The Matter Of Mercury
- CFLs do contain about 5 milligrams of mercury - an element
that, if breathed and absorbed by the body, can cause neurological
damage. Mercury is an essential, irreplaceable element in
CFLs and is what allows the bulb to be an efficient light
source. By comparison, older home thermometers contain 500
milligrams of mercury, and many manual thermostats contain
up to 3,000 milligrams. It would take between 100 and 600
CFLs to equal those amounts. The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy assure that CFLs
are safe to use in your home. No mercury is released when
the bulbs are in use, and they pose no danger to you or
your family when used properly. However, CFLs are made of
glass tubing and can break if dropped or roughly handled.
Be careful when removing the lamp from its packaging, installing
it or replacing it.
Proper CFL Handling And Disposal - Due to
the mercury content in CFLs, consumers must be sure to properly
dispose of CFLs as they would paint, batteries, thermostats
and other hazardous household items. DO NOT THROW
CFLs AWAY IN YOUR HOUSEHOLD GARBAGE IF BETTER OPTIONS EXIST.
Because there is such a small amount of mercury in CFLs, your
greatest risk if a bulb breaks is getting cut from glass shards.
Research indicates that there is no immediate health risk
to you or your family should a bulb break and it’s cleaned
up properly. You can minimize any risks by following these
proper clean-up and disposal guidelines:
- Sweep up - don’t vacuum - all of the glass fragments and
fine particles.
- Place broken pieces in a sealed plastic bag, and wipe
the area with a damp paper towel to pick up any stray shards
of glass or fine particles. Put the used towel in the plastic
bag as well.
- If weather permits, open windows to allow the room to
ventilate.
Following are links to Web sites that provide more information
about the proper use and disposal of compact fluorescent
light bulbs. These resources also further address the issue
of mercury and mercury content in CFLs.
www.earth911.org
www.lamprecycle.org
www.nema.org/lamprecycle/epafactsheet-cfl.pdf
www.energystar.gov
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