SAY NO FOR CFL BULB

ENERGY SAVER GLOBE “MERCURY EXPOSUREWhat happened.On the 10thFebruary 2011 the energy saver globe fused at the home of the IP. He did not wait for the globe to cool down, standing on a chair with a piece of cloth and remove the energy saver globe. Due to the heat of the energy saver globe he dropped the globe. As the globe fell on the floor it explode (brake). As he descend from the chair he stepped into the broken glass and exposed mercury powder.The IP was admitted to hospital for treatment of the cuts. He spent two weeks in ICU and at one stage it was feared that his foot need to be amputated. Currently his foot is connected to a vacuum pump to remove continuously dead tissue. Long road of recovery is awaiting him.WARNING!!!! THE PICTURES BELOW ARE VERY GRAPHIC AND COULD MAKE YOU WANT TO PUKE.

http://marcmulkey.com/html/cfl_bulbs__.html

CFL's BULB !!!!!

CFL's BULB !!!!!

CFL's BULB !!!!!

CFL's BULB !!!!!

1 This document contains information designed to be useful to the general public. This document does not impose legally binding requirements, nor does it confer legal rights, impose legal obligations, or implement any statutory or regulatory provisions. This document does not change or substitute for any statutory or regulatory provisions. This document presents technical information based on EPA’s current understanding of the potential hazards posed by breakage of mercury‐containing fluorescent lamps (light bulbs) in a typical household setting. Finally, this is a living document and may be revised periodically without public notice. EPA welcomes comments on this document at any time and will consider those comments in any future revisions of this document.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

Mercury Exposure Safety precaution needed ENERGY SAVER GLOBE “MERCURY EXPOSUREWhat happened.On the 10th February 2011 the energy saver globe fused at the home of the IP. He did not wait for the globe to cool down, standing on a chair with a piece of cloth and remove the energy saver globe. Due to the heat of the energy saver globe he dropped the globe. As the globe fell on the floor it explode (brake). As he descend from the chair he stepped into the broken glass and exposed mercury powder.The IP was admitted to hospital for treatment of the cuts. He spent two weeks in ICU and at one stage it was feared that his foot need to be amputated. Currently his foot is connected to a vacuum pump to remove continuously dead tissue. Long road of recovery is awaiting him.

https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/foot-fall/

ARE CFL BULBS DANGEROUS ?

Reaching for the vacuum cleaner? NEVER vacuum the debris from a fluorescent bulb, unless you plan to throw away the vacuum, said Dr. Marcel Casavant, director of the Central Ohio Poison Center and Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus.

Link https://www.cleveland.com/business/2011/04/cfl_bulbs_the_us_epa_guideline.html

Actually, the EPA advisory does allow for vacuuming glass shards after you have cleaned up the powdery debris with sticky tape or a couple of stiff cards, blotted the remaining powder with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe -and doubled-bagged the mess in sealed plastic bags. Better yet, put it in a old canning jar with a good lid.Then get it out of your home. And change that vacuum bag. Wash your hands. And continue airing out the room for a few hours, if possible."It's really good public health policy," Casavant said of the scary EPA instructions."And as a physician, I tend to lean more to the side of extra precaution. It used to be that we thought the mercury would remain in the vacuum bag. But the entire vacuum is contaminated."Breaking a fluorescent lamp on a carpet is the real nightmare.Getting metallic mercury out of the carpet fiber -- where it could continue to slowly vaporize over months -- is difficult, Casavant said.

