Mercury: risks and handling as hazardous waste

Abstract

The handling of some chemical substances, as is the case of Mercury used in the determination of the contraction characteristics of soils, becomes dangerous waste at the end of the test process, which requires an adequate management having as a reference the established measures in the legislation and complying with the legal and applicable requirements in this matter. In the present work the characteristics of the mercury, the measures for its use, transportation, and/or storage, as well as the risks to the occupationally exposed workers, are related in the Laboratories of the Applied Research Company. The objective of this research is to raise the culture in the procedures for the handling of chemical substances and hazardous waste, in the use and care of the means of individual protection, as well as compliance with everything established in the procedures for the realization of activities related to the use of mercury to form an environmental awareness focused on achieving an excellent quality of life in the workplace and contribute to the protection of the environment.