Compact fluorescent (CFL) ... Everyone sings the praises of this new technology. And for good reason ... They save tons of electricity.
But what happens when it breaks in your home or business?
My opinion is that most people just sweep the dirt and not too much thought. But there is a major component in a dangerous light bulb, called Mercury, and Mercury is one of the most toxic substances known to man.
If you break a CFL bulb, probablyYou will notice that the correct cleaning could be very expensive. And you'll probably find that there is no coverage in the insurance policy owned. Most of the measures have exclusions for environmental cleaning. Even if your home is damaged by a tornado, a hurricane or a fire could lead to broken lamps, you thousands of dollars in environmental cleanup costs that your insurance Arise exclude.
Because CFLs contain a small amount of mercury, says the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ofFollowing recovery and disposal guidelines: (1)
Before Before cleaning: Ventilate the room
* These are the people and pets leave the room and not leave anyone in the area to break their journey on foot.
* Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more.
* Turn off forced air heating / air conditioning, if you have one.
According to Clean-up steps for hard surfaces
* Care to collect glass fragments and dust of paper or cardboard and placein a glass jar with metal lid (such as a canning factory sealed jar) or in a plastic bag.
* Use tape as adhesive tape, to pick up other small fragments of glass and dust.
* Wipe the area clean, with bags of paper towels or disposable wet wipes and place them in glass or plastic.
* Use a vacuum or broom to clean up the broken bulb on hard surfaces.
Third Clean-up Steps for Carpet or Rug:
* Care to collect glass fragments and place them ina jar with metal lid (such as a canning factory sealed jar) or in a plastic bag.
* Use tape as adhesive tape, to pick up other small fragments of glass and dust.
* If aspiration is needed after all visible materials are removed, vacuum the area where the ball was broken.
* Remove the vacuum bag (or empty and clean the filter) and put the bag or vacuum residue in a sealed plastic bag.
Fourth Clean-up steps for clothing, bedding, etc.:
* If clothing or beddingThe materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury-containing powder inside the bulb, which may on the fabric, clothes or blankets stick, should be discarded. Do not wash clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and / or pollute sewage.
* You can, however, clothing or other materials that are mercury vapor from a broken CFL, suspended, as the clothes you wear to case, when you cleaned theBroken CFL, as long as the clothes do not come into direct contact with the materials of the broken lamp.
* If shoes come into direct contact with broken glass or bulb from the mercury-containing powder, rub with paper towels or disposable wet wipes. Place the towels or wipes in a glass jar or plastic bag for disposal.
Fifth Disposal of Clean-up Materials
* Immediately place all cleaning materials in an outdoor trash container or protected areafor the collection of waste.
* Wash hands after disposal of cans and plastic bags for cleaning materials.
* With local authorities or state requirements for disposal in your area of control. Some states ban the disposal of waste and require that broken and unbroken mercury-containing lamps be taken to a local recycling center.
Sixth, the future of cleaning carpets or Rug: Ventilate the room during and after aspiration
* The next time youVacuum, forced to abandon open-air central heating / air conditioning and a window before vacuuming.
* Keep off the heating / air conditioning and the window is open for not less than 15 minutes after aspiration.
Man, are heavy, is not it?
(1) Environmental Protection Agency, http://www.energystar.com
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