Anyone else notice this article on the apparent EU-prompted demise of
mercury barometers and thermometers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nmercury04.xml

I'd heard rumours about this from some time back but thought that the
concerns had gone away. Anyone know if there's likely to be any
impact on eg thermometers for meteorological use or will they be
exempt too?

John Dann
www.weatherstations.co.uk

In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, John Dann
wrote :
Anyone else notice this article on the apparent EU-prompted demise of
mercury barometers and thermometers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nmercury04.xml

I'd heard rumours about this from some time back but thought that the
concerns had gone away. Anyone know if there's likely to be any
impact on eg thermometers for meteorological use or will they be
exempt too?

There also the fact that you can't leave electronic thermometers exposed
to damp, unlike mercury ones.
--
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham (change 'invalid83261' to 'blueyonder' to email me)

In message
Paul Hyett wrote:

In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, John Dann
wrote :
Anyone else notice this article on the apparent EU-prompted demise of
mercury barometers and thermometers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nmercury04.xml

I'd heard rumours about this from some time back but thought that the
concerns had gone away. Anyone know if there's likely to be any
impact on eg thermometers for meteorological use or will they be
exempt too?

There also the fact that you can't leave electronic thermometers exposed
to damp, unlike mercury ones.

Perverse isn't it? The EU are of course ENCOURAGING the use of low
energy light bulbs (Compact Floresecents) that also contain mercury!



--
Created on the Iyonix PC - the world's fastest RISC OS computer.
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/m.dixon4/

On Fri, 04 May 2007 17:23:35 GMT, Paul Hyett
wrote:

In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, John Dann
wrote :
Anyone else notice this article on the apparent EU-prompted demise of
mercury barometers and thermometers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...nmercury04.xml

I'd heard rumours about this from some time back but thought that the
concerns had gone away. Anyone know if there's likely to be any
impact on eg thermometers for meteorological use or will they be
exempt too?

There also the fact that you can't leave electronic thermometers exposed
to damp, unlike mercury ones.

I like electronic thermometers with small wire probes - the wires and
probes are fine in the damp (and in water!). I hate those massive and
sluggish remote transmitter-sensors (Oregon, LaCrosse etc.); give me a
wire connection and a small nifty waterproof probe any day.

I haven't used a mercury thermometer for donkey's years... it's too
bad if the "antique furnishings" brigade get upset, I say. They may be
worth hanging onto though, they could shoot up in value in a decade
or two's time.

I can see no reason why meteorological thermometers should be exempt.

--
Dave

On May 4, 6:23 pm, Paul Hyett wrote:
In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, John Dann
wrote :

Anyone else notice this article on the apparent EU-prompted demise of
mercury barometers and thermometers?

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...07/05/04/nmerc...

I'd heard rumours about this from some time back but thought that the
concerns had gone away. Anyone know if there's likely to be any
impact on eg thermometers for meteorological use or will they be
exempt too?

There also the fact that you can't leave electronic thermometers exposed
to damp, unlike mercury ones.
--
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham (change 'invalid83261' to 'blueyonder' to email me)

I expect it'll all blow over as someone finally realises the
absurditiy of a ban. Don't forget that the Telegraph article only
mentioned that someone had seen a document. Maybe they had, maybe
they hadn't. Maybe the document didn't say what the fellow though it
did. Don't forget this is the Telegraph, which has a vested
interested in scaring us about the EU. Bit like the Sun in that
respect, only for the more educated.

Tudor Hughes, Warlingham, Surrey.

In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, Dave Ludlow
wrote :

There also the fact that you can't leave electronic thermometers exposed
to damp, unlike mercury ones.

I like electronic thermometers with small wire probes - the wires and
probes are fine in the damp (and in water!).

True.

I hate those massive and
sluggish remote transmitter-sensors (Oregon, LaCrosse etc.)

I use my mini-screen to house the electronic bits.

I haven't used a mercury thermometer for donkey's years... it's too
bad if the "antique furnishings" brigade get upset, I say. They may be
worth hanging onto though, they could shoot up in value in a decade
or two's time.

I still have several of them hanging around (not literally).

I can see no reason why meteorological thermometers should be exempt.

As a kid, it was fun to play with liquid mercury, and I day say most of
us here did so, and we're still around...
--
Paul Hyett, Cheltenham (change 'invalid83261' to 'blueyonder' to email me)

On Sat, 05 May 2007 07:11:24 GMT, Paul Hyett
wrote:

In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, Dave Ludlow
wrote :

I can see no reason why meteorological thermometers should be exempt.

As a kid, it was fun to play with liquid mercury, and I day say most of
us here did so, and we're still around...

I have no problem with the actual thermometers (unless perhaps you
smash one on yourself!) but isn't it the danger to the workers during
manufacturer that the EU is worried about? Continual exposure to
minute quantities of mercury poses, I assume, a serious health risk
and to justify that, the use has t be "essential" and presumably with
tight (perhaps expensive) controls during manufacture?

In this day of accurate electronics, it's hard to justify a claim that
mercury thermometers are essential to meteorology. But I take the
point, hinted at by some, that it's another example of the nanny state
going too far. I don't know enough about the risks to know if this is
true or not.

--
Dave

"Rodney Blackall" wrote in message
...
| In article ,
| Dave Ludlow wrote:
| On Fri, 04 May 2007 17:23:35 GMT, Paul Hyett
| wrote:
|
| In uk.sci.weather on Fri, 4 May 2007, John Dann
| wrote :
| Anyone else notice this article on the apparent EU-prompted demise of
| mercury barometers and thermometers?
|
| [Snip]
|
| I can see no reason why meteorological thermometers should be exempt.
|
| They do not need to be calibrated more than once; batteries and
electronics
| not required.
|
| The edict mainly affects barometers, notoriously dangerous instruments
often
| causing aircraft to fly into mountains; also used by Professor Purple to
| murder Miss Scarlett in the Drawing Room (Cluedo).
|

In that case, the content of the "Cluedo" game has changed since I bought
mine.
--
- Yokel -
oo oo
OOO OOO
OO 0 OO
) ( I ) (
) ( /\ ) (

"Yokel" now posts via a spam-trap account.
Replace my alias with stevejudd to reply.