Editing Mercury-in-glass thermometer (section)

====United Kingdom====
Since [[European Union]] directive 2007/51/EC came into force on 3 April 2009, the UK [[Health Protection Agency]] (HPA) reported that mercury thermometers could no longer be sold to the general public. Shops holding stocks of unsold thermometers had to withdraw them from sale; mercury thermometers purchased before this date could be used without legal implications. The purpose of these restrictions is to protect the environment and public health by decreasing the amount of mercury waste released.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1263812796194|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002853/http://www.hpa.org.uk/webc/HPAwebFile/HPAweb_C/1263812796194|url-status=dead|title=UK Health Protection Agency Chemical Hazards and Poisons Report, from the Chemical Hazards and Poisons Division, January 2010 Issue 16, p6: Does the Health Protection Agency website prevent harm from breakage of mercury thermometers?|archivedate=December 3, 2013}}</ref> The HPA had, in 2007, released a guide to dealing with small spills of mercury.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/mercury-properties-incident-management-and-toxicology|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20131203002416/http://www.hpa.org.uk/webw/HPAweb%26HPAwebStandard/HPAweb_C/1195733821650?p=1158313435037|url-status=dead|title=Mercury: health effects, incident management and toxicology|date=June 8, 2022|archivedate=December 3, 2013|website=GOV.UK}}</ref>

Despite the phasing-out of mercury thermometers in the United Kingdom, British media continues to refer to [[temperature measurement]]s, especially for [[weather forecast]]s, as "the mercury".<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.times-series.co.uk/news/national/20281868.met-office-warns-lives-risk-all-time-record-temperatures-likely/ | title=Met Office warns lives could be at risk with all-time record temperatures likely | date=15 July 2022 | access-date=18 July 2022 | archive-date=18 July 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220718074314/https://www.times-series.co.uk/news/national/20281868.met-office-warns-lives-risk-all-time-record-temperatures-likely/ | url-status=live }}</ref>