{"id":82,"date":"2007-05-01T16:58:11","date_gmt":"2007-05-01T21:58:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2007\/05\/01\/cfl_mercury\/"},"modified":"2008-04-22T11:07:45","modified_gmt":"2008-04-22T16:07:45","slug":"cfl_mercury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/climate411\/2007\/05\/01\/cfl_mercury\/","title":{"rendered":"Mercury Poisoning from Light Bulbs?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Erica Rowell<\/i>, today’s guest blogger, is a Web Editor and Producer at Environmental Defense, and our resident expert on compact fluorescents.<\/i><\/p>\n

Last year, in converting my apartment to energy-saving compact fluorescent lights (CFLs), I broke two. I opened the window, swept up the fragments, wiped the floor with a damp paper towel, put the towel and the broken CFLs in a plastic bag and tied it. My super disposed of the bag. I’m not worried about mercury exposure – they broke a couple of months ago, and my cats and I are fine. A similar incident in Maine was a different story.<\/p>\n

When Brandy Bridges shattered a CFL spiral in her daughter’s bedroom, aware that it contained trace amounts of mercury, the concerned mother looked into proper disposal. After a mishmash of good and bad advice, she ended up with a $2,000 clean-up bill and a lot of fear (read full story<\/a>).<\/p>\n

What can we learn from Ms. Bridges? Know some basic facts.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Even though CFLs contain some mercury, they actually reduce overall mercury pollution.<\/b> How? CFLs require less energy to be generated by power plants, which tend to emit mercury. <\/b>A CFL eliminates three-fourths of the mercury pollution of a traditional light bulb: 3.3 mg versus 13.6 mg. So using CFLs slashes the amount of mercury we put into our air and surface water. That means less of the toxin ends up in our drinking water and fish.<\/p>\n

When disposed of properly, the trace amount of mercury in the bulbs does not threaten the environment. <\/b>The average CFL contains 4 to 5 mg of mercury – a smidgen compared to other everyday items such as thermometers (500 mg), older thermostats (3,000 mg), and typical office lights (40 mg).<\/p>\n

Should a bulb break, take these simple precautions.<\/b> If a CFL breaks, first open nearby windows to disperse any vapor that may escape. Then sweep it up instead of vacuuming it to minimize vaporizing the mercury (that’s when it becomes toxic). Do not use your hands. Finally, wipe the area with a damp, disposable paper towel to pick up all glass fragments. Place all fragments in a sealed plastic bag and call 1-800-CLEAN-UP or go to earth911.org to find out where to dispose of it.<\/p>\n

When a CFL burns out, years down the road, recycle it. <\/b>Recycling options for CFLs are becoming more common; call your local government or visit earth911.org to see if there’s a drop-off point nearby. As we switch to energy-saving lights, we also need to encourage our communities to provide local recycling facilities. In the meantime, consider buying from stores that already recycle, such as Ikea.<\/p>\n

For more information on CFLs and proper disposal, please see the following fact sheets:<\/p>\n