Mercury also can be released into the environment if bulbs are not recycled properly. The amount of mercury in a CFL may be up to about 5 milligrams mg. By contrast, a mercury-containing fever thermometer contained about mg. Mercury can cause poisoning in some circumstances. Even so, people are encouraged to replace their "old fashioned" incandescent bulbs with CFLs.
This is because much less environmental mercury is generated by the manufacture of CFLs than by the manufacture of incandescent bulbs. To minimize chances of any individual health problems, care should be taken when handling these bulbs to avoid breakage. Special steps are needed if a bulb breaks indoors. The risks to human health from individual broken CFLs is minimal; some scientists would argue that there are no real risks. Care in disposing of broken bulbs and disposing of used bulbs is important to avoid environmental contamination.
Manufacturers continue to reduce the amount of mercury contained in CFLs. Communities continue to revise their requirements for disposal of broken and burned-out bulbs as recycling technology evolves. It is clear that these bulbs are here to stay and soon will be found in virtually every residence and business in the U. While mercury is nothing to play around with, the amount contained inside a standard CFL is only about 1 percent of the amount that you'll find inside an old-fashioned mercury thermometer.
Still, to be safe, you'll want to be sure that you clean the mess up correctly -- here's how to do just that, per EPA standards. As soon as that bulb breaks, you'll want to let the room air out for about 15 minutes.
Get everyone out especially pets, who might be inclined to investigate the mess , then open the windows and shut the doors.
You'll also want to be sure and turn off your central air -- the last thing you want is to circulate that mercury throughout your home. While you're avoiding the area in question, go ahead and take a moment to find something capable of containing that broken bulb. A glass jar with a metal lid is ideal, but if you don't have one handy, a plastic food container or even a sealable plastic bag will do the trick. You'll be tempted to sweep everything up with a broom -- but don't. Anything that rifles through the broken bits of your bulb is going to risk mercury contamination.
You'll also want to be sure not to use your vacuum, as doing so will risk kicking mercury back up into the air. See our list of " Best and Worst Seafood Choices " for more on mercury in fish. But how do you minimize even this tiny amount of risk? Remove children and pets from the room, and then clean up the broken bulb as quickly as possible. First, increase the ventilation in the room where the bulb broke by opening windows and doors.
Then use index cards or other stiff paper to pick up the broken pieces of glass and any visible mercury. To be extra safe, stay out of the area for a few hours to let any remaining mercury disperse. So what does mercury poisoning do to you, anyway? The symptoms are primarily neurological. A low level exposure like if you broke a dozen CFLs in your house every day for a couple of weeks would cause insidious symptoms — fatigue, memory problems, difficulty concentrating, and perhaps some mild clumsiness.
Higher exposures could give tremors, and mood or emotional disturbances. But this is never going to happen from dropping one CFL! And if despite your best efforts the bulbs end up breaking in a landfill, using CFLs should still cause a net decrease in mercury in the environment.
Because they so dramatically reduce energy use, and coal-generated electricity releases much more mercury than a CFL ever could. The phrase "contains mercury" sounds alarming, but there is very little risk in the tiny amount of mercury in CFLs, and the benefit to the environment of using them is huge.
To learn more about switching to CFLs, visit our guide to making the switch. This, unfortunately, is where Mr. The figure often cited the EPA, more than one coal industry group, and various researchers for coal plant mercury pollution is. The burden nationwide, on average, is then. This means a 22W CFL about equivalent to a W incandescent in light emission with a rated life of hours will, on average, represent about 1. A W incandescent will represent an emission of about 7mg in the same time period.
Change the vacuum bag after each use in this area. You should follow the recommendations on this page if you've broken either a CFL or another type of mercury-containing light bulb, such as:.
CFLs and the other light bulbs listed above contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury may be released as mercury vapor. To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, EPA recommends that residents follow the cleanup and disposal steps described on this page.
Don't be alarmed; the steps outlined below are only precautions that reflect best practices for cleaning up a broken CFL. However, if you are concerned about your health after cleaning up a broken CFL, consult your local poison control center by calling You can call your center any time you have questions or in an emergency.
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