INFORMATION

It would be safer to cover the area of the carpet with plastic sheeting until it can be cut out and removed, he said.In the meantime, you could also sprinkle elemental sulfur powder on the area. The sulfur combines with mercury, lessening the metal's ability to change into a gas. (Sulfur is available in any garden supply store, or in the gardening aisle of a large retailer.)Does Casavant own a CFL? Yes, because they use so little electricity. But he doesn't use them where the children might play.Dr. Alfred Aleguas, managing director of the Northern Ohio Poison Center at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, agreed to a point with his Columbus colleague."A lot of this is common sense," Aleguas said. "Kids are low to the floor. If there are any mercury vapors, that is where they would be. That's why the EPA tells you to get the kids out of the room.“ But how dangerous is it to the kids?"Mercury is a neuro-toxin. There is no acceptable body level for lead or mercury," Aleguas said. "And with kids, particularly, it's an issue. They have growing brains."But the probability of massive damage to your children from one broken bulb is not as high as you might think after reading the EPA advisory, if you know how to clean up the debris, Aleguas said."You've got to keep this in perspective and look at actual versus perceived risk" he said. "The perceived risk is much greater than the actual risk."Alexis Cain, environmental scientist in Chicago with the U.S. EPA, can understand that some people may find the advisory alarming. But that was not the agency's intention.

R & D U.S. EPA

"We do recommend that people use CFL lamps. And we want people to know the best way to clean them up if they break, said."The message is not that if you break one and don't follow the directions, you will be hospitalized," he said. "The message is that to minimize exposure, these are some steps you can take.“ Stuart Greenberg, executive director of Environmental Health Watch, a non-profit information and advocacy organization in Cleveland, said using CFL bulbs and cleaning up a broken one "is all about prudence.“ "The clean-up is not rocket science," he said. "The toughest thing is keeping the instructions around, or knowing where to find them quickly."We are exposed to terrible things all the time," Greenberg said. "Gasoline poses a very substantial benzene exposure. If you take dry cleaning into the house, you are risking exposure to perchloroethylene.

"Both can cause neurological damage. So prudence dictates trying to reduce exposure. You can't completely eliminate toxic exposure, but you can reduce it."Greenberg, along with both doctors, the EPA, state regulators and environmentalists, argue that the amount of mercury spewing out of the smoke stacks of coal-fired power plants is a far great risk to everyone's health -- a risk you can't avoid by opening a window.And it's that mercury that the switch to CFL bulbs is expected to reduce because the bulbs use about a quarter of the electricity of incandescent bulbs."The overall mercury exposure from coal-fired power plants is very substantially reduced by use of CFLs," Greenberg said. "That's a big part of the switch to CFL bulbs."

IMPORTANT ADVICES

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL)

What to Do if a Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) Bulb or Fluorescent Tube Light Bulb Breaks in Your Home1

Fluorescent light bulbs contain a small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing. When a fluorescent bulb breaks in your home, some of this mercury is released as mercury vapor. The broken bulb can continue to release mercury vapor until it is cleaned up and removed from the residence. To minimize exposure to mercury vapor, EPA recommends that residents follow the cleanup and disposal steps described below. This cleanup guidance represents the minimum actions recommended to clean up a broken CFL, and will be updated as EPA identifies more effective cleanup practices.

CLEANUP AND DISPOSAL OVERVIEW

12

The most important steps to reduce exposure to mercury vapor from a broken bulb are:

However, to avoid any exposure to mercury, we recommend that you leave the room for at least 15 minutes before cleaning up the broken bulb. If you can, open a door or window to the outside to let fresh air into the room where the bulb was broken.

1. Before cleanup

a. Have people and pets leave the room.b. Air out the room for 5‐15 minutes by opening a window or door to the outdoor

environment.c. Shut off the central forced air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.d. Collect materials needed to clean up broken bulb.

2. During cleanup

a. Be thorough in collecting broken glass and visible powder.b. Place cleanup materials in a sealable container.

3. After cleanup

a. Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly. Avoid leaving any bulb fragments or cleanup materials indoors.

b. If practical, continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the heating/air conditioning system shut off for several hours.

