An information drive about the harmful effects of mercury a.k.a. "liquid metal".

1. Paracale National
High School
Science and Math Month Celebration Teacher Mari

2. TOPICS…
What mercury is
Different forms of mercury
Sources of mercury
Uses of mercury

3. Have you seen a mercury before?
When and Where?
What did you do to it?

4. Mercury is a naturally occurring element.
It cannot be created nor destroyed.
It is also called quicksilver or liquid silver.
Mercury is very dense and can emit vapor
at room temperature.
It is a heavy metal and can be found in
different forms: elemental, inorganic and
organic.

5. Elemental Mercury
(a.k.a metallic mercury)
It is the pure, uncombined form of
mercury. This is the kind you see inside
thermometers. It is a shiny, silver-white
metal that is liquid at room temperature.
This form of mercury can evaporate to the
air and create a mercury vapour that is
hazardous to health. Mercury vapours are
colorless and odorless which makes them
hard to detect.

6. Elemental Mercury
(a.k.a metallic mercury)
It is the pure, uncombined form of
mercury. This is the kind you see inside
thermometers. It is a shiny, silver-white
metal that is liquid at room temperature.
This form of mercury can evaporate to the
air and create a mercury vapour that is
hazardous to health. Mercury vapours are
colorless and odorless which makes them
hard to detect.

7. Inorganic Mercury Compounds or
mercury salts
Are more commonly found in nature.
Most of these are white powders or
crystals (mercuric oxide and mercuric
chloride) except for mercuric sulphide
(red, turns black after exposure to light).
Some inorganic mercury can also form a
vapour but stay relatively shorter in the
air.

8. Organic Mercury Compounds or
organomercurials
Are formed when mercury is combined
with carbon and other elements. There is
a potentially large number of organic
mercury compounds (dimeth-ylmercury,
phenylmercury, ethylmercury) but the
most common is methylmercury. Like
inorganic mercury, they exist as “salts”
except for dimethylmercury - a colorless
liquid.

10. Natural
Mercury occurs naturally in forms
that are volatile, so mercury con-tinuously
evaporates into the
atmosphere, from both soil and
water.
Mercury-rich rocks and soils can lead
to elevated mercury levels across
wide areas. The weathering of rocks,
volcanic activity and forest fires all
contribute to the natural emission of
mercury into the air.

11. Man-made
Human activities release mercury found in raw materials,
such as burning fossil fuels to generate electricity
(especially coal-fired power plants), artisanal or small-scale
gold mining, and metals production.
Human activities release mercury that is intentionally
used in products like batteries and processes such as
incinerators.

12. Mercury has properties that have led to its use in
many products.
• It conducts electricity, forms alloy with other
metals, and expands in response to changes in
temperature and pressure.
• It also has antiseptic quality.

13. As a metal (among others):
• for extraction of gold and silver
• in manometers for measuring
and controlling pressure
• in thermometers
• in fluorescent lamps
• in dental amalgam fillings

14. As chemical compounds (among
others):
• in batteries
• biocides in paper industry,
paints and in seed grain
• as antiseptics in pharmaceuticals
• in skin whitening products
• laboratory analyses reactants
• catalysts

15. Paracale National
High School
Science and Math Month Celebration Teacher Mari