Fluorescent Bulb Break Creates Costly Hassle

was eating years ago. I can't remember being more ill than those days subsequent to the accident. I always suspected it was the bulb's contents.

I hope you went to the doctor

Then to an internist. I remember them doing stool cultures as well as a battery of blood tests.

I was sick for over a week.

The company that wants $2000 to clean up the mercury is trying to screw her. She should just vacuum up the dust and throw away the bag.

Interesting link on clean up of small spills.

http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/smallspills.pdf

http://tinyurl.com/2fu3x2

http://www.physorg.com/news79969100.html

http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/pha/leesburg/lts_p1.html
<snip>
Exposure to metallic mercury by inhalation of mercury vapor is the most significant route of entry into the body. As much as 80% of the vapor is absorbed by the lungs and transferred to the bloodstream, where it can travel to the brain. Inhaled metallic mercury vapors are most likely to affect the brain, the central nervous system and the kidneys. Very small amounts of metallic mercury (approximately one-half teaspoon, or the amount contained in one oral thermometer) can raise air concentrations to levels harmful to human health. This is why persons working with or around metallic mercury should avoid tracking metallic mercury into the home where vapors can be released over a long period of time. Vacuuming mercury spreads the vapors in indoor air.


Of course, the mom could just get one of these and hope she does it right:
http://www.nikro.com/mec_rec_vacs.htm

vacuuming mercury makes it break up into a whole bunch of little tiny bits and basically aerosolizes it, spreading it all over everything.

Thanks for posting.

Well once, maybe twice.

Broke a thermometer and found this really really cool liquid metal inside. Thought it was the coolest thing I'd ever seen.

My parents found out and made me throw it away and wash my hands.

God only knows how many years of life I lost by playing with that.

Just when I was old enough to be curious.

:party: WELCOME TO DU!! :party:

(that was a joke BTW)

Then, when I was a Senior in High School, I took the SATs high and got over 1400.

Go figure.

How is elemental mercury absorbed and metabolized?

When inhaled, about 80 percent of elemental mercury is absorbed into the blood stream through the alveoli. Because it is fat soluble, mercury readily crosses the blood-brain barrier and placenta. When ingested, only a small amount (0.01%) is absorbed through the gastrointestinal tract, making toxicity from this route rare. Dermal absorption also is negligible.

Once in the body, mercury is oxidized and eventually eliminated in the urine and feces. The half-life of elemental mercury in the body is approximately 60 days. Mercury accumulates in the kidneys, erythrocytes, bone marrow, liver, spleen, lungs, skin and hair. The most common effects of mercury exposure are manifested in the central nervous system.

http://www.idph.state.il.us/envhealth/factsheets/mercuryhlthprof.htm

Still, I wouldn't want my kids doing it.

that he used to play with it all the time as a kid and he was fine. I'd taken my son in because there was a mercury spill in his class. Some kid had brought in a jar of the silver type and it spilled onto the floor. What they couldn't scoop up into the jar, they vacuumed up. The Dr. acted like I was a nut and I'm sorry I never pursued the matter since the mercury probably became airborne.

of about 3 ozs of it on his desk. effed if I know why....

mercury in thermometers in many many years.
What is in them I have no clue.However,when my nephew bite a thermometer and swallowed the contents,the doctors said the new stuff is non toxic and will pass thru in a day or two.

huindreds if not thousands of broken flourescent bulbs without any ill effects.If they were a problem I would think they would be listed as a hazardous substance in the Material Safety Data Sheet Manuals I am required to keep on jobsites.

Based on the replies it sounds like I'll be ok, but if not...at least I'll have company :)

It was a quite common practice.

way back in the mid'50's when I was in grade school one of the kids brought a pretty good amount, maybe 1/10th of a pint jar and we played with it and I don't remember anyone worrying about it much and it didn't last long because when it hit the floor it went every which was and settled into the cracks and such. I have a couple motion switches in my junk/emergency repair box, I don't know why but I ask why not

and throw it away. You don't even have to touch it that way.

