Wanted/Needed: Hg/ Mercury (metal)

[BatSteve]

As long as there's not a name on it and you've packaged it well, there would be zero issue. The only reason it might be a problem to ship via air is that, were somebody to pack it improperly, it could leak and damage the aircraft, creating fulminates along the way, and disrupt the plane's wiring.

Now, remember - that's if it should leak at all.

Besides, who cares about their 'Safty Regulations,' anyway?

*raises hand*

[Slurpy]

Trust me , if I package something like this ,It could fall out of the plane and still not leak.

Falling out of a plane would be a lot more gentle than a three-ton counterbalance truck running over the box (which I used to love to do, every time I had the excuse of a box falling off the pallet).

[Chriskarr]

Besides, who cares about their 'Safty Regulations,' anyway?

*raises hand*

Well...uh...

...You're biased! =)

So, on a brighter topic, has "anyone" had any luck with the finding of their supply?

[SitkaGrown]

How fast does mercury evaporate ? I found a bottle that I think had it in there.It's MT now
It could be the wrong bottle though,if it is the one ,it's been open for 50+ yrs. !
I'll keep looking,sorry for getting your hopes up.

[davidjkuhr]

You would not be able to ship Mercury or any other hazardous material through the USPS since its illegal. All parcels larger than a letter or flat require a return address. If you do ship a hazardous material and a problem arises with it the sender will be held liable and could face criminal charges.
You can find more information here: http://www.usps.com/aviationsecurity/

If you need to ship mercury you will have to send it via a courier service that is licensed and trained to handle hazardous materials or you will have to transport it yourself.

Mercury will evaporate at about 0.056 milligrams per hour per square cm, at 20C
More info here: http://www.speclab.com/elements/mercury.htm

[SitkaGrown]

You would not be able to ship Mercury or any other hazardous material through the USPS since its illegal. All parcels larger than a letter or flat require a return address. If you do ship a hazardous material and a problem arises with it the sender will be held liable and could face criminal charges.
You can find more information here: http://www.usps.com/aviationsecurity/

If you need to ship mercury you will have to send it via a courier service that is licensed and trained to handle hazardous materials or you will have to transport it yourself.

I would Never do anything unlawful !

[davidjkuhr]

You would not be able to ship Mercury or any other hazardous material through the USPS since its illegal. All parcels larger than a letter or flat require a return address. If you do ship a hazardous material and a problem arises with it the sender will be held liable and could face criminal charges.
You can find more information here: http://www.usps.com/aviationsecurity/

If you need to ship mercury you will have to send it via a courier service that is licensed and trained to handle hazardous materials or you will have to transport it yourself.

I would Never do anything unlawful !

I just felt it was necessary to inform those who are unaware of the risks involved since I do technically work at a post office.

[MattG]

You would not be able to ship Mercury or any other hazardous material through the USPS since its illegal. All parcels larger than a letter or flat require a return address. If you do ship a hazardous material and a problem arises with it the sender will be held liable and could face criminal charges.
You can find more information here: http://www.usps.com/aviationsecurity/

If you need to ship mercury you will have to send it via a courier service that is licensed and trained to handle hazardous materials or you will have to transport it yourself.

I would Never do anything unlawful !

I just felt it was necessary to inform those who are unaware of the risks involved since I do technically work at a post office.

According to some websites (mostly uni environmental safety departments), the penalty for noncompliance with hazmat shipping rules for individuals are up to $250,000 fine + 1 year prison.

UPS does perform hazmat shipping, and I'm sure Fedex and other carries do too. If I were you I would at least call for a quote. Maybe it will even be within your price range.
http://www.ups.com/content/us/en/resour ... hazardous/

[SitkaGrown]

Thanks for the info,but I may not even have any to ship .

Wonder what happened to the guy who had gallons of Hg ?

[Chriskarr]

Okay, so it is legal to ship (via FedEx and UPS Ground) one pound (or less) of mercury metal inside a suitable container without hazmat labeling.

One pound of mercury has a very low volume due to its inherent density, so one could get away with shipping it in tiny flat-rate boxes, assuming they could find a suitable container.

Mercury itself is not illegal to ship without packaging (when using the authorized couriers mentioned above) dictating its contents. Mercury is, however, illegal to ship via ground, without hazmat packaging, in quantities exceeding one pound.. What I'm requesting is about five pounds, but I could get away with three or four with no issue. This means one could package a number of boxes with one pound and ship them - legally and without labeling - with no issues, whatsoever.

[hubzcaps]

wat u makin a spaceship

[Sparcz]

Here's an interesting resource on mercury rectifiers.

http://www.tubebooks.org/Books/pmaratc.pdf
NEW 8/1/10 - Principles of Mercury Arc Rectifiers and their Circuits, David Chandler Prince and Francis Brooke Vogdes, 1927, 236 pages - Courtesy of an anonymous donor
Theory and applications of early mercury rectifiers.
Download full text, 23MB PDF file

[Chriskarr]

Yes, Sparcz, thank you (very much) for the literature; it's a fine read and contains a great deal of useful information. That being said, it doesn't solve my problem of attaining the mercury, itself..

I'm thinking that, if neither Frank (SitkaGrown) nor integralfrom0to1 come up with their availability, I may end up purchasing it and packaging and a premium, and that would be...less-than-optimal.

Regardless, thanks everyone for the great response which I've seen, as well as the generous dose of legal information I've been given (and found, in my speaking with individual couriers..).

- Christopher Karr

[Thermoelectric]

Mercury makes aluminium (which some/most? planes are made out of) sad.

[Chriskarr]

What a great help you are, Beau!