Which household items contain mercury? Despite being phased out
of many products, mercury still lurks in our homes. Thu, Apr 09
2009 at 10:44 AM Mercury as an environmental pollutant is a
bigger threat to most people than the familiar metal droplets in
thermometers. Not only is exposure more common, but certain
microorganisms in the environment convert it to an even more
toxic form called methylmercury, which then moves up the food
chain, accumulating on the way. Unfortunately for us — in one of
the position's few downsides — we're at the top of virtually
every food chain on Earth. [For more on mercury in food, see
"FDA: How much mercury is in fish we eat?"] But those silvery
droplets in thermometers are also still toxic, and the fact that
elemental mercury is a liquid at room temperature makes it so
unusual and so useful that it's found in a variety of common
products. People have been fascinated by mercury for millennia,
and while they sometimes overestimated its benefits — one
Chinese emperor died after dr