]. [146] Mercuric compounds such as mercury(II) chloride or potassium tetraiodomercurate(II) can be added to protein crystals in an effort to create heavy atom derivatives that can be used to solve the phase problem in X-ray crystallography via isomorphous replacement or anomalous scattering methods.
Concave horizontal parabolic mirrors may be formed by rotating liquid mercury on a disk, the parabolic form of the liquid thus formed reflecting and focusing incident light. 11% from gold production. "Hg" is the modern chemical symbol for mercury.
199Hg and 201Hg are the most often studied NMR-active nuclei, having spins of .mw-parser-output .frac{white-space:nowrap}.mw-parser-output .frac .num,.mw-parser-output .frac .den{font-size:80%;line-height:0;vertical-align:super}.mw-parser-output .frac .den{vertical-align:sub}.mw-parser-output .sr-only{border:0;clip:rect(0,0,0,0);height:1px;margin:-1px;overflow:hidden;padding:0;position:absolute;width:1px}12 and 32 respectively. Those low-pressure lamps emit very spectrally narrow lines, which are traditionally used in optical spectroscopy for calibration of spectral position. Concise Medical Dictionary, by Joseph C Segen, MD, https://www.synonyms.com/antonyms/mercury. The red pigment vermilion is obtained by grinding natural cinnabar or synthetic mercuric sulfide.
[18] The first emperor of a unified China, Qn Sh Hung Dallegedly buried in a tomb that contained rivers of flowing mercury on a model of the land he ruled, representative of the rivers of Chinawas reportedly killed by drinking a mercury and powdered jade mixture formulated by Qin alchemists intended as an elixir of immortality. Several other first row transition metals with the exception of manganese, copper and zinc are also resistant in forming amalgams. The miniaturized Deep Space Atomic Clock is a linear ion-trap-based mercury ion clock, designed for precise and real-time radio navigation in deep space. Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. ", "Mercury: Spills, Disposal and Site Cleanup", "Glacial Ice Cores Reveal A Record of Natural and Anthropogenic Atmospheric Mercury Deposition for the Last 270 Years", "What is EPA doing about mercury air emissions? [133] The convention was signed on 10 October 2013. Treatment of Hg(I) compounds complexation with strong ligands such as sulfide, cyanide, etc. [98] Protocols call for physically merging smaller droplets on hard surfaces, combining them into a single larger pool for easier removal with an eyedropper, or for gently pushing the spill into a disposable container.
[95] In the early 20th century, mercury was administered to children yearly as a laxative and dewormer, and it was used in teething powders for infants. Although that can be considered a natural level of exposure, regional or global sources have significant effects. Mercury(II) fulminate is a primary explosive which is mainly used as a primer of a cartridge in firearms.
), Basic Mercury Subsulphate; Turpeth Mineral, Quantities of liquid mercury ranging from 90 to 600 grams (3.2 to 21.2oz) have been recovered from elite, As an electrically conductive liquid, it was used in, Owing to its acoustic properties, mercury was used as the propagation medium in, Mercury was used for preserving wood, developing.
Blue mass, a pill or syrup in which mercury is the main ingredient, was prescribed throughout the 19th century for numerous conditions including constipation, depression, child-bearing and toothaches.
Although this form of mercury appears to be less toxic than other forms, its use in traditional Chinese medicine has not yet been justified, as the therapeutic basis for the use of cinnabar is not clear.[52]. Water run-off from such sites is a recognized source of ecological damage.
