Shining a light on hazards of fluorescent bulbs

[bijou]

Compact fluorescent light bulbs, long touted by environmentalists as a more efficient and longer-lasting alternative to the incandescent bulbs that have lighted homes for more than a century, are running into resistance from waste industry officials and some environmental scientists, who warn that the bulbs’ poisonous innards pose a bigger threat to health and the environment than previously thought.

...The amount is tiny — about 5 milligrams, or barely enough to cover the tip of a pen — but that is enough to contaminate up to 6,000 gallons of water beyond safe drinking levels, extrapolated from Stanford University research on mercury. Even the latest lamps promoted as “low-mercury” can contaminate more than 1,000 gallons of water beyond safe levels.

... Manufacturers and the EPA say broken CFLs should be handled carefully and recycled to limit dangerous vapors and the spread of mercury dust. But guidelines for how to do that can be difficult to find, as Brandy Bridges of Ellsworth, Maine, discovered.

“It was just a wiggly bulb that I reached up to change,” Bridges said. “When the bulb hit the floor, it shattered.”

When Bridges began calling around to local government agencies to find out what to do, “I was shocked to see how uninformed literally everyone I spoke to was,” she said. “Even our own poison control operator didn’t know what to tell me.”

The state eventually referred her to a private cleanup firm, which quoted a $2,000 estimate to contain the mercury. After Bridges complained publicly about her predicament, state officials changed their recommendation: Simply throw it in the trash, they said.
...

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23694819/

Yet more unintended consequences from the green lobby.

[Crazy Horse]

Mercury is nasty and not something to take lightly. This, all you have to do is see all the warnings on fish just to understand.

[RightCoast]

http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf.

Link is to a energystar.gov PDF file.


How should I clean UP a broken fluorescent bulb?

EPA recommends the following clean-up and disposal guidelines:

Before Clean-up: Vent the Room

1. Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.

2. Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces

3. Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.

4. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.

5. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in the glass jar or plastic bag.

6. Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug:

3. Carefully pick up glass fragments and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.

4. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.

5. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.

6. Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

7. Immediately place all cleanup materials outside the building in a trash container or outdoor protected area for the next normal trash.

8. Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.

9. Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states prohibit such trash disposal and require that broken and unbroken lamps be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Vent the Room During and After Vacuuming

10. For at least the next few times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window prior to vacuuming.

11. Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

[bijou]

I think it is easier to stockpile incandescent bulbs so that by the time the stock runs out something else will have been invented. 

[Ptarmigan]

Environmental concerns aside, fluorescent light has this sterile feeling.

[LC EFA]

I wonder if the enviro-tards have ever thought about the consequences and byproducts of many of their "green" energy systems.

How about the by-products of the manufacture of polysilicates used in solar panels (that, unless I'm missing some up to date information are still a nett consumer of energy).

A naturally occurring atmospheric gas like CO2 is nothing compared to some of the industrial byproducts produced by the "green" energy establishment.

[SSG Snuggle Bunny]

Environmental concerns aside, fluorescent light has this sterile feeling.

Ptarmigans should be sterile, you despotic feather-bearers!!!

[Chris_]

I think it is easier to stockpile incandescent bulbs so that by the time the stock runs out something else will have been invented. 

LED's will replace them before too long.  They're solid-state, last even longer, and don't heat up.

[Randy]

Mercury is nasty and not something to take lightly. This, all you have to do is see all the warnings on fish just to understand.

How do they get the stickers to stick? 

[Ptarmigan]

Bunnies should be sterile, you despotic furry-bearers!!!

*FIXED* 
I agree!