[jdurg]

I want to let you guys know that I'm slowly, and the key word is slowly, working on my next article which will be about mercury.  There is so much to write on this element that it may be my longest article yet.  I plan on writing about the mystique of mercury and why it seems to attract everybody to it, as well as the toxicity and dangers of it.  I have lots of personal tales dealing with mercury that I can't wait to talk about.  (Such as how I used to play with it as a kid  )  I will also talk about the horribly tragic incident out in Dartmouth, I believe, dealing with organic mercury compounds and how it took the life of a chemist who dropped one tiny doplet on her gloves.  I plan on having pictures of my own mercury, as well as pictures from Theodore Gray's site where he has an amazing picture of a guy sitting ON a pool of mercury!  (So if you can't wait, head on over to his site which I linked to in our links section).  Depending on the legality of it, I'll also show a frame or two from the making of Terminator 2 where they used gallons of mercury to create the liquid metal effect for the T-1000.  I'll be talking about the use of mercury in terms of pressure, as well as its use in fluorescent light bulbs and old thermostats.  There is so much to talk about that it will take me quite a while to put together, so just sit tight as the wait will be worth it, I think.    (I'm also busy admiring my new five-gram pellet of Osmium metal which looks absolutely stunning.  I think I may start to tackle the Platinum Group Metals next).

[Mitch]

Cool, I look forward to reading it. Also, this briefly describes the dartmouth incident http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/82/i03/html/8203sci2.html

[Scratch-]

Yay, I can't wait to read it!  

[Donaldson Tan]

Cool, I look forward to reading it. Also, this briefly describes the dartmouth incident http://pubs.acs.org/isubscribe/journals/cen/82/i03/html/8203sci2.html

I don't have an account with ACS. I can't access your link. Could you briefly describe the Darmouth Incident? I think lots of people would like to know

 

[Mitch]

One well-documented case of mercury poisoning involved a chemistry professor, Karen E. Wetterhahn, at Dartmouth College. She spilled a few drops of highly toxic dimethylmercury on her gloved hand in August, and her highest exposure level, according to testing of hair samples, was in August. Yet not until December did the symptoms of mercury toxicity appear. This latent time span is unpredictable and does not seem to be dependent on dose, Clarkson says. "It is as if it triggers something--some process that takes its own time," he adds.

The extent to which methylmercury leaves the body plays a role in its toxicity. Methylmercury's exit from the body takes advantage of natural transport mechanisms. Only a small proportion of methylmercury leaves the body in urine because the kidney reabsorbs it. Yet methylmercury that gets into liver cells is pumped out into the bile as methylmercury-glutathione, according to studies conducted by Ned Ballatori at the University of Rochester. As it passes down the biliary tract, some of it converts back to methylmercury-cysteine and is reabsorbed. But some is also converted by the natural microflora in the gut to inorganic mercury, which is excreted, according to Ian Rowland, a professor at the University of Ulster, in Northern Ireland. Each day, an adult body releases about 1% of its total methylmercury burden

[jdurg]

After reading about that incident many years ago, it made me a bit more nervous when working in chem labs.  She had gloves on that she thought were enough protection, but the dimethylmercury just went right through them.  Scary how a couple of drops that leech through latex gloves can kill a person.  

I'm also still working on my article, but it will take quite a bit of time for me to finish it.  I was recently promoted to a higher position at the company I work at, and I start the new job on Friday.  I've been quite busy getting myself ready for the new position and have a lot of stuff to move/take care of.  I'm also getting a much bigger cubicle and have decided to take pictures of all my elements and arrange them into a periodic table display in my cubicle.  So that is going to take quite a bit of time to accomplish which will take away from my time to work on the mercury article.  

[jdurg]

Here's a little site that has a few articles about the Dartmouth professor who died from the mercury poisoning.  Click Here.  It's really scary when you think about it.  While looking at my collection while sitting at work, I realized just how nasty some of these elements are and how toxic they are as well.  When a co-worker saw my sample of mercury, and I told him that I had about twice as much as in the picture, his jaw dropped and he was completely shocked.  I assured him that the vial is very well sealed and cannot be opened, but he still seemed alarmed.  (Heh.  Then I showed him the arsenic picture and the sodium metal picture).  

[movies]

I have a one page description of the incident at Dartmouth, written by another professor there.  I copy and send it to you for the column, if you would like.

You know a very handy way to clean up spilled Hg liquid is to take a piece of dry ice in some tweezers and touch it to the Hg.  The liquid will freeze to the dry ice and then you can pick it up and move it to a safe location.  Might be a nice thing to put in the article as well.  

I think it's silly to tell people how dangerous some chemicals are but then not tell them what to do when they encounter such things.

[jdurg]

If you could send me that article you have, that would be great.  I haven't had any time at all to work on my Mercury article, but this weekend I may have a few moments.  So if you want to send that my way, that would be a big help.

thanks!  

[Corvettaholic]

How's the mercury article coming? It's going to be like a birthday present! Kinda. Mercury IS neat stuff though... could you touch on electrical properties and applications too?

[jdurg]

I actually haven't touched the article in a good long while.  I need to take a week off of work and clear my brain since when I come home from work, the last thing I want to do is sit in front of a computer.    But it will eventually be completed and then posted.  

[Mitch]

Your eager fan club awaits.

[jdurg]

I know, I know.    This is making me want to put out a perfect article which is a pain in the rump since I'm kind of a perfectionist.  THE PRESSURE IS OVERWHELMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  

[Donaldson Tan]

i hear mercury acts as good sauce to go with sashimi.. LOL.. just kidding

 :laughbounce2:

Hg would be very interesting I guess.. the only metal that exist as liquid at rtp

[jdurg]

Well, I hate to say this, but a little bug on my hard drive killed the folder where I had my articles posted.    So now I have to start all over from scratch with my mercury article.  ARRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHH!  

(Also, at VERY slightly above room temperature, cesium is a liquid metal as well).