CHICAGO – The American Academy of Pediatrics says doctors and parents should stop using mercury thermometers, a once ubiquitous household item that is already on its way to the medical junkyard.

Alternatives such as digital thermometers are widely available.

Several communities, including Freeport, Maine, have banned mercury thermometers and some major store chains have stopped selling them, but “there’s a lot of them in medicine cabinets,” said Alexis Cain, a scientist with the Environmental Protection Agency. “Having a doctors group say we can do without this” is helpful.

But he said parents should take their mercury thermometers to a hazardous-waste collection center instead of throwing them in the trash.

In Freeport, violating the ban is a misdemeanor subject to a $500 fine.

A similar bill that would have taken Freeport’s ban statewide had eight sponsors but died in the Maine Legislature during the past session.

If mercury thermometers are broken, the vapors can be absorbed by the body. In addition, burning and other inadequate disposal of the thermometers can release mercury into streams.

Long-term exposure to mercury can cause neurological damage in children. Mercury-contaminated fish can cause fetal damage if eaten by pregnant women.

The academy’s recommendation was reported in the July issue of its journal, Pediatrics.