Swap Your Mercury Thermometer for a Safer One and/or Pick Up An Application For a Free Radon House Test Kit.

The Montgomery County Health Department wants to help the community by decreasing the amount of health risks in their home.  Starting July 2009, the Health Department, in partnership with the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, is serving as a permanent collection site for the disposal of fever mercury thermometers. 

The mercury inside these thermometers can be a health risk, especially to young children, if the glass that contains it is broken.  Not only is the liquid dangerous, but also the vapors released.  Trying to sweep or vacuum up a spill only releases more vapors into the air. 

According to Health Care Without Harm, the Campaign for Environmentally Responsible Health Care, young children who were exposed to mercury from a broken thermometer suffered from apathy, irritability, hypertension, weight loss, sweating, light sensitivity, and eczema.  In some of the cases, it took months for children to recover.

For this reason, the Montgomery County Health Department is giving free, non-mercury containing thermometers to families who bring in their old mercury thermometers.  Please bring your mercury thermometer in its original case or a sealed plastic soda bottle.  To exchange your mercury thermometer please go to the Montgomery County Health Department at 330 Pageant Lane, Clarksville, TN. 

Also, we are giving out applications to get a Free Radon Kit to test your house.  Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer, resulting in more than 21,000 deaths each year.  It is important to test for Radon in your current home.  Radon comes from the ground your house sits on and you may not even know that you are at risk.  Stop by the Montgomery County Health Department to pick up an application today!