I live in California, where currrently there is pending legislation that would prohibit the sale of incandescent bulbs after January 1, 2012.  The goal is that every household would only use CFL’s, which are 75% more energy efficient.

Sounds great, right? 

I wasn’t so sure as I’ve heard the buzz that there is mercury in the bulbs.  Call me whacko, but I tend to be pretty paranoid when it comes to things like sunscreen and Flouride treatments for my kids.

So when you’re talking voluntarily introducin neurotoxins into my home, I held off until I did some until I did some research.  I figured I was probably being an overprotective alarmist, and would be reassured once I’d done my research.

Not the case.

With this bill looming, I’ve done my research.  And I’m not bringing CFL’s into my home.

The clincher for me was from the Environmental Protection Agency’s own website; their instructions as to how to clean up a broken CFL bulb freaked me out, quite frankly.

In a nutshell, The EPA states that if a CFL breaks, the room should be immediately vacated by everyone, windows opened, sealed off from rest of building (this includes turning off any ventilation system connected to that room) for fifteen minutes.  This is because airborn mercury is neurotoxic as well.

After that, there are detailed instructions as to how to clean up the solid waste, which of course is a neurotoxin.  There are multiple scenarios on the site, depending upon the specifics of the breakage. 

For example, if it broke onto a hard surface (best case scenario), scoop up the mess with two peices of cardboard, put the debris into a glass container with a metal lid.  Then, using duct tape, further clean the area, and finish with paper towels or disposable rags.  Put the duct tape and rags into the jar and seal it off.

Then, check to see how your state deals with such waste.  California doesn’t allow putting it into the normal trash; it needs to be taken to a special hazardous materials recycling center.

And yet these bulbs are perfectly safe?

Huh?

The instructions for what to do if a bulb breaks on a soft surface such as carpeting is even further detailed and disturbing.  If one shatters onto materials such as clothing or bedding, they must be sealed up and disposed of according to, again, your state’s particular regulation. 

Maine’s Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management states in their recommendations state that if a CFL is broken on carpeting, you should consider removing that section of carpeting, particularly if in an area where there will be babies, small children, or pregnant women.  They aren’t the only state to have such recommendations.

Huh?  Safe?

I could go on and on about other things that I found in my research; the damage inappropriately disposed of bulbs is likely to do to our water supply, the fact that they are made in China and must be transported here, etc.

But for now I’ll stick to the simple facts that the EPA has brought us.  Mercury isn’t safe, not even in the amount that is in one CFL.

And think about that multiplied by the number you could have in your home, and then in homes across the country.

Safe?

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