MERCURY Photo by: José M. Domínguez

Overview Mercury is a transition metal. A transition metal is one of the elements found between Groups 2 (IIA) and 13 (IIIA) on the periodic table. The periodic table is a chart that shows how chemical elements are related to one another. Mercury has long been known as quicksilver, because it is a silver liquid. The chemical symbol also reflects this property. The symbol, Hg, comes from the Latin term hydrargyrum, meaning "watery silver." Mercury has been known for thousands of years. In many cultures, people learned to make mercury metal from its most important ore, cinnabar. When heated cinnabar releases mercury as a vapor (gas). The vapor is cooled and captured as liquid mercury. SYMBOL

Hg ATOMIC NUMBER

80 ATOMIC MASS

200.59 FAMILY

Group 12 (IIB)

Transition metal PRONUNCIATION

MER-kyuh-ree Some mercury compounds are known to be poisonous. For example, mercuric chloride (corrosive sublimate) was often used to kill pests and, sometimes, people. On the other hand, some mercury compounds have been used as medicines. For instance, mercurous chloride (calomel) was long used as a cure for skin rashes. In the last forty years, the dangers of mercury have become better known. As a result, mercury use is now being phased out.

Discovery and naming The oldest sample of mercury dates to about the fifteenth or sixteen century B.C. It was found in an Egyptian tomb at Kurna, stored in a small glass container. Mercury and cinnabar are both mentioned in ancient manuscripts. The Chinese, Hindus, Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans all recorded information about the element and its ore. Greek philosopher Theophrastus (372-287 B.C. ), for example, described a method for preparing mercury. Cinnabar was rubbed together with vinegar in a clay dish. Theophrastus wrote that the cinnabar had been found in silver mines. When the metal was first made, he said, people thought it might contain gold. They were misled by the metal's shiny appearance. They soon realized, however, that it was quite different from gold. Many reports on mercury told of its poisonous effects. Slaves who worked in Roman mercury mines, for example, often died of exposure to mercury. Strangely enough, trees and plants around these mines were not affected. Mercury was sometimes very dangerous and sometimes quite safe. People even drank from streams that ran through mercury mines. Scientists now know that mercury's effects depend on the form in which it occurs. Mercury amalgams have also been around for a long time. An amalgam is a combination of mercury with at least one other metal. Amalgams are formed when a metal, such as silver, dissolves in mercury. The process is similar to dissolving salt in water. Amalgamation is used in mining to remove silver from ore. The silver dissolves in the mercury and a silver amalgam is formed. Heating the amalgam releases the silver. This method was used by miners as early as the sixteenth century.

Physical properties Mercury is the only liquid metal. In fact, there is only one other liquid element, bromine. Bromine is a non-metal. Mercury can be frozen (changed into a solid) at a temperature of –38.85°C (–37.93°F). It can be changed into a gas ("boiled") at 365.6°C (690.1°F). Its density is 13.59 grams per cubic centimeter. Mercury has two physical properties of special interest. First, it has very high surface tension. Surface tension is a property of liquids that make them act like they are covered with a skin. For example, some water bugs are able to walk on the surface of water. With care, one can float a needle on the surface of water. These incidents are possible because of water's surface tension. Mercury is also a very good conductor of electricity. This property is used in a number of practical devices. One such device is a mercury switch, such as the kind that turns lights on and off. A small amount of mercury can be placed into a tiny glass capsule. The capsule can be made to tip back and forth. As it tips, the mercury flows from one end to the other. At one end of the capsule, the mercury may allow an electric current to flow through a circuit. At the other end, no mercury is present, so no current can flow. Mercury switches are easy to make and very efficient.

Chemical properties Mercury is moderately active. It does not react with oxygen in the air very readily. It reacts with some acids when they are hot, but not with most cold acids.

Occurrence in nature The abundance of mercury in the Earth's crust is estimated to be about 0.5 parts per million. That makes it one of the 20 least common elements. It very rarely occurs as an element. Instead, it is usually found as a compound. Its most common ore is cinnabar, or mercuric sulfide (HgS). Cinnabar usually occurs as a dark red powder. It is often called by the common name of vermillion or Chinese vermillion. The largest producer of mercury outside the United States is Spain. U.S. production numbers are not announced in order to protect U.S. industries from revealing important company secrets. Other producers after Spain are Kyrgyzstan, Algeria, China, and Finland. In the United States, mercury is produced as a by-product of gold mining. It comes from eight gold mines in California, Nevada, and Utah.

