Everyone’s seen them, most people have them in their homes, but most people DON’T know how dangerous CFL’s (Compact Fluorescent Lites) are if they break. For a product that will be mandatory by the year 2016, it’s pretty scary when you read the extensive clean up warnings if one breaks.
A self-diagnosed information junkie, I was shocked when I discovered that there were so many caveats regarding these ‘money-saving’ light bulbs, and I’d not heard about it AT ALL. In fact, I confess, I’ve thrown no less than three in the garbage, not realizing that the mercury in one bulb could contaminate over 1,000 gallons of water!
When I looked up where to take them to recycle, I found the closest place over two gallons of gas away. Not only do you need to recycle your bulbs for safety reasons, in some areas you are violating the law if you dispose of a broken bulb in your everyday trash!
Not a pretty picture. But wait, it gets worse. Much worse.
Did you know that the first thing you do if a CFL breaks in your house is remove children and pets from the area and open a window? There is a toxic gas that escapes from the bulb when broken that’s especially toxic to small children and pets. You will also want to shut off the central unit if you have forced air heat and AC.
Secondly, DON’T VACUUM the mess up… it will stir up the toxic mercury particles. If you’ve ever had a fluorescent bulb burst in your garage or house, you know it shatters into millions of pieces. Vacuuming would be my first instinct to get all those tiny pieces up, wouldn’t you? Not only do you NOT want to vacuum when it first happens, but it’s advised that the next 3-4 times you vacuum that area, you open a window and ventilate the area during and after you vacuum.
Third, if your clothing has had contact with mercury, there is no washing it. You have to throw it out. Don’t walk around the house with the same shoes on – if you might have walked on ANY mercury.
There’s some really funny videos on YouTube about the “HazMat” (hazardous material) nature of the whole clean up procedure the EPA recommends, but it’s really no laughing matter. If you have small children, especially crawling babies, the smallest amount of mercury can be deadly, and at best, cause serious brain damage, or cancer. Spread the word, and here’s the link to the EPA’s “Recommended Cleanup Procedure” and additional cautions…. hazmat suit not included.
What NOT to do if you break a fluorescent bulb (OR mercury thermometer) and cleanup procedure
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