PHASES OF CLEANING

Before Cleanup

• Have people and pets leave the room, and avoid the breakage area on the way out.• Open a window or door to the outdoors and leave the room for 50 minutes.• Shut off the central forced heating/air conditioning (H&AC) system, if you have one.• Collect materials you will need to clean up the broken bulb:

❖ Stiff paper or cardboard❖ Sticky tape (e.g., duct tape)❖ Damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes (for hard surfaces)❖ Glass jar with a metal lid (such as a canning jar) or a sealable plastic bag(s)

DON’T USE VACUUM MACHINE!!!

• Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place debris and paper/cardboard in a glass jar with a metal lid. If a glass jar is not available, use a sealable plastic bag.(NOTE: Since a plastic bag will not prevent the mercury vapor from escaping, remove the plastic bag(s) from the home after cleanup.)

• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.

• Wipe the area clean with damp paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels in the glass jar or plastic bag.

• Vacuuming of hard surfaces during cleanup is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. [NOTE: It is possible that vacuuming could spread mercury‐containing powder or mercury vapor, although available information on this problem is limited.] If vacuuming is needed to ensure removal of all broken glass, keep the following tips in mind:

o Keep a window or door to the outdoors open;o Vacuum the area where the bulb was broken using the vacuum hose, if available; ando Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and seal the bag/vacuum debris, and any

materials used to clean the vacuum, in a plastic bag.• Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a

trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly.o Check with your local or state government about disposal requirements in your area. Some states and

communities require fluorescent bulbs (broken or unbroken) be taken to a local recycling center.• Wash your hands with soap and water after disposing of the jars or plastic bags containing bulb debris

and cleanup materials.• Continue to air out the room where the bulb was broken and leave the H&AC system shut off, as

practical, for several hours.

CLEANUP STEPS FOR HARD SURFACES

CLEANUP STEP BY STEP

CLEANUP STEPS FOR CARPETING OR RUGS

Carefully scoop up glass fragments and powder using stiff paper or cardboard and place debris and paper/cardboard in a glass jar with a metal lid. If a glass jar is not available, use a sealable plastic bag.(NOTE: Since a plastic bag will not prevent the mercury vapor from escaping, remove the plastic bag(s) from the home after cleanup.)

• Use sticky tape, such as duct tape, to pick up any remaining small glass fragments and powder. Place the used tape in the glass jar or plastic bag.

• Vacuuming of carpeting or rugs during cleanup is not recommended unless broken glass remains after all other cleanup steps have been taken. [NOTE: It is possible that vacuuming could spread mercury‐containing powder or mercury vapor, although available information on this problem is limited.] If vacuuming is needed to ensure removal of all broken glass, keep the following tips in mind:

o Keep a window or door to the outdoors open;o Vacuum the area where the bulb was broken using the vacuum hose, if available and

Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and wipe the canister) and seal the bag vacuum debris, and any materials used to clean the vacuum, in a plastic bag.

• Promptly place all bulb debris and cleanup materials, including vacuum cleaner bags, outdoors in a trash container or protected area until materials can be disposed of properly.

• Always switch off and allow a working CFL bulb to cool before handling.• Always handle CFL bulbs carefully to avoid breakage.o If possible, screw/unscrew the CFL by holding the plastic or ceramic

base, not the glass tubing.o Gently screw in the CFL until snug. Do not over‐tighten.o Never forcefully twist the glass tubing.• Consider not using CFLs in lamps that can be easily knocked over, in

unprotected light fixtures, or in lamps that are incompatible with the spiral or folded shape of many CFLs.

• Do not use CFL bulbs in locations where they can easily be broken, such as play spaces.

• Use CFL bulbs that have a glass or plastic cover over the spiral or folded glass tube, if available. These types of bulbs look more like incandescent bulbs and may be more durable if dropped.

• Consider using a drop cloth (e.g., plastic sheet or beach towel) when changing a fluorescent light bulb in case a breakage should occur. The drop cloth will help prevent mercury contamination of nearby surfaces and can be bundled with the bulb debris for disposal.

WARNING AND CAUTION

ADVICES

BE CAREFUL FOR YOU AND YOUR FAMILY