Just Say No To CFLs

After managing to convince myself that the mercury in compact fluorescent lights was a manageable risk, I have done an about face in response to a study from Maine.

The primary concern is when you have a combination of carpet and small children. it turns out that vacuuming or other agitation (like a child rolling around) can bring out levels of mercury one to two orders of magnitude higher than is considered safe. And this is two weeks after the breakage, even if you cleaned it up according to lab standards!

The pre-study cleanup guidance was generally found to be sound. However, as a result of this study, the cleanup guidance was modified to include:

• Leaving the area/room and waiting 15 minutes after breakage before returning to begin cleaning up (mercury levels in the air will have fallen from their highest levels by then);
• Using a glass container, metal screw top lid with a seal, such as a canning jar, to contain the lamp pieces, powder, and cleanup materials;
• Immediately removing the lamp breakage from the home once containerized, especially if the homeowner did not have a glass container with a good seal;
• Continue ventilating the room for several hours;
• Suggesting that homeowners consider removal of the area of carpet where the breakage occurred as a precaution, particularly in homes with infants, small children or pregnant women;
• If carpet is not removed, the homeowner should consider ventilating the room during vacuuming for the next several vacuuming events;
• Suggesting that homeowners consider not utilizing fluorescent lamps in situations where they could easily be broken, in bedrooms used by infants, small children, or pregnant women, or over carpets in rooms frequented by infants, small children and pregnant women; and
• Avoiding the storage of too many used/spent lamps before recycling as that could increase the chances of breakage.

Might as well just burn your house down and start fresh...

Even if BC bans incandescents I think I'll try to import them until a safe alternative is available. The only question in my mind now is whether I should junk the spare bulbs I've already purchased, and even purge the in-use CFLs while handling them safely is on my mind...