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Historical Uses for Mercury in Washington
In the past, mercury was mined in our state. It was used to extract gold and was used in a variety of now-obsolete equipment. Click on the following links to be taken to the appropriate section on this page:
As we work to eliminate human-caused mercury in Washington,
more and products containing mercury will become a thing of the
past.
Mercury Sources discusses recent uses of mercury.
Historical Deposition of Mercury in Sediment Cores offers a look at historical mercury depositions from core samples of sediment in three Washington lakes.
As many uses of mercury are phased out, we will be left with the legacy of old equipment and even antiques that contain mercury. Some older temperature and pressure-measuring devices, clocks, switches, and other items can contain pounds of mercury, often right in people's homes and businesses.
If older mercury-containing equipment is ever broken or burned, the mercury can be released into the environment. Washington residents may call 1-800-RECYCLE to learn where to take older mercury-containing items.
Mercury-containing Products discusses recent specific products that contain mercury.
Mercury Partnerships discusses some initiatives to phase out mercury-containing products and to recycle them in a responsible manner.
There are two historical deposits of naturally occurring mercury ore in Washington state. The largest source of mined mercury in Washington was
in eastern Lewis County near Morton. The second was in King County, in the Green River District near Cumberland.
Both deposits contained cinnabar, mercury sulfide.
The Barnum-McDonnell mine began processing cinnabar after its
discovery near Morton in 1913. Miners installed a retort furnace in 1916. A larger retort furnace installed in 1926 brought a period of substantial production until 1929. All production ceased in 1942.
The Roy Mine (also called Morton, Gillespie, or Fisher Mine) opened in 1926 by the Morton Cinnabar Company. This mine was most active in the late twenties. However, it also produced elemental mercury from 1933 - 1938 and during World War II.
Inactive and Abandoned Mine Lands--Roy and Barnum-McDonnell Mines, Morton Cinnabar Mining District, Lewis County, Washington is a Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological and Earth Sciences investigation of this old mine site in 2001. The image to the right
shows a 10-foot diameter opening 26 feet deep in the center of the
Barnum-McDonnell Mine access road. Photo: Department of Natural Resources, 2001.
The Royal Reward and Cardinal Reward mines in in King County produced mercury in the late 1950's.
From 1916 - 1961, mercury mines in Washington produced 503 thousand pounds of mercury. Most
of this was used in industry, and some was used to concentrate
gold-bearing ores.
Historically, gold miners used mercury to extract placer gold from streams and seams. More recently, a hardrock gold mine in Ferry County, Washington that emitted 777 pounds of mercury in 2000, closed in 2003. See
Mercury Measures - Toxics
Release Inventory.
According a California study by the US Geological Survey, hydraulic mining with water cannons was a cost-effective and popular mining method by the mid-1850's. Gold particles were recovered by mechanical settling in troughs (riffles) within the sluices and by chemical reaction with liquid mercury to form gold-mercury amalgam.
The California study further says that during the late 1800s, under the best operating conditions, sluices lost about 10 percent of the added mercury per year, but under average conditions, the annual loss was about 25 percent. Overall mercury loss is estimated to be 10 to 30 percent per season, resulting in highly contaminated sediments at mine sites, especially in sluices and drainage tunnels. See Mercury Contamination from Historic Gold Mining in California (leaving Ecology).
Mercury was also used to recover gold by amalgamation in
non-placer mining, such as in hardrock mines, drift mines, and dredging operations. Modern suction dredging for gold allows mercury to be trapped in the riffles of the sluice box, where it can be readily collected.
Mercury Partnerships - Small-scale Miners
Today's hobby miners contribute to mercury removal from streams.
Merbromine, marketed as Mercurachrome, was an antiseptic that was nationally banned in 1998. Mercury was used as a treatment for syphilis until antibiotics were invented.
Mercury in Medicine discusses current medical products that may contain mercury.
Related information:
Inactive and Abandoned Mine Lands--Roy and Barnum-McDonnell Mines, Morton Cinnabar Mining District, Lewis County, Washington Department of Natural Resources Division of Geological and Earth Sciences investigation of this mine site from 2001
Regulation of Metals Mining and Milling Operations From the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), this page details the rules about mining in Washington
Mercury Studies Team at the United States Geological Survey
Mercury Potential, the United States, Part 1 of 2 This large pdf file contains the first half of a 1965 Bureau of Mines Information Circular on mercury mining. Part 1 contains much information on California and other states near the front of the alphabet. Washington is in Part 2, below. This is from the Arizona Department of Mines and Mineral Resources.
Mercury Potential, the United States. Part 2 of 2 This large pdf file contains the second half of the 1965 Bureau of Mines Information Circular on mercury mining.
Part 2 includes information on all known mercury mines in Washington, beginning on document page 358. Your pdf reader may find this as page 179.
Mercury at Theodore Gray’s periodictable.com
The Klondike Gold Rush Curriculum materials for Washington Schools from the University of Washington
