Cleanup after breaking Compact Fluorescent Bulb

[wvpiper]

If you break a CFL, here's the cleanup procedures from the US EPA website
http://www.epa.gov/hg/spills/#fluorescent
Before Clean-up: Air Out the Room
* Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on their way out.
* Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
* Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.

Clean-Up Steps for Hard Surfaces
* Carefully scoop up glass pieces 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.
* Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
* Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.
* Do not use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.

Clean-up Steps for Carpeting or Rug
* 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.
* Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder.
* If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the bulb was broken.
* Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister), and put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed plastic bag.

Clean-up Steps for Clothing, Bedding and Other Soft Materials
* If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.
* You can, however, wash clothing or other materials that have been exposed to the mercury vapor from a broken CFL, such as the clothing you are wearing when you cleaned up the broken CFL, as long as that clothing has not come into direct contact with the materials from the broken bulb.
* If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder from the bulb, wipe them off with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.

Disposal of Clean-up Materials
* Immediately place all clean-up materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area for the next normal trash pickup.
* Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing clean-up materials.
* Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your specific area. Some states do not allow such trash disposal. Instead, they require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing bulbs be taken to a local recycling center.

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug: Air Out the Room During and After Vacuuming
* The next several times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system and open a window before vacuuming.
* Keep the central heating/air conditioning system shut off and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is completed.

[Rex_Tremende]

Really? I think I will stick with my old energy-inefficient dimmable incandescent bulbs, thank you.

Regards,
Rex.

[Weasel Mender]

slight hijack......
How are we suposed to properly dispose of oue childrens shoes with the murcury switches in them to make them light up?

Weasel

[McMurdo]

Wow wish I read this a few weeks ago when I broke one, swept it up and threw it out with the windows closed. I have to wonder how long I've got left on this mortal coil.

[wvpiper]

Really? I think I will stick with my old energy-inefficient dimmable incandescent bulbs, thank you.

Regards,
Rex.

Better buy up all you can b/c our government has mandated the phase out of incandescent bulbs.....

[Downix]

I'm switching to LED's myself...

[Coinneach]

Another alternative are LED "bulbs." There even more efficient and longer lasting than flourescents, but, for now, they're more expensve, too. I don't believe you need a hazmat suit when you clean one up, either.

[piperdbh]

My wife broke a flourescent flood bulb yesterday. The glass "shell" around the actual light-up part broke, but the coiled flourescent part did not.

I used to work in a department store and periodically had to replace 4" flourescent bulbs. The other stockboy and I loved throwing them, javelin-style, into the dumpster out back. They just keep on breaking!

[Rex_Tremende]

slight hijack......
How are we suposed to properly dispose of oue childrens shoes with the murcury switches in them to make them light up?

Weasel

I can quite clearly remember pushing blobs of mercury around the basement floor when I was a kid. Whatever ill effects that's caused me have made me the man I am today - only slightly crazy. You know what they say: reduce, reuse, recycle. A little dollop of mercury can provide endless hours of fun for any curious child. The longer they play, the more curious they become.

Regards,
Rex.

[McClef]

And they put mercury in amalgam tooth fillings! :butt: