Breaking fluorescent lamps.

[Mark Prouty]

Please don't play and break fluorescent lamps: they contain chemicals that are poisonous. When disposing of a fluorescent lamp, you should call the Recycling Center!

If I break a fluorescent lamp when working on my boat, how poisoned do I get?



Humm!

[richandlori]

you're still alive?

[Mark Prouty]

you're still alive?

Yea,

But feeling a little wierd.

[RandyMoon]

How to Clean Up Broken Lamps and Tubes
Households or Small Amounts of Breakage

In a household or for small quantity breakages, do not use a standard vacuum cleaner! Do not use ordinary residential and commercial floor vacuums, floor vacuums that trap dirt with water, or wet/dry shop vacuums. (For vacuum cleaning, only vacuums designed specifically for hazardous waste may be used.)

Instead of vacuuming, wear latex gloves and carefully clean up the fragments. Wipe the area with a damp disposable paper towel to remove all glass fragments and associated mercury.

Keep all people and pets away from area so that mercury-containing pieces and powder are not tracked into other areas.

Keep the area well ventilated to disperse any vapor than may escape.

After clean up is complete, place all fragments along with cleaning materials into a sealable plastic bag. Wash your hands. Recycle along with intact lamps.

Large Amounts of Breakage

For accidental breakage of larger numbers of lamps, such as a case or pallet, do not use a standard vacuum cleaner! Do not use ordinary residential and commercial floor vacuums, floor vacuums that trap dirt with water, or wet/dry shop vacuums. (For vacuum cleaning, only vacuums designed specifically for hazardous waste may be used.) Ventilate area where breakage occurred. Separate any unbroken lamps and cleanup breakage with a specialized mercury vacuum cleaner or other suitable means that avoids dust and mercury vapor generation. Place materials in closed containers. Recycle waste along with intact lamps.

[kmclemore]

As an aside, I can remember as a kid we used to play with liquid mercury. I had a chemist neighbor that gave me a whole glass bottle full of the stuff, and it seemed like it weighed a ton! We used to pour a little puddle on the ground and flick it with our fingers and watch it explode into millions of little droplets. God only knows whatever happened to all that mercury... sigh.

So... I guess I should be dead by now, huh?

Well, at least maybe it explains my less-than-temporary insanity.............

[Mark Prouty]

How to Clean Up Broken Lamps and Tubes
Households or Small Amounts of Breakage

In a household or for small quantity breakages, do not use a standard vacuum cleaner! Do not use ordinary residential and commercial floor vacuums, floor vacuums that trap dirt with water, or wet/dry shop vacuums. (For vacuum cleaning, only vacuums designed specifically for hazardous waste may be used.)

Instead of vacuuming, wear latex gloves and carefully clean up the fragments. Wipe the area with a damp disposable paper towel to remove all glass fragments and associated mercury.

Keep all people and pets away from area so that mercury-containing pieces and powder are not tracked into other areas.

Keep the area well ventilated to disperse any vapor than may escape.

After clean up is complete, place all fragments along with cleaning materials into a sealable plastic bag. Wash your hands. Recycle along with intact lamps.

Large Amounts of Breakage

For accidental breakage of larger numbers of lamps, such as a case or pallet, do not use a standard vacuum cleaner! Do not use ordinary residential and commercial floor vacuums, floor vacuums that trap dirt with water, or wet/dry shop vacuums. (For vacuum cleaning, only vacuums designed specifically for hazardous waste may be used.) Ventilate area where breakage occurred. Separate any unbroken lamps and cleanup breakage with a specialized mercury vacuum cleaner or other suitable means that avoids dust and mercury vapor generation. Place materials in closed containers. Recycle waste along with intact lamps.

I'm with ya so far.

[richandlori]

On the flip side, you could just go out and eat a tuna and get mercury. As someone in the Mercury abatement industry, I can say that the risks are a bit overblown. More mercury offgasses naturally from the state of Nevada, than is emitted from the ENTIRE US coal power plant industry. (I could find the technical paper on this, but I don't want to waste my time digging thorugh my old files).

Also, since Mercury is a global pollutant and the vast majority is Hg is comming from China, what can we really do?

Rich

[Chip Hindes]

Also, since Mercury is a global pollutant and the vast majority is Hg is comming from China, what can we really do?

Don't know about you, but I'm moving further away from China!

[Divecoz]

A company I worked for locally owned a U Store facility as well as a large Electrical Contracting firm. They rented out 2. . . 8X12 units and after months of No Pay they cut the lock and they found Tens of THOUSANDS of Fluorescent tubes floor to ceiling wall to wall and in the other unit as many or so it seemed . . .old leaking ballast. . . When they checked the paper work . . you guessed it alias all the way. That Cost Mr. Motts Thousands of dollars to have it all removed.. An old saying so many seem to live by today. " Me. . . . Me First. . . . You later. . .. much later "

[RandyMoon]

One thing I learned as a kid, don't wear a gold ring and play with mercury. Mercury sticks.

[Hamin' X]

We used to rub it on dimes and quarters to make them really shine. Of course, back then quarters and dimes had silver in them. I don't think that mercury will stick to the newer coins. What's this about it affecting memorrrrrrrrrrrrr................

[Catigale]

From the Admiral, a licensed CIH

Small quantities of bulbs are not to worry about....just clean up and throw out in trash - do not eat them.

If you renovate a school and have 100s of fluorescent bulbs, you have to handle as hazardous waste due to mercury vapour.


Some of the old ballasts had PCB oil and are also a problem in quantity.

[Mark Prouty]

Thanks guys,

Got her all cleaned up. I'm ok now.

[Sloop John B]

Man, I just thought these things were long light bulbs. We toss them in the trash and take them to the landfill. Poor devils.

We knew about mercury. The old 'switches' had them. Sort of neat to play with them like Kevin did, they were so 'together'.

Knew not to gobble them up. There was a rhyme about some kid licking the Mercury off the back of a mirror. Forgot how it went but remember how it ended.

[Jack O'Brien]

I had an uncle who was an electrical wizard. He parents' house was the first in his county in Wisconsin to have electric lights when he installed them. He was self-taught but helped RCA develop color TV and later taught at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois.

He invented and patented a process to refine mercury to such a pure state it would actually "wet" glass and form a concave meniscus. Evidently it is the impurities in liquid mercury that causes it to have so much surface tension that it forms those tight little balls of itself.

I wonder if I absorbed more mercury from playing with it or from my teeth fillings.