when you broke a light bulb. You cussed a bit, got a broom, and cleaned up
the mess. No big deal.

Times have changed.

Compact fluorescent lamps contain small amounts of toxic mercury that can
vaporize when the bulbs break, creating a potential health risk for
infants, young children, and pregnant women. If a lamp does break, follow
these cleanup procedures:

Keep people and pets away. Open windows, and leave the area for 15 minutes
before beginning the cleanup.

Do not use a vacuum cleaner, even on a carpet. This will spread the mercury
vapor and dust and potentially contaminate the vacuum.

Wear rubber gloves.

Carefully remove the larger pieces and place them in a secure closed
container, preferably a glass jar with a metal screw top lid and seal like
a canning jar.

Next, scoop up the smaller pieces and dust using two stiff pieces of paper
such as index cards or playing cards.

Pick up fine particles with duct tape, packing tape, or masking tape, and
then use a wet wipe or damp paper towel.

Put all waste into the glass container, including all material used in the
cleanup. Remove the container from your home and call your local solid
waste district or municipality for disposal instructions.

Continue ventilating the room for several hours.

Wash your hands and face.

As a precaution, consider discarding throw rugs or the area of carpet where
the breakage occurred, particularly if the rug is in an area frequented by
infants, small children or pregnant women. Otherwise, open windows during
the next several times you vacuum the carpet to provide good ventilation.

SOURCES: Maine Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management; Mercury Policy
Project

To see article click on
http://www.boston.com/news/local/art...escents_crack/

or, http://tinyurl.com/3de6x3


--
John H

"All decisions are the result of binary thinking."