How to Protect Pets and Children from Broken CFL's
Compact Fluorescent Lights or CFLs contain trace amounts of mercury. When your cat knocks a lamp off the end table and the bulb shatters, you don't want to haphazardly sweep the bulb into the trash can and forget about it.25-watt CFLs contain an average of 5 mg of mercury in each bulb. That's not much. In fact, glass thermometers can contain 500 mg of mercury. But any amount of mercury can cause brain damage over time, especially in young children and small animals. Despite the mercury, though, CFLs are still more earth-friendly than incandescents--even when they break. Does this Spark an idea?
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Things You'll Need
- Seal-top plastic bags
- Rubber gloves
- Damp scrap towel
- Fans (optional)
- Vacuum cleaner
Instructions
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Once you notice a broken CFL, quarantine the area. Shut the door to the room, kicking animals and kids out. Or set up a barrier around the broken area. Especially if your have an infant or baby, move him to another room in a play pen or crib. Cats can be a nuisance, nosing around the area. Stick them outside or shut them in a room with a door.
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Ventilate the area. The mercury in the CFL is vapor. When a CFL breaks, that vapor is released into the air. Much of the vapor will fall to the ground, but some will linger in the air. Open windows or doors and turn on fans. If you have a window fan, turn it so the air blows outside. Let the area air out for at least one hour before returning to the room. Give the mercury a chance to escape.
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Put on rubber gloves and pick up the broken CFL. Gather as much of the broken CFL with your hands as you can. Dispose of the broken bits into a seal-top plastic bag. Don't discard these in your regular trash without sealing them in an air tight bag. The mercury in the bulb will leach into the dump and then into topsoil and then into drinking water and the atmosphere.
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Use a damp towel (one you don't mind to throw away) to dab the contaminated area. Don't rub or wipe, just blot the area to pick up any smaller bits of glass or any mercury residue that may dwell on the floor. Toss this towel and the gloves in the seal-top bag as well.
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Lastly (and optionally) use a vacuum cleaner over the area to pick up any more bits of glass you may have missed. Do not use a vacuum cleaner until after picking up the mercury. A vacuum cleaner will pick up the mercury and then spew it around the room. If you have a vacuum cleaner with a bag, change the bag after vacuuming and stick the old one in the seal top bag as well. For bag-less vacuums, empty the canister into the seal-top bag and wipe it out. Throw the rag away in the seal-top bag. Any filters in the vacuum may have collected some of the remaining mercury. Take those out and either dispose of them if you can replace them, or let them air out outside.
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Place the seal-top bag you put all the contaminated material in inside another seal top bag and dispose of it either at your local waste management site or in the regular garbage. Many cities have access to EPA-certified recycling centers. An EPA-certified site will be able to dispose of the broken CFL. That is also where you should take any burned out CFLs.
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Tips & Warnings
Mercury is poisonous and can cause long term brain damage. Although there is just a small amount of mercury in these bulbs, you should still use caution when cleaning up a broken CFL.
