Argh, dropped a fluorescent bulb!

Well, after doing my CFLs in the bathroom photograph https://www.candlepowerforums.com/threads/145103 I went to remove the bulbs to put them back where I got them. Unfortunately, I dropped my 18 watt Greenlite Mini-Spiral and it broke when it hit the counter.

Now there is broken glass and white powder (phosphor) everywhere. I already picked up the broken bulb and glass plus swept up the some of the white powder but there is still a light coating on the counter and the floor. I think I should rinse my toothbrush and cups as well. Any other clean up procedures I should have in mind ?

Dont they have mercury gas or something in them?

I would call the manufacturer. They should be able to provide you with MSDS (material safey data sheets) info. I have heard of mercury in those bulbs also. I would replace the toothbrushes/cups tho....don't take any chances.

There is definatly mercury in most standard fluro tubes but there are newer ones which are mercury free. Best thing is to vacum then mop the whole area and wet wipe everything down. I would persoanlly buy a new toothbrush as they are cheap enough, unless of course it is your limited edition star wars attack of clones, electronic, light sabre toothbrush.

I used to work for a company that reclaimed mercury from various waste streams. ALL tubular fluorescent tube up until the last couple of years contain mercury. Even most still do. The cheaper tubes have more in them. Some times you can actually see beads in the bottom of the tubes when they're off. The CFs are usually new and contain less because they're newer and thay're also smaller. If it was broken while running or very shortly thereafter, the mercury is mostly vaporized and will dissipate into the air. The amount in a CF is in the microgram range and is not of sufficient quantity to cause health problems. The 8 hour limit is 50ug/m^3. Murcury is more of a chronic exposure hazard than an accute one. Contrary to popular belief, your body CAN get rid of mercury. It just does it VERY slowly. If you see any beads, sweep them up and put them into a zip-lok bag. For what's left over, There are spill kits, but for the quantity you're looking at, use your shopvac. Put a couple of gallons of water in it and run the exhause hose out a window. Then change the filter and wash it out outside. The water creates a water-seal and the mercury can't evaporate. Unless you have some sulfer around. Mercury bonds strongly with sulfer and makes it easy to pick up.
Honestly, I've broken a mercury thermometer in my bathroom and this is exactly how I handled it. A thermometer contains several times the quantity of mercury that you find in a CF.
I'd replace my toothbrush anyway. Mercury tastes awefully metallic.

There is no such thing as mercury free fluorescent lamp. The phosphor converts 254nm UVC into visible light and 254nm is made by exciting mercury vapor. It would not work at all w/o mercury.

http://home.howstuffworks.com/fluorescent-lamp2.htm

on Mythbusters when Jamie broke some overhead fluorescents they all evacuated the area immediately to avoid breathing the air.
the water in the shop-vac is ingenious, but if the bathroom has a window I'd open it and put an exhaust fan in the window..

TedTheLed said:

on Mythbusters when Jamie broke some overhead fluorescents they all evacuated the area immediately to avoid breathing the air.
the water in the shop-vac is ingenious, but if the bathroom has a window I'd open it and put an exhaust fan in the window..

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As a matter of policy, yes. You should evacuate. Not just for Mercury but the phosphor powder is an inhalation hazard. Perhaps only as an irritant. But a hazard nonethless. For these tiny amounts involved in a CF, I'd throw an exhaust hose out the window and vacuum it up. Even if you don't see any droplets, vacuum everything. I was exposed (at the exhaust of a poorly designed filter) to 400ug/m^3 for about 7 or 8 hours. I had a headache. After a 24 hour urine test, I had a level of ~25 (I forget the unit). A measurement of 0-17 is what you'll find in Joe Shmo off the street. 35+ gets you restricted duty. I'm not trying to completely poo-poo the hazards of murcury exposure, but let's not be alarmists.

Thank you for the cleanup tips. I actually wiped down the whole area with a wet sponge and rinsed everything down. Didn't find any mercury beads myself but, there was mostly broken glass and some phosphor powder on the counter where it hit. My counter is pretty wide and it landed on the other side of the sink opposite of where I keep my toothbrush and cups so I didn't really think they got contaminated since there was no dust or broken glass in that section but I washed them anyway. It's also been over a month already since I replaced my toothbrush so I definately am going to replace the toothbursh today.

It's been overnight since that happened and I still feel ok (no headaches, nausa, or funny vision)

I hadn't even thought about it in years, but as a teenager my friends and I broke tubes by the hundreds to watch the flash that came with it. This was always in open air, behind the maintenance shed on the military base where we lived.