Isotopes Seven naturally occurring isotopes of mercury are known. They are mercury-196, mercury-198, mercury-199, mercury-200, mercury-201, mercury-202, and mercury-204. Isotopes are two or more forms of an element. Isotopes differ from each other according to their mass number. The number written to the right of the element's name is the mass number. The mass number represents the number of protons plus neutrons in the nucleus of an atom of the element. The number of protons determines the element, but the number of neutrons in the atom of any one element can vary. Each variation is an isotope. Mercury is the only liquid metal. About a dozen radioactive isotopes of mercury are known also. A radioactive isotope is one that breaks apart and gives off some form of radiation. Radioactive isotopes are produced when very small particles are fired at atoms. These particles stick in the atoms and make them radioactive. Two radioactive isotopes of mercury are used in medicine, mercury-197 and mercury-203. Both isotopes are used to study the brain and the kidneys. The isotopes are injected into the body where they travel to the brain and the kidneys. Inside these two organs, the isotopes give off radiation that is detected by instruments held above the body. The pattern of radiation provides information about how well the brain and kidneys are functioning.

Extraction Mercury is still prepared as it was hundreds of years ago. Cinnabar is heated in air. The compound breaks down to give mercury metal:

The mercury metal is then purified by distillation. Distillation is the process of heating two or more liquids to their boiling points. Different liquids boil at different temperatures. The liquid that is wanted (such as mercury) can be collected at its boiling point. Mercury that is more than 99 percent pure can be collected by distillation.

Uses The most important use of mercury is in the preparation of chlorine. Chlorine is produced by passing an electric current through sodium chloride:

There is a problem with using this method, however. Sodium (Na) is a very reactive metal. If any water is present, the sodium will react violently with the water. This reaction makes the production of chlorine much more difficult. In 1892, two English chemists developed a method for solving this problem. They made a container with a layer of mercury on the bottom. As sodium is produced by the electric current, it dissolves in the mercury, forming an amalgam. The sodium is unable to react with water. For many years, the "mercury cell" invented in 1892 was a very popular method for producing chlorine. But today, companies are looking for other ways to make chlorine. They are worried about the harmful effects of mercury. They are also concerned that mercury can get into the environment and harm humans, animals, and plants. The second most important use of mercury in the United States is in switches and other electrical applications. Again, there are increasing concerns about the health effects of mercury. Many companies are switching to electronic switches. One application in which concerns about mercury have had little effect is fluorescent lamps. A fluorescent lamp contains mercury vapor (gas). When the lamp is turned on, an electric current passes through the mercury vapor, causing it to give off invisible radiation. The radiation strikes the inside of the glass tube, whose walls are coated with a phosphor. A phosphor is a material that gives off visible light when struck by electrons. The tube glows as the radiation strikes the phosphor. Lamp manufacturers have reduced the amount of mercury in fluorescent lamps by about 60 percent. They developed ways to make the Lamps work just as well with less mercury. However, mercury lamps are much more popular. Each lamp now contains much less mercury. But there are many more lamps than ever before. For a time, mercury batteries were quite popular. In the early 1980s, more than 1,000 tons of mercury a year were used to make mercury batteries. These batteries are a special environmental problem, however. People tend to just throw them away when they no longer work. The cases split open easily, releasing mercury into the environment. As a result, much less mercury is now being used to make such batteries. In 1996, less than one ton of mercury was used in these batteries. They are now restricted almost entirely to military and medical uses. Mercury is also used in dental applications, measuring instruments (such as mercury thermometers and barometers), and coatings for mirrors.

