Spilled mercury, even small quantities in the home, should be cleaned up properly so that people don t come in contact with it or breathe its vapors. Some ordinary cleanup measures such as sweeping and vacuuming can actually increase the risks.
Mercury vapor is odorless, colorless and very toxic.
Even though liquid mercury evaporates slowly, a significant amount of mercury vapor can build up in indoor air at room temperature after some is spilled it can be dangerous to breathe these mercury vapors. The Minnesota Department of Health publishes a booklet every year that shows how much fish of various kinds and sizes can safely be eaten from lakes from which fish have been tested. Or you can look up the characteristics of particular lakes, including any information available on fish consumption advisories, on the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources web site . The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency classifies mercury as a possible human carcinogen. So far, data are unsufficient to determine conclusively whether it causes cancer.