During the annual Heart Health Screening, WRH provides free blood pressure checks and cholesterol tests as well as a self-test for patients to determine their heart health. This year, during the event community members may bring their properly-packaged mercury thermometers to WRH and exchange them for a new, digital thermometer free of charge, while supplies last. Wadsworth-Rittman Hospital will then properly and safely dispose of the mercury thermometers.
Mercury thermometers are very easy to break and very difficult to clean up.
According to the organization, Health Care Without Harm, a thermometer contains about 0.5-1.5 grams of mercury. One gram of mercury can contaminate a twenty-acre lake with enough mercury to cause public warnings to limit the consumption of fish. If mercury from a broken thermometer is not cleaned up properly it is enough to create a health risk in a poorly ventilated room. Those who wish to take advantage of the exchange program must first package the thermometer properly. The container with the thermometer enclosed should then be put in a zip-lock bag as an extra measure of protection.