Trade a new thermometer for an old one. This is the message that a bill approved by the US senate seeks to give. While it bans mercury thermometers, it has provided US $20 million for the exchange programme.
There is one gramme of mercury in a traditional fever-measuring device. However, this little quantity is enough to pollute an eight-hectare lake. The mercury particles eventually settle in waterways and are eaten by fish, from where they move up the food chain.
On being broken, a mercury thermometer forms minuscule droplets that release vapours which are detrimental to the human nervous system.
Links:
[1] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/news/phase-out-fever-pitch
[2] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/newspaper/down-earth
[3] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/pollution
[4] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/diagnostic-methods
[5] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/mercury
[6] http://admin.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/category/thesaurus/united-states-america-us