Health Risks Following Ingestion of Mercury and Zinc Air Batteries

This paper reports on a study set up to assess the corrosive behaviour of mercury and zinc air batteries in the gastric juice environment of the stomach. The results show a relatively rapid rate of corrosion for charged mercury batteries. In contrast, the zinc air battery showed no visible corrosion under the same conditions. In view of the toxic dangers from leakage of mercury batteries, it is recommended that steps be taken to ensure that such batteries do not remain in the acidic environment of the stomach, should ingestion occur.