Mercury in energy efficient bulbs?

Question

Someone told me that they heard someone broke one of those energy efficient bulbs and had to spend $2000 to get the mercury cleaned up. Is this legitimate?

Answer 1

It shouldn't cost $2,000.  I don't know where they broke the bulb, but it's pretty easy to clean up a broken CFL.

Did they say where they broke the bulb?  Did they have some company come over and "professionally" clean up the place?

Answer 2

No, you can clean up a broken compact fluorescent bulb yourself.  Just open a window (weather permitting), sweep up all bulb fragments, put in one bag tie it and throw it away.  The amount of mercury in a CF bulb actually is less then what is released into the air by powering a incandescent light bulb.

Answer 3

No, that was an urban myth started by Steve Milloy of Junkscience.com and Fox News.

http://www.treehugger.com/files/2007/05/...

Basically a professional environmental cleanup company told her it would cost them $2000 to clean it up, but she could easily do it herself for free.

http://ellsworthmaine.com/site/index.php...

The amount of mercury in a CFL is the size of the tip of a ball point pen.  The US EPA has instructions on how to clean up a broken CFL yourself (for free) here:

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/#flour...

Answer 4

It's a lie, The Green tip bulbs have a lower content of lead, and mercury. The U.S. Federal limit for disposal is < .2 mg/liter. These bulbs typically have about .11 to .16 mg/liter.

There would be no fines, or extravegent clean up costs.

Answer 5

there IS mercury in energy effeciant lightbulbs im not suprised that he broke it and it probly leaked on him but unless he's a total idiot and left it on his skin for mare than 5min and didnt wash it off he should of been fine :\

Answer 6

That's crazy.  The long fluorescent tubes we've used for ages are no different and you don't hear that about them, do you?  The cfl's are just like them, only much smaller.