This morning, as they were chasing each other through the house, my cats knocked over a lamp and broke the CFL (compact fluorescent light bulb). As you might know, CFLs contain mercury which can be toxic to everyone. I shooed my kids out of the living room and swept up the broken glass, and then looked it up online, where I found that you're not supposed to use a broom, but rather two pieces of cardboard (so as not to contaminate your broom). According to one website, there are several places where you can dispose of the broken lightbulb; unfortunately the nearest one to me was in Santa Rosa, CA (in the Bay Area). Another website assured me that after I deposited the broken light bulb in a sealed plastic bag, it was fine to throw it away in my local dumpster, but I should definitely air out my house for 15 minutes.
But the more I searched online, the more concerned I became. I found an article on PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3575038) describing a 23-month-old suffering from severe mercury poisoning after playing in a spot where 8 fluorescent bulbs had broken. Mercury affects the brain, kidneys, and lungs, and can cause peripheral neuropathy, edema, and lupus. Oh, hey, and how about the thimerosal/autism link...
In a quandary, I began to muscle test. What absorbs mercury? How can I clear it out of my house? Is it okay for me to be here? How long should I be away? Do I need treatment? (especially after I removed a piece of broken lightbulb from the ball of my foot...)
Here's what I came up with:
You can sprinkle rice or epsom salts over the area to absorb the transient mercury in the area. Definitely allow ventilation to the room. Burning some candles in the room can help too. Leave the house for at least 5 hours.
But the more I searched online, the more concerned I became. I found an article on PubMed (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/3575038) describing a 23-month-old suffering from severe mercury poisoning after playing in a spot where 8 fluorescent bulbs had broken. Mercury affects the brain, kidneys, and lungs, and can cause peripheral neuropathy, edema, and lupus. Oh, hey, and how about the thimerosal/autism link...
In a quandary, I began to muscle test. What absorbs mercury? How can I clear it out of my house? Is it okay for me to be here? How long should I be away? Do I need treatment? (especially after I removed a piece of broken lightbulb from the ball of my foot...)
Here's what I came up with:
You can sprinkle rice or epsom salts over the area to absorb the transient mercury in the area. Definitely allow ventilation to the room. Burning some candles in the room can help too. Leave the house for at least 5 hours.
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