So, if a compact fluorescent light bulb breaks in your house, should you call in a Hazmat crew?
There is a chain e-mail going around the Internet warning consumers to stay away from CFLs because if they break, the toxins inside are so dangerous that a Hazmat crew has to come to your house to clean up the mess.
This myth is false, although there is a true story that caused the emergence of this myth. According to www.snopes.com, a woman called the Maine Department of Environmental Protection in April 2007 because she had broken a CFL and wanted to know how to dispose of it properly and clean up the mess.
Because the Maine DEP was new at dealing with CFLs, one of its recommendations was calling a local Hazmat crew ' something that the woman discovered would cost $2,000. She called up a local newspaper and told them her story, warning people not to buy CFLs because of their potential for danger.
CFLs contain mercury but not an amount that would vaporize you if a light bulb broke and you were exposed to the mercury. Of course, licking up the mercury off the floor also isn't recommended, but the Environmental Protection Agency offers steps one can take to clean up the mess with safety and precaution.
Ventilate the room, turn off the A/C or heat if it's running and use gloves to pick up the large pieces of light bulb and place them in a sealable container such as a jar or zip-top bag. Use a piece of cardboard or stiff paper to scoop other pieces or powder into the sealable container, and use duct tape to catch any remaining fragments.
Dispose of all the equipment you use ' cardboard, gloves and the bag of bulb pieces ' into a trash bag, place it outside and separate it from normal trash. Call your local waste management for instructions on where to dispose of the broken bulb and the other materials you used to clean it up. After you clean the area and throw everything outside, be sure to wash your hands.
Don't use a vacuum or broom to clean up the original mess, because the materials need to be contained and not spread further into the air. Personally, I don't often break incandescent light bulbs, so I don't predict that cleaning up CFLs will be a weekly routine for anyone ' especially since CFLs last at least five years. Taking precaution is always important, but being exposed to the amount of mercury in a CFL doesn't merit a Hazmat visit if you recognize that you need to follow the aforementioned steps and act appropriately. -
17 Archives
Cathy Wilson
200808288511midsize.jpeg
