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What is the mercury bulb?

What to do when you break an energy saving light bulb? The mercury is dangerous and I have pets in my room!!!?

  • I was trying to change the bulb in a lantern thy hangs over my bed and accidentally crushed the bulb while trying to unscrew it. What do I do? I opened the windows, they say not to vacuum but I don't want to be stepping on micro pieces of glass. When it broke I had small dust like peices of glass all over my hands and washed them immeadiatly. MOST IMPORTANT concern is that I have 2 sugar gliders in my room. I immediately covered their cage with a big blanket for their food is exposed. Should I wash all my blankets and pillows and will everything be fine? Help? 10 Pts best answer ASAP!!!

  • Answer:

    The mercury is in a gas state when you broke it then it entered the room. It is not all that dangerous the way this happened you just don't want to break one in front of your face and huff it. Just toss the bulb. There will be no liquid left. It is in the bulb in a vapor state. Gas. It has already dissipated by now. You and your pets will be fine it was not that much to worry about.

Michelle Durst at Yahoo! Answers Visit the source

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Your first order of business would be to calm down. You are over-reacting based on fear propagated by a common public misconception. OK, you washed your hands. Its OK to vacuum. The reality is the amount of mercury in the average CFL bulb would not coat the pointed end of a stick pin and has has long since dissipated, as it was in vapor form.

Polar Bear

I appreciate and respect your concern for your pets. Vacuum the area where the bulb broke to completely remove any glass fragments. I would follow Steve D and Polar Bear's advice. After you clean the area, take the blanket off the sugar gliders' cage, fold it and put it into the laundry. I really don't know what the sugar glider's tolerance is for mercury, but after all these steps, I don't see how any harmful residue could remain. I too, used to play with liquid mercury as a kid before science discovered it was harmful. . .still alive at 65!

Ronald Greene

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