Don't mess with mercury

The Don't Mess With Mercury Video is a 30-second animated video public service announcement in English and Spanish. The video was created to bring awareness to youth, teachers/school administrators and parents about exposure to elemental mercury from spills, improper use or clean-up that can lead to central nervous system effects and other health effects. Clean-up and disposal can also be very expensive. Many mercury exposures occur because youth find mercury, think it is "cool," play with it, share it with friends and contaminate their houses and schools when it is spilled. Public health and emergency response workers are frequently called upon to educate students, parents, teachers, and school administrators about spill prevent and mitigation measures. In addition to the 30-second animated video PSA in English and Spanish, the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has developed a suite of tools to reach these unique audencies including: a video, interactive human body illustration, fact sheets for teachers and parents and other resources. The tools are available on the redesigned ATSDR web site titled, "Don't Mess With Mercury," and can be used at schools and at home. The presenter will introduce the 30-second animated PSA and discuss how examples from ATSDR's responses to mercury spills were used to create targeted messages for youth in the development of the PSA, and share ways to incorporate them into public health education and health promotion activities in your community.