Regarding Mercury switches: Mercury switches / viles should be carefully removed before scrapping the equipment or item containing mercury switches and old thermostats etc.

Throughout the years I have run into ocassional mercury viles/ switches, but I hardly had to worry about it until we started liquidating this commercial & Industrial salvage yard. The photo's show some of the industrial electrical control units we have srapped and out of approx. 45 control cabinets & boards, almost all of them had at least two per cabinet... thats a lot of mercury.

Photo Bucket pictures I posted today:

http://s1209.photobucket.com/albums/...ry%20Recovery/