How to Identify: The bulbs of thermometers containing mercury are usually silver in color, while those of alcohol thermometers are red. Some BLUE tipped thermometers may contain mercury. To see if a BLUE thermometer contains mercury, view the indicator from different angles; if the indicator changes color and becomes grayish, it contains mercury.
Amount of Mercury: Typical fever thermometers contain about 0.5 grams of mercury.
The photograph on the left shows multiple fever thermometers (oral & rectal) with different bulb sizes and configurations.
The photograph on the right shows fever thermometers with color coded ends (depending on the manufacturer). These colors are NOT a means to determine whether or not a specific thermometer contains mercury.
The means to determine if a specific thermometer contains mercury is to view the bulbous end and/or view the indicator; if the color is grey or silver, it most likely contains mercury. Red and Blue colored bulbs and/or indicators typically do not contain mercury.