The company that wanted to charge her 2000 is trying to scam her.

Wonder what thats going to cost?

in two rooms for about 200. And it was installed wall to wall. So, I don't think it needs to be expensive. If you're handy, you can DIY.

edit: What usually costs in these instances is the disposal of said poisons. She needs to check w/ her landfill about how to dispose of it.

I guess the moral is maybe we should all put down pillows or blankets before we change these florescent bulbs so they don't break if you happen to drop one. I need to take my own advice because I have hardwood floors now.

Wonder what she has under the floor though? I hate carpet, but kept it while my kids were young. Once they hit 5 hubby and I ripped it all up ourselves and took it to the dump.

...just askin'... :shrug:

there's that much mercury in these bulbs. I need more info.

"A fluorescent bulb uses a completely different method to produce light. There are electrodes at both ends of a fluorescent tube, and a gas containing argon and mercury vapor is inside the tube. A stream of electrons flows through the gas from one electrode to the other (in a manner similar to the stream of electrons in a cathode ray tube). These electrons bump into the mercury atoms and excite them. As the mercury atoms move from the excited state back to the unexcited state, they give off ultraviolet photons. These photons hit the phosphor coating the inside of the fluorescent tube, and this phosphor creates visible light."

http://home.howstuffworks.com/question236.htm

add: the amount of mercury contained in a fluorescent bulb is smaller than a pinhead.

As far as CFLs go, the bulbs that give a garish blue-white light use an inner phosphor coating made entirely of harmful phosphates. The more recent triphosphor bulbs that render warm light contain almost none.

There's absolutely no reason to panic over a broken CFL unless you make a habit of breaking them.

I told my DH that we should wait on replacing our lightbulbs. Now I am glad I told him that.

what about all the bulbs that are going to be thrown into waste dumps? Sure some of us are going to recycle them but there are a lot of people who do not recycle at all. Can this stuff get into our ground water? What exactly are the environmental dangers of mercury?

One of my daughters already has all the bulbs changed in her home and we are in the process. I would like to know more about this before we go any further.

Before i jump on the fluorescence band wagon.

Basically, the reduction in mercury released from not using as much coal for electricity in CFL's outweighs the amount of mercury that could *potentially* be released from breaking millions of CFL bulbs. You will release more mercury overall if you stick with conventional bulbs because the increased electrical demand will cause more coal to be burned.

In other words, no matter what you do you will be exposed to some mercury in your life. All you can do is minimize the amounts.

It was in an overhead light. Pieces of the bulb and scattered on her kitchen counter, sink, and floor. I tossed out all the food in the area, used a broom on the floor, and just washed the counter and sink. Didn't know it could possibly contaminate the area for the next zillion years, though. When I purchased the bulbs that day the bulb broke (I was installing it when it broke), I asked the lighting store clerk about mercury and he told me the bulbs posed no threat.

amount in a thermometer:
A typical fluorescent bulb has between 1 and 25 milligrams of mercury with the majority of smaller ones — the size of the bulb that Bridges broke — having about 5 milligrams of mercury. This is about the amount of ink on the tip of a pen.

A typical mercury thermometer has between 500 and 3,000 milligrams of mercury, depending on its size. A mercury thermostat has even more.



Really nothing to get in a major tizzy about.

But we all know they all won't be, as most people will just toss them like conventional bulbs. However, they do reduce mercury emissions from coal plants by using less electricity over their lifetimes.

- where (and how) do you recycle your CFLs?

my state, and the first I've heard of it :hi: K & R

but, put in perspective, you just need to be smart and aware, so you know how to handle dangerous substances. This is nothing new, from the toxic lead and acid in car batteries, to the lithium and other toxins in dry cell batteries, cleaners under the sink, etc. You just have to be informed, use common sense, and make sure you and your family is safe.

