Your government at work, Fluorescent Light Bulbs

The new For more information, The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has issued the following

guidelines for safely cleaning up broken compact fluorescent light bulbs that contain MERCURY.

What to do if you acciden­tally break a bulb:

Before Cleanup: VENT the Room

Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.

Shut OFF the central forced-air heating/air condi­tioning system, if you have one.

Cleanup Steps for Carpet or rugs

Wear disposable gloves, if available. Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or

cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic bag.

Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass frag­ments and powder.

Vacuum the area were the bulb was broken. Remove the vacuum bag or empty the canister and wash it

clean. Put the bag or vacuum debris in a sealed planted bag and rewash the canister

Cleanup Steps for Hard Surfaces

Wear disposable gloves, if available. Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or

cardboard and place them in a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning jar) or in a sealed plastic

bag. Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass frag­ments and

powder. Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or dispos­able wet wipes and place them in the glass

jar or plastic bag. DO NOT use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken

Disposal of Clean-up Materials

Immediately place all cleanup materials, including gloves, outside the building in a trash container or out­door

protected area, away from children, for the next normal trash. Wash your hands after disposing of the jars or plastic

bags containing clean-up materials

Future Cleaning of Carpeting or Rug:

Vent the Room During and After Vacuuming

For at least the next few times you vacuum, shut off the central forced-air heat­ing/air

conditioning system and open a window prior to vacuuming. Keep the central heat­ing/air

conditioning system shut OFF and the window open for at least 15 minutes after vacuuming is

completed. For more information, visit

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keyword: Household

Haz­ardous Waste. The Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs Fact Sheet

Reply to
Mike hunt
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Why don't you come up a with a better solution? Fluorescent light bulbs must contain mercury. There is no way around that with today's technology, other to use a different type of light bulb.

So what would you recommend, Mr. Engineer?

I don't see anything wrong with the guidelines. What's your better idea?

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Way too many words. All they had to do is let you narrate a 30 second public service commercial, ending with "This could be you if you're not careful."

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Well, the problem is that by the time you read the bulletin, you've been exposed.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Ummm...no.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

This will be great in the winter when it's below zero.

You think turning up the heat to keep the house warm for 15 minutes or more will negate the energy saving from the flourescent bulb?

Reply to
hachiroku

An every day household item that isn't a HazMat nightmare?

Reply to
hachiroku

I had one BURN, it burned *through* the glass, and kept glowing even after I turned off the power and removed the bulb.

No time to go through the steps outlined, the friggin' thing was BURNING!

Guess I've been exposed, eh?

Think it was made in China. They're out to get us one way or another...

Reply to
hachiroku

The point is that before you go forcing something down people's throats by edict, study *all* the consequences. Don't just do the usual environmental cause thing and only publicize the positives of something you're in favor of. Factor in all the pluses and minuses up front, then make an honest assessment. Don't convince the politicians only with data that makes the results like you want them to come out, and once the whole society is hooked hit them with the true costs and consequences.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

We're not supposed to be thinking about that sort of thing - yet. Create the crisis first, then come up with a solution that costs 3 times as much as all the savings combined and make a new industry out of it.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

The guy who posted the original post to the toyota newsgroup was a flaming asshole, but the rest of you who actually responded deserve death by hanging by your fingernails.

Reply to
Elmo P. Shagnasty

Read here:

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Go down to the part where it says: "Mechanism of light production." You will please note where it says the light if full of mercury vapor. So as soon as the light is broken, the vapor is released into the air. Which is why the instructrions say to shut off the central air.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

They are made in China. Very few, if any, are made in the US.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Man - can you imagine a worse environmental disaster in the making than the Chinese using mercury in *ANY* manufacturing process!? Think of the factory workers. Wonder what their groundwater is like?

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

Not to worry. They probably use mercury waste in their toothpaste.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

You mean in *our* toothpaste.

Bill Putney (To reply by e-mail, replace the last letter of the alphabet in my address with the letter 'x')

Reply to
Bill Putney

There's only one country that exports its electronic waste to Asia for recycling: the US. Then, one hypothesis goes, when the plastic boards are recycled, it is contaminated with lead, which we get in plastic toys.

Factory conditions in many third countries stink, including India, where they used to make manhole covers for NYC streets. They didn't have any protective equipment at all. And, IIRC, molten metal makes a nasty burn.

Jeff

Reply to
Jeff

Ah-SO! They try to kill Round-Eye with mercury poisoning!

Hate to work in that factory. Wonder if they lick the tools to keep them clean (remember watch faces with radium?)

Reply to
hachiroku

I won't buy toothpaste made in China. I won't even buy cat food from China. I *LIKE* my cat!

Reply to
hachiroku

I don't know about their groundwater, but their surface water has problems... As does their air. Have seen photos from a couple of people who each went to China in the last year; air quality is dismal. Now, I assume it can't be that horrendous over the entire country, but what I saw in many of the pics was super-smog.

I feed my cats Science Diet. The price has gone noticeably up lately. Mentioned it to my vet... reason why: they are no longer using any ingredients from China, after the pet food - & other - contamination probs. The Chinese economy is obviosuly growing by incredible leaps & bounds - perhaps too fast for their (& everyone else's) own good - other embedded aspects (can't think how else to word it at moment) need to catch up. Obviously.

Cathy

Reply to
Cathy F.

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