Methylmercury, a generic term for compounds with the formula CH3HgX, is a dangerous family of compounds that are often found in polluted water. Mercury(II) chloride (also known as mercuric chloride or corrosive sublimate) was once used to treat syphilis (along with other mercury compounds), although it is so toxic that sometimes the symptoms of its toxicity were confused with those of the syphilis it was believed to treat. [129][130], Research on the treatment of mercury poisoning is limited. One example is Hg2+3(AsF6)2.[43]. Skin tanner containing a low-pressure mercury vapor lamp and two infrared lamps, which act both as light source and electrical ballast. Mercury(I) hydride, a colorless gas, has the formula HgH, containing no Hg-Hg bond. [145] In 2002, several lakes in Norway were found to have a poor state of mercury pollution, with an excess of 1g/g of mercury in their sediment. States were given until November 2006 to impose stricter controls, but after a legal challenge from several states, the regulations were struck down by a federal appeals court on 8 February 2008. [56] After about 1985, all new chloralkali production facilities that were built in the United States used membrane cell or diaphragm cell technologies to produce chlorine. [42] Mercury(I) chloride, a colorless solid also known as calomel, is really the compound with the formula Hg2Cl2, with the connectivity Cl-Hg-Hg-Cl. [128] Acute exposure to mercury vapor has been shown to result in profound central nervous system effects, including psychotic reactions characterized by delirium, hallucinations, and suicidal tendency. "Chapter 3: Manufacturing Processes Involving Mercury.
Fish and shellfish have a natural tendency to concentrate mercury in their bodies, often in the form of methylmercury, a highly toxic organic compound of mercury. Like ZnS, HgS crystallizes in two forms, the reddish cubic form and the black zinc blende form. Mercury embrittlement is the most common type of liquid metal embrittlement.
Since fish are less efficient at depurating than accumulating methylmercury, methylmercury concentrations in the fish tissue increase over time.
Casecontrol studies have shown effects such as tremors, impaired cognitive skills, and sleep disturbance in workers with chronic exposure to mercury vapor even at low concentrations in the range 0.742g/m3. [5] The latter sometimes occurs naturally as metacinnabar.
[23][24] By 500 BC mercury was used to make amalgams (Medieval Latin amalgama, "alloy of mercury") with other metals. Former mercury mines may be suited for constructive re-use. [49] Thiomersal is metabolized to ethyl mercury. The equation for this extraction is.
The purest of these was gold, and mercury was called for in attempts at the transmutation of base (or impure) metals into gold, which was the goal of many alchemists.
[58], Some transit telescopes use a basin of mercury to form a flat and absolutely horizontal mirror, useful in determining an absolute vertical or perpendicular reference. Mercury is the only metal for which the alchemical planetary name survives, as it was decided it was preferable to "quicksilver" as a chemical name. It is found either as a native metal (rare) or in cinnabar, metacinnabar, sphalerite, corderoite, livingstonite and other minerals, with cinnabar (HgS) being the most common ore.[28][29] Mercury ores usually occur in very young orogenic belts where rocks of high density are forced to the crust of Earth,[citation needed] often in hot springs or other volcanic regions.
The code for attribution links is required. [65] Gaseous mercury is also found in some electron tubes, including ignitrons, thyratrons, and mercury arc rectifiers. It is also known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum (/hadrrdrm/ hy-DRAR-jr-m) from the Greek words, hydor (water) and argyros (silver). Occupational exposure has resulted in broad-ranging functional disturbance, including erethism, irritability, excitability, excessive shyness, and insomnia. [118] The highest mercury concentrations were shown to occur in and around the city of London in association with fine grain muds and high total organic carbon content. This information should not be considered complete, up to date, and is not intended to be used in place of a visit, consultation, or advice of a legal, medical, or any other professional. [99], Natural sources, such as volcanoes, are responsible for approximately half of atmospheric mercury emissions. Likewise, mechanical pressure gauges and electronic strain gauge sensors have replaced mercury sphygmomanometers. It is an abbreviation of hydrargyrum, a romanized form of the ancient Greek word (hydrargyros), which is a compound meaning "water-silver" (from - (hydr-), the root of 'water', and (argyros) 'silver').
[15], The mines in Almadn (Spain), Monte Amiata (Italy), and Idrija (now Slovenia) dominated mercury production from the opening of the mine in Almadn 2500 years ago, until new deposits were found at the end of the 19th century.
