The History of Thermometers

• The word 'thermometer' comes from the Greek term therme (heat) and the Latin word metrum (to measure)
• Galileo Galilei invented a rudimentary water thermometer in 1593 which, for the first time, allowed temperature variations to be measured.
• The German physicist Daniel G Fahrenheit invented the first modern thermometer — the mercury thermometer—in 1714.

Mercury Pollution:

• Fever thermometers are the largest single source of mercury discarded annually in municipal solid waste, estimated by the EPA at 17 tons of mercury per year.
• A single broken fever thermometer, containing 0.5 to 1.5 grams of mercury, is enough to create a health risk if it evaporates into a small, poorly ventilated room.
• 0.5 grams of Mercury from one broken thermometer can pollute 5 million gallons of water.
• The amount of mercury in a single thermometer is enough to contaminate all the fish in a lake with a surface area of 20 acres. It can cost a minimum of $2,000 to remove it from the waste stream.

Health Consequences:

• According to a National Research Council report, about 60,000 children born in the U.S. each year may have neurological problems due to exposure to methylmercury in utero.
• Public health officials across the country report a steady stream of concerned calls - more than 18,000 to poison control centers in 1998 alone - of concerned calls from broken mercury thermometers.

The Public Response:

• The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that pediatricians stop using all mercury-containing devices, including thermometers, and encourage parents to do the same.
• The five largest pharmacy chains in the United States—CVS, Rite-Aid, Walgreen, Wal-Mart and Eckerd, have each agreed to phase out the sale of mercury thermometers.
• More than 70 percent of the chain pharmacies nationwide have stopped selling mercury fever thermometers.
• At least eight (8) states have banned the sale or restricted the use of mercury thermometers.
• 600 hospitals and clinics, including the National Institutes of Health, have agreed to phase out mercury pollution from their waste streams by 2005.
• On September 6, 2002, the United States Senate unanimously passed legislation that will imposed a national ban on the sale of mercury fever thermometers.

How to Solve the Problem of Mercury Thermometers

• Digital thermometers such as Timex Healthcare's Accu-curve™, Acrobat™, and Illuminator™ are great alternatives to mercury-based thermometers.
• Dispose of your old mercury thermometers properly by calling your state pollution control agency or local health department, as listed in the phone book.