Cleaning Up a Broken CFL

How to Clean Up a Broken CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb)

Clean Up a Broken CFL When a compact fluorescent lightbulb breaks, the cleanup involves a series of steps you should follow. This is because a CFL contains a small amount of mercury sealed in the glass tubing, and when the lightbulb breaks, a small amount of mercury vapor is released, which represents a potential health risk.

How to Clean Up a Broken CFL (Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb)

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency offers step-by-step cleanup advice. The agency says the tips represent the minimum actions recommended and will update the recommendations as it identifies more effective cleanup practices.

So how Harmful is a Broken CFL?

There’s a great article written by Robert Clear, Francis Rubinstein, and Jack Howells entitled Dangerous Mercury in CFLs? One Big Fish Story. If you follow the steps below, a broken CFL poses about as much of a health risk as a bite of tuna*.

Ventilate the area where the lamp is broken with outside air,
Promptly clean up and remove any visible debris to a ventilated (preferably outdoor) area,
Vacuuming forces mercury into the air and should be avoided if possible. (Any vacuuming should be limited to one or two minutes, and the vacuumed space should be vacated, while ventilating, for one to two hours. In addition, the vacuum cleaner should be emptied, then used and stored in ventilated areas until it has been used several more times.)

There are also precautions you can take to prevent CFLs from breaking, such as not using CFLs in lamps in play areas, or other areas where light fixtures can be easily knocked over or broken.

* Source: Dangerous Mercury in CFLs? One Big Fish Story, By Robert Clear, Francis Rubinstein, and Jack Howells.