Copy the code below and paste it where you want the visualization of this word to be shown on your page: Dictionary, Encyclopedia and Thesaurus - The Free Dictionary, the webmaster's page for free fun content, Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer.
[138] However newer data published in 2015 showed that after introduction of the stricter controls mercury declined sharply, indicating that the Clean Air Act had its intended impact. Compared to other metals, it is a poor conductor of heat, but a fair conductor of electricity.
[136], The United States Clean Air Act, passed in 1990, put mercury on a list of toxic pollutants that need to be controlled to the greatest possible extent. [32], Former mines in Italy, the United States and Mexico, which once produced a large proportion of the world supply, have now been completely mined out or, in the case of Slovenia (Idrija) and Spain (Almadn), shut down due to the fall of the price of mercury.
Like silver, mercury reacts with atmospheric hydrogen sulfide. [143] In July 2007, the European Union also banned mercury in non-electrical measuring devices, such as thermometers and barometers. [62] Last, but not least, the triple point of mercury, 38.8344C, is a fixed point used as a temperature standard for the International Temperature Scale (ITS-90).[5]. Long-term, low-level exposure has been associated with more subtle symptoms of erethism, including fatigue, irritability, loss of memory, vivid dreams and depression. Mercury(II) salts are a rare example of simple metal complexes that react directly with aromatic rings. https://www.freethesaurus.com/Mercury+(element).
Mercury and most of its compounds are extremely toxic and must be handled with care; in cases of spills involving mercury (such as from certain thermometers or fluorescent light bulbs), specific cleaning procedures are used to avoid exposure and contain the spill. In polarography both the dropping mercury electrode[63] and the hanging mercury drop electrode[64] use elemental mercury. [29] Mercury(II) selenide (HgSe) and mercury(II) telluride (HgTe) are also known, these as well as various derivatives, e.g.
Mercury(II) is the most common oxidation state and is the main one in nature as well. The coefficient of volume expansion is 181.59 106 at 0C, 181.71 106 at 20C and 182.50 106 at 100C (perC). Mercury in the form of one of its common ores, cinnabar, is used in various traditional medicines, especially in traditional Chinese medicine. [69], Mercury, as thiomersal, is widely used in the manufacture of mascara. Mercury poisoning can result in several diseases, including acrodynia (pink disease), Hunter-Russell syndrome, and Minamata disease. [19][20] Khumarawayh ibn Ahmad ibn Tulun, the second Tulunid ruler of Egypt (r. 884896), known for his extravagance and profligacy, reportedly built a basin filled with mercury, on which he would lie on top of air-filled cushions and be rocked to sleep. Mercury poisoning can result from exposure to water-soluble forms of mercury (such as mercuric chloride or methylmercury), by inhalation of mercury vapor, or by ingesting any form of mercury. Currently available drugs for acute mercurial poisoning include chelators N-acetyl-D, L-penicillamine (NAP), British Anti-Lewisite (BAL), 2,3-dimercapto-1-propanesulfonic acid (DMPS), and dimercaptosuccinic acid (DMSA). In the early 21st century, their use is declining and has been banned in some countries, states and medical institutions. Several laws give the EPA this authority, including the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, and the Safe Drinking Water Act. Known as Nessler's reagent, potassium tetraiodomercurate(II) (HgI24) is still occasionally used to test for ammonia owing to its tendency to form the deeply colored iodide salt of Millon's base. Unlike its lighter neighbors, cadmium and zinc, mercury usually forms simple stable compounds with metal-metal bonds. Volcanic eruptions can increase the atmospheric source by 46 times.
