Mandatory High-Efficiency but Toxic Lightbulbs ?

[charizard]

Also, don’t forget that CFLs are really no different from the standard fluorescent bulbs that have been *widely * used in both homes and industry for decades.

The only thing “new” about CFLs is the packaging, where the ballast and bulb are combined into a unit small enough to fit into most standard light fixtures.

[wevets]

[QUOTE=erie774]
What if it happens on carpet?
[/QUOTE]

There’s a more detailed description of the incident here:

ellsworthamerican.com | Hancock County Maine Breaking News & Sports -...

Two comments are relevant to your questions:

State Toxicologist Andrew Smith said it would be unlikely that a person could contract mercury poisoning from the levels of mercury found in Bridges’ daughter’s room.

“In this situation, my understanding, was this 1,900 was the sign reading right at the spot of the floor where the bulb broke,” said Smith. “While 1,900 was certainly considered an elevated reading of mercury vapor, it was a very localized level that I would not expect to result in any sign of mercury exposure.”

Smith said mercury is only dangerous with long-term exposure and in this case the person would have to stay right at the spot of the 1,900 reading or there would have to be elevated levels of mercury vapor in the breathing zone — about 3 feet — above the spill. Mercury also dissipates over time.

The air in the bedroom at the 3-foot level measured between 31 to 49 ng/m3 of mercury, depending on the location.

Smith said a CFL light bulb breaking is not in the same category as when a mercury thermometer breaks.

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.

“Often you will get high levels in the breathing zone area,” said Smith about a broken thermometer. “High hundreds, if not thousands.”

Smith said Bridges’ call was the first of its kind he’s ever received. He’s received plenty of calls about broken mercury thermometers, old barometers that had broken, even a very old antique Civil War mirror that had a mercury coating on the back.

Many of these situations have had enough mercury to result in “fairly elevated levels in the home” and more care was needed for each situation. But Bridges’ problem “is a whole different ballpark,” said Smith.

Cowger said it is important to ventilate the area by opening windows and not to vacuum the area of the broken bulb, which may spread the mercury. While wearing appropriate safety gloves, glasses, coveralls or old clothing and a dust mask, a person can remove the glass pieces and put them in a closed container.

The dust can be cleaned up using either two pieces of stiff paper, a disposal broom and dustpan or a commercial mercury spill kit. Afterward, the area should be patted with the sticky side of tape, according to the DEP Web site.

It seems like the sticky tape idea would work well on carpet.

[Slypork]

OK. I won’t totally panic. Maybe I’ll just use a whole bunch of glowsticks and fireflies just to be on the safe side.

[asterion]

[QUOTE=Sunspace]
When I was in grade seven, the science teacher opened a pound* bottle of mercury and showed us how strange and interesting and beautiful it was. We ended up chasing small amounts around the table to get them back in the bottle.

I’m still here, and there’s nothing physically wrong with me. twitch

[sub]*Yes, a pound bottle, in those just barely pre-metric days. It wasn’t a very large bottle, either. But man, was it heavy for its size![/sub]
[/QUOTE]
The lab I work in has several old bottles of mercury–I think they all date from about the Ford administration. Anyway, we still use the stuff a bit for some reactions, especially sodium amalgams where the percentage needed is not commerically available. One of the bottles actually has instructions on the back of the bottle to give, in case of ingestion, something like a quart of milk and then raw eggs to induce vomiting. Maybe I’ll get the bottle out and write down the instructions and post them here later.

As should be pointed out once again, elemental mercury is not all that dangerous. It’s the organomercury compounds that are very dangerous.

[matt_mcl]

Smith said mercury is only dangerous with long-term exposure and in this case the person would have to stay right at the spot of the 1,900 reading or there would have to be elevated levels of mercury vapor in the breathing zone — about 3 feet — above the spill. Mercury also dissipates over time.

The air in the bedroom at the 3-foot level measured between 31 to 49 ng/m3 of mercury, depending on the location.

Smith said a CFL light bulb breaking is not in the same category as when a mercury thermometer breaks.

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.

See? I told you the National Post was just making shit up.