Compounds Mercury compound use is also decreasing because of health concerns. A few of the compounds still in use follow. Notice that two different endings are used for mercury compounds. Those that end in -ous have less mercury than those that end in -ic. mercuric arsenate (HgHAsO 4 ): waterproofing paints mercuric benzoate (Hg(C 7 G 5 O 2 ) 2 ): medicine; used to treat syphilis mercuric chloride, or mercury bichloride, or corrosive sublimate (HgCl 2 ): disinfectant, tanning of leather, spray for potato seedlings (to protect from disease), insecticide, preservation of wood, embalming fluid, textile printing, and engraving mercuric cyanide (Hg(CN) 2 ): germicidal soaps (soaps that kill germs), photography mercuric oxide (HgO): red or yellow pigment in paints, disinfectant, fungicide (to kill fungi), perfumes and cosmetics mercuric sulfide (HgS): red or black pigment in paints mercurous chloride, or calomel (Hg 2 Cl 2 ): fungicide, maggot control in agriculture, fireworks mercurous chromate (Hg 2 CrO 4 ): green pigment in paints mercurous iodide (Hg 2 I 2 ): kills bacteria on the skin The tragic effects of mercury poisoning I n a tragic irony, a scientist who was helping to improve the environment died as a result of her efforts. On June 8, 1997, Dartmouth College chemistry professor Karen Wetterhahn died of mercury poisoning. Less than a year earlier, she had been experimenting with dimethyl mercury when she spilled a tiny amount on her hands. Dimethyl mercury is one of the most toxic of mercury compounds. Wetterhahn was studying the effects that heavy metals (mercury, chromium, lead, and arsenic) have on living things. She was concerned about how these elements pollute the environment and cause disease in people. In August 1996, as Wetterhahn was transferring some dimethyl mercury to a tube, the accident occurred. She was wearing latex gloves, but they were not adequate protection against the dangerous chemical. The mercury seeped into her skin. Wetterhahn did not begin to feel the effects of the exposure until six months later. She then started losing her balance, slurring her speech, and suffering vision and hearing loss. Tests showed her system had eighty times the lethal dose of mercury. Wetterhahn died of mercury poisoning on June 8, 1997. Wetterhahn's death prompted some safety changes. Bright stickers on latex glove boxes should warn against using the gloves with hazardous chemicals. Workshops were held to teach proper glove selection. The dangers of dimethyl mercury were stressed. And scientists were urged to use a less dangerous chemical than dimethyl mercury. Overall, her death heightened awareness in the scientific community of potential laboratory dangers.

Health effects Mercury metal and most compounds of mercury are highly toxic. Interestingly enough, scientists have become aware of this fact only quite recently. The toxicity of some mercury compounds has been known for many centuries. One form of mercury chloride known as calomel, for example, was sometimes used as a poison to kill people. It was also once used extensively to kill fungi and control maggots in agricultural crops. But even as recently as fifty years ago, there was relatively little concern about mercury metal and many mercury compounds. High school chemistry students often played with tiny droplets of mercury in the laboratory. They used mercury to coat pennies and other pieces of metal. Mercury was also widely used in dentistry. It was used to make amalgams, alloys of mercury with other metals, used to fill teeth. Most people even today are likely to have dental fillings that contain a small amount of mercury metal. In the last fifty years, chemists have learned a great deal more about the toxic effects of both mercury metal and most of its compounds. They now know that mercury itself enters the body very easily. Its vapors pass through the skin into the blood stream. Its vapors can also be inhaled. And, of course, it can also be swallowed. In any of these cases, mercury gets into blood and then into cells. There it interferes with essential chemical reactions and can cause illness and death. Sometimes, these effects occur over very long periods of time. People who work with mercury, for example, may take in small amounts of mercury over months or years. Health problems develop very slowly. These problems can include inflammation of the mouth and gums; loosening of the teeth; damage to the kidneys and muscles; shaking of the arms and legs; and depression, nervousness, and personality changes. "Mad as a hatter!" B ack in the 1800s, most of the negative effects of mercury and its compounds were not yet known. Hatmakers of that time commonly used a mercury compound in their craft. It was used to treat the felt and beaver fur that lined the hats. Eventually, exposure to the mercury began to cause changes in the hatmakers' bodies. Their personalities and behavior became erratic. Recognizing the bizarre personalities of many hatmakers, people often used the expression "mad as a hatter." In fact, author Lewis Carroll (1832-98) created a character for Alice's Adventures in Wonderland that owes its origins to the symptoms of mercury poisoning: The Mad Hatter. People can also be exposed to large doses of mercury over short periods of time. In such cases, even more serious health problems can arise. These include nausea, vomiting diarrhea, stomach pain, damage to the kidneys, and death in only a week or so. So is mercury still safe to use in dental fillings? That question is the source of considerable controversy. Some people say that so little mercury is lost from fillings that the metal presents no danger to people. Other people think that dentists should take no chances with this dangerous metal. They should stop using mercury fillings entirely.