", "West Moberly First Nations concerned about mercury contamination in fish", "Williston-Dinosaur Watershed Fish Mercury Investigation: 2017 Report", "Permafrost Stores a Globally Significant Amount of Mercury", IMERC Fact Sheet Mercury Use in Thermostats, "Minamata Disease The History and Measures", "Investigation of Toxic Metals in the Tobacco of Different Iranian Cigarette Brands and Related Health Issues", "Rise and fall of mercury (Hg) pollution in sediment cores of the Thames Estuary, London, UK", "Mercury contamination in surface sediments and sediment cores of the Mersey Estuary, UK", "Status of organic pollutants in surface sediments of Barnegat Bay-Little Egg Harbor Estuary, New Jersey, USA", "Organic and metal contamination in surface mangrove sediments of South China", "How We Do Things at IISD-ELA: Collecting a fish muscle biopsy", "Woman had 524x the normal level of mercury in her blood from skin cream use", "Notes from the Field: Methylmercury Toxicity from a Skin Lightening Cream Obtained from Mexico California, 2019", "Chronic neurobehavioral effects of elemental mercury in dentists", "UN News Governments at UN forum agree on legally-binding treaty to curb mercury pollution", "State of New Jersey et al., Petitioners vs. Environmental Protection Agency (Case No. 05-1097)", "Oldest, dirtiest power plants told to clean up", "EPA Regulations Give Kilns Permission To Pollute", "Directive 2002/95/EC on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment", "EU bans mercury in barometers, thermometers", "Sweden may be forced to lift ban on mercury The Local", Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Mercury Topic, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC): Mercury Contamination in Fish guide, NLM Hazardous Substances Databank Mercury, BBC Earth News Mercury 'turns' wetland birds such as ibises homosexual, Changing Patterns in the Use, Recycling, and Material Substitution of Mercury in the United States, Faceted Application of Subject Terminology, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Mercury_(element)&oldid=1098697300, Chemical elements with rhombohedral structure, CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown, Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing Ancient Greek (to 1453)-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from March 2017, Wikipedia articles incorporating a citation from the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica with Wikisource reference, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Mercury Bichloride (Corrosive Mercuric Chloride, U.S.P. Since the amalgam destroys the aluminium oxide layer which protects metallic aluminium from oxidizing in-depth (as in iron rusting), even small amounts of mercury can seriously corrode aluminium.
[36], Abandoned mercury mine processing sites often contain very hazardous waste piles of roasted cinnabar calcines. Thousands of prisoners were used by the Luo Xi mining company to establish new tunnels. The astrological symbol for the planet became one of the alchemical symbols for the metal, and "Mercury" became an alternative name for the metal. The World Health Organization, OSHA, and NIOSH all treat mercury as an occupational hazard, and have established specific occupational exposure limits.
The calomel electrode is used to work out the electrode potential of half cells.
Mercury occurs in deposits throughout the world mostly as cinnabar (mercuric sulfide). Mercury reacts with solid sulfur flakes, which are used in mercury spill kits to absorb mercury (spill kits also use activated carbon and powdered zinc).[11]. [31] Mercury deposits were discovered in the New World, and more than 100,000 tons of mercury were mined from the region of Huancavelica, Peru, over the course of three centuries following the discovery of deposits there in 1563. [141], In the European Union, the directive on the Restriction of the Use of Certain Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment (see RoHS) bans mercury from certain electrical and electronic products, and limits the amount of mercury in other products to less than 1000 ppm.
[112], A serious industrial disaster was the dumping of mercury compounds into Minamata Bay, Japan. They believed that different metals could be produced by varying the quality and quantity of sulfur contained within the mercury.
In the United States, non-prescription sale of mercury fever thermometers has been banned since 2003. In some applications, mercury is replaced with less toxic but considerably more expensive Galinstan alloy. mercury, quicksilver, hydrargyrum, Hg, atomic number 80noun, a heavy silvery toxic univalent and bivalent metallic element; the only metal that is liquid at ordinary temperatures, Synonyms:hydrargyrum, hectogram, atomic number 80, quicksilver, (Roman mythology) messenger of Jupiter and god of commerce; counterpart of Greek Hermes, Synonyms:hydrargyrum, atomic number 80, quicksilver, the smallest planet and the nearest to the sun, temperature measured by a mercury thermometer.