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Frequently Asked Questions

We are trying to go "Green" as far as recycling, watching energy use etc,etc,etc.. We have switched our light bulbs to compact fluorescent light (CFL) bulbs.

A friend who also wants to switch said she was told that there is more danger from mercury in the new bulbs if they break. Is this true??
It’s true that there’s mercury in the CFL bulbs, and cleanup from a broken bulb should be handled carefully, but it’s a relatively small amount of mercury: 4 or 5 milligrams. By comparison, an old mercury thermometer contains 500 milligrams of mercury. When you consider that the CFL bulbs are relatively hard to break compared to incandescent bulbs, most experts would say the danger is minimal.

Cleanup for a broken bulb should be handled without a vacuum cleaner, which might put more mercury into the air. What you would do is vacate the area for about fifteen minutes to allow mercury vapor to dissipate or settle. Then you pick up the larger pieces of glass by hand (with gloves to prevent cutting your hands). The smaller pieces can be picked up using the sticky side of any kind of tape. Then wipe up the rest with a damp cloth. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) recommends putting all the debris in a glass jar with a screw-on lid.

Local sellers of CFL bulbs will dispose of intact bulbs, but broken bulbs would need to go to a municipal hazardous waste disposal site. A list of disposal sites can be downloaded here: http://www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/hazardouswaste/uwmunicipalmaster.xls.

If your friend is still concerned, new, low-mercury bulbs are also becoming available. They have about 1 milligram of mercury per bulb, but may cost more than the standard CFL bulbs.

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