...I think, if I do the math right. Twenty cans of tuna at the FDA-approved mercury limit
of 1ppm, have about 5 milligrams of mercury in them. Of course, you don't breath it in,
but at the same time, you don't breath all the air in your room -- most of it seeps out
the window eventually -- while you do eat all the tuna in your sandwich.

Moral of this story: it doesn't hurt to use a bit of caution when cleaning up a CF bulb
after you break it, but don't go overboard.

Oh, and try not to break them.

But use them. They will be replaced with LEDs soon enough but it's better on global health
and on your wallet to use them now, not sit on your ass burning coal.

electricity usage be?

They are just now passing CF bulbs in the small fabs in terms of efficiency which means it's just a matter of getting the larger fabs upgraded to use the same techniques and economizing the techniques. Philips thinks they will have something in a year or two (google LumiLEDS), but for the first few years I expect the LED products will be overly pricey. There's an industry committee forming of manufactrers looking to push into the general purpose lighting market.

As far as efficiency goes, I'm not sure what the theoretical limit will be, but they should eventually be better than CFs. Most of the work right now is in new nanotech phosphors to convert UV and blue LED light to redder colors.

And don't tell me about how the vacuum cleaner doesn't work. Give me the procedures that you can use in your own home, without expensive equipment, that permits you to dispose of spilled mercury.

And don't tell me that these don't exist. Mercury has been spilled in high school science classrooms for decades, and the teachers there are making barely above the poverty wage, and they know ways to clean it up.

Oh, never mind. You guys would rather yammer on in your paranoid fashion rather than post some useful information. Like using an eyedropper and powdered sulfur, which you can get at a drugstore. In fact, here's the drill:

http://www.michigan.gov/deq/1,1607,7-135-3585_4127_4175-11751--,00.html#ASSEMBLE

Now go and get paranoid about your drinking water or something else. Sheesh.

:evilgrin: And thanks for the link.

Mercury is a toxin. Some pretty serious studies have found that the accumulation of mercury in cracks and crevasses of drawers and floors in old laboratories has lead to some pretty serious ambient mercury vapor concentrations in those labs and adjacent rooms. Prolonged exposure to even these kinds of levels can lead to heightened sensitivities, allergic reactions, and chronic toxicity symptoms.

Where I work, all mercury thermometers were collected and disposed. Seriously, imagine the potential problem when a mercury oven thermometer is broken and the mercury is inside the oven. An unsuspecting person opening that hot oven is going to get a real faceful.

So, respect mercury. Minimize exposure. But holy crapoli, keep it perspective!

If you run a calculation of the mercury in a typical bulb and the size of a typical room, this is what you'll find: If every bit of mercury in that bulb flash volatilized and filled the room, the levels of mercury in the air would be waaaay below safety levels. Advising people to avoid aggressive cleanup is the worst directions EVER.

They say don't vacuum the mess because that disperses the mercury. Dear god. Let's just follow common sense here and quit acting like a bunch of friggin' paranoid idjits:

1. Very, very carefully (duh) clean up the glass. A glass shard in the finger sucks even when it isn't coated with mercury. Get every bit you can with whatever means you can -- sweeping, stiff paper, whatever.
   
2. In a carpet, using tape for small fragments is a good idea. Get as much as you can as quickly as you can. You don't want to be putting your nose in the broken mess -- that's where the mercury is.
   
3. When you've done what you can with your hands, tape, and broom, use the vacuum cleaner. Yes, the vacuum cleaner. Get the gd mercury out of the rug or cracks in the floor. Forget the bullshit about "dispersing the mercury" -- it's going to be dispersed anyway if you don't clean it up. When the glass is in the vacuum cleaner bag, it's a lot safer than in your rug. DUH!
   
4. Ventilate the room as much as possible.

And you're done. Don't spend $2000 calling some HAZMAT squad. Geez louise!