*4.3.2 Uses*

Mercury is extensively used in various industries such as the production of caustic soda, the wood processing, the pulp and paper industry or the manufacture of batteries. Mercury is also employed as preservative of pharmaceutical products, as amalgams in dental industry, or as catalysts in chemical industry. Due to the linearity of its coefficient of expansion, mercury is used as a metal in thermometers. In addition, mercury is used in jewelry making, pesticides, barometers and incandescent lights [1, 5, 16, 30].
