Environmental Hazard
Mercury compounds are toxic, highly persistent in the environment, and present a danger to humans and the environment. The use of large quantities of mercury in fragile glass envelopes presents a hazard of potential release of mercury to the environment should the glass bulb be broken. Some HVDC converter stations have required expensive clean-up to eliminate traces of mercury emitted from the station over its service life. Steel tank rectifiers frequently required vacuum pumps which continually emitted small amounts of mercury vapor.
Read more about this topic: Mercury-arc Valve
Famous quotes containing the word hazard:
“I, who am king of the matter I treat, and who owe an accounting for it to no one, do not for all that believe myself in all I write. I often hazard sallies of my mind which I mistrust.”
—Michel de Montaigne (1533–1592)