It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Is the concetration in Compact Florescent Light Hazardous?

page: 1
0

log in

join
share:

posted on Sep, 14 2008 @ 06:27 AM
link   
Hey guys so I accidently broke a Compact Florescent Lightbulb last night, but I wasn't aware that you had to let the room ventilate off for several hours before you cleaned up the broken glasses, so I'm kind of scared I may exposed my body and other people in my family to it.

I left the door open and window shut in the room where the CFL fell for 10 minutes, to top that, it occurred in a carpeted room. I knew that CFL contained mercury, so when it broke, I began to panic.

My first instinct was to grab some gloves and several ziplock bags downstairs and began picking up the larger pieces. When I was done with that, cleaning it properly, and in a sense I was on the right track, but I felt I was doing something wrong so I went online, and that's where I found out about "proper" way to dispose it.

So right now I need to ask everyone's opinion:
1) Should I be worried?
2) How much mercury does a person need to be expose to until it becomes hazardous? (through breathing, physical contact, and ingesting)
3) What are the concentration of mercury in the air caused by anthropogenic emissions? in food (fish)?
4) How should I properly clean it up the room?


I personally think CFL isn't worth the risk, yes you'll be saving energy and money, but why take the risk of exposing your family that could deteriorate their health? And are you really helping the environment, because once your CFLs are disposed of, its going to go in landfill, contaminate the ground and water reservoirs.

And while you may think 5mg isn't alot, imagine how much of those bulbs your going to be disposing, now include hundreds of thousands, possibly even millions doing the same thing. When you do the math, we have a really big problem.

I know this is going to cost me, but I'm going to go back in incandescent lightbulbs, homefully in a few years maybe the price of LED lightbulbs will go down. It has no hazardous gas or metal in it, and last MUCH longer than CFL.



 
0

log in

join