![]() I am afraid to go back in my bedroom which really sucks because I am on bedrest. I called the ER and they refused to even tell me if it was worth coming down because they "won't dispense medical advice over the phone." WTF I am really freaking out because I was only a few steps from where the stupid thing broke. I asked what they would do for me there and he said he couldn't think of anything. I called the doctor who had never heard of there being mercury and mercury vapor in those damn lightbulbs and told me I could go to the ER if I wanted. I called poison control who told me they "didn't think" the amount of mercury and mercury vapor i was exposed to would be a problem but to call my doctor. They advise against vaccuuming, and I don't know if we maybe trapsed this stuff all over our house on our slippers. He put them back down and washed them, got gloves and followed the directions, but it had broken on our carpet and now i don't know what to do. My husband had originally picked the pieces up with his hands. ![]() We both were in the room for a good couple minutes before I realized via google that we needed to evacuate the room and follow special cleanup instructions from the EPA. Yesterday my hubs accidentally knocked over a lamp with one of those stupid energy efficient CFL (compact flourescent lightbulbs) in it and it broke. Mercury is a toxic substance, yet it is unlikely that fluorescent lighting would ever expose a person to an amount of the neurotoxin sufficient to cause physiological harm.Hi ladies. So the question remains: Is the mercury in CFLs dangerous? It's not an easy question to answer. Along with other major manufacturers, Sylvania voluntarily capped CFL mercury content at 4 mg, with the 13-watt DULUX EL 29409 containing only 1.5 mg. A 60-watt equal, warm white Neolite CFL by Litetronics, for example, uses only 1 mg of mercury, 80% less than Energy Star requirements. Manufacturers, however, have made the biggest strides. The European Union and the State of California adopted even tougher regulations, requiring CFLs to contain no more than 2.5 mg of mercury by 2013. For this reason, the EPA requires that CFLs contain no more than 5 mg of mercury for consideration in their Energy Star program. Who Regulates Mercury in CFLs?ĭespite its relatively low concentration in CFLs, mercury is still a toxic substance. On the other hand, a tuna fish sandwich, which contains the more hazardous methylmercury, is estimated to expose the consumer to more than 48 times that amount due to the more efficient method of consumption (literally eating the mercury). A paper in the August 2009 issue of the lighting journal LD+A found that the median amount of mercury vapor to which a person is exposed through a broken CFL is a tiny fraction of the total mercury contained within the bulb: Approximately 0.07 micrograms (0.0007 mg). ![]() In the case of a broken CFL, the most likely form of exposure comes from inhaled mercury vapor. Keep in mind, however, that the mercury contained in a CFL, thermometer, or dental filling can be present in these sources in two forms: A liquid, which is what we typically think of when we think of mercury, and a vapor that quickly dissipates. This pales in comparison to older thermometers, which contain as much as 500 mg and even amalgam dental fillings, which contain about 100 mg of mercury. As of November 2010, the US EPA’s Energy Star program concluded that the average amount of mercury within a screw-in CFL was 4 milligrams, comparable to the size of a ballpoint pen tip. The amount of mercury contained within a CFL varies, and in general, has decreased since their introduction nearly two decades ago. In short, without mercury, fluorescent lights will not work. The technology is the same for both linear fluorescent tubes (like those seen in office buildings) and self-ballasted compact fluorescents (the "spiral" bulbs used in homes). In turn, the mercury vapor emits ultraviolet light that excites the phosphor coating within the fluorescent tube, producing visible light. The cathodes within a fluorescent tube produce electric current that passes through argon gas and mercury vapor. Mercury (Hg) is a naturally occurring element used in applications as varied as thermometers, dental fillings, and fluorescent lighting. But what are the facts? Why Use Mercury in CFLs? On the other side, groups feel such rhetoric is overblown. Those against the use of CFLs claim that the potential harm of toxic mercury contained within the energy-saving bulbs far outweighs any environmental benefits. Lighting topics don’t get much more exciting than the debate over the mercury content of compact fluorescents (CFLs).
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