One of the kids dads worked maintenance and so we knew when the periodic light bulb replacement crew went through. (If I remember right it was mostly guys in the brig for petty stuff who were assigned the task of inspecting/replacing all the tubes.)

I've probably been supercontaminated and didn't even know it. Of course, that was 3 decades ago and I'm still walking around, so I suppose it's wasn't all that bad!

Bill

PS So what is the difference between a mercury vapor lamp and a fluorescent?

PS So what is the difference between a mercury vapor lamp and a fluorescent?

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Same principal is used in both - electrical discharge through mercury vapor produces UV light that then makes a phosphor glow.

In a fluorescent light the electrical discharge through the mercury vapor occurs in the same tube that is coated with phosphor.

In the mercury vapor light the electrical discharge through the mercury vapor is confined to a small quartz inner capsule and the phosphor is on the walls of the much larger outer glass tube. By separating the mercury vapor discharge from the phosphor the discharge can be much more intense.

As a side note, since the electrical discharge in a mercury vapor light occurs in an inner capsule, it is possible for the discharge to continue even if the outer tube is broken. If this happens intense UV light can be emitted. This is why electrical codes require mercury vapor lights to be mounted a certain distance off the ground - to reduce people's exposure to the UV if the outer tube is broken.

I hadn't even thought about it in years, but as a teenager my friends and I broke tubes by the hundreds to watch the flash that came with it. This was always in open air, behind the maintenance shed on the military base where we lived.

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When I was a kid I used to keep metallic mercury in my bedroom to play with. If you pour a bit in your hand and rub a penny in it you will get a silver colored penny.

Concept said:

...but there are newer ones which are mercury free.

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Really? I have not heard a single word of this before. What did they replace mercury with? A simple google search didn't find me to any FLs, compact or tubes, containing no mercury.

A single broken florescent tube represents no hazard to you at all. Open a window, clean it up, get a new toothbrush and take some deep breaths The phosphor can be a very very fine powder and an irritant, but again, nothing serious in the quantities that you're talking about.

Your body does know how to get rid of a tiny amount of mercury, it's exposed to a tiny amount of mercury constantly in your food and environment. Mercury is a naturally occurring compound in many places and things. The allowable exposure in our diet and environment is a daily intake amount, and as long as you don't exceed that for a long time nothing will build up in your system and cause you any problems.

Your body does know how to get rid of a tiny amount of mercury, it's exposed to a tiny amount of mercury constantly in your food and environment. Mercury is a naturally occurring compound in many places and things.

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Yes and especially in the metallic form used in fluorescent tubes, the small amount in a tube is no worry. After all, most people have mercury/silver amalgam dental fillings in their teeth. The environmental danger of mercury is when it accumulates and is converted in waterways by microrganisms to organomercury compounds.

Here is a story about a chemist who dies from exposure to a couple of drops of dimethylmercury:
http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/dimethylmercury/dmmh.htm

Somethings wrong with the timing, 4 MONTHS until sypmtoms appeared, then that long again until death, with 80 times the toxic dose?

Me thinks there must have been another exposure!

Bill

James S said:

The phosphor can be a very very fine powder and an irritant, but again, nothing serious in the quantities that you're talking about.

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my experiences phosphor in a glass wound is more than irritating...

I have broken CFLs three times now....well I was using a roller chair to replace a ceiling bulb and...

I wouldnt worry about mercury posioning, remember its mercury gas, not liquid murcury [which is by far more by volume]....and we've all eaten tuna

Looks like I did not remember correctly what the philips rep was telling me a few years back. What he referred to was the newer design tubes denoted by the green end caps. These have reduced mercury content not mercury free. My bad.

Illum_the_nation said:

my experiences phosphor in a glass wound is more than irritating...

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OUCH! I hadn't considered that as a point of entry for the stuff... I hope you washed it out Or perhaps, now you have a radiation detector built into your finger if your pointer is glowing you know it's time to leave the room...

I was using a roller chair to replace a ceiling bulb and...

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next time you do that setup a camera so that the rest of can enjoy your flailing about after the fact I tried to climb up on my desk chair to reach something once... I'll never do that again!

I wouldnt worry about mercury posioning, remember its mercury gas, not liquid murcury [which is by far more by volume]....and we've all eaten tuna

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yes, that, and David_Campen is right too. Metallic mercury isn't nearly as toxic as the organic compounds like methyl-mercury. They are more dangerous to you because they take so long to get out of your system. I was looking up this stuff for my sister not long ago when she was asking me about the miniscule amount of ethyl-mercury in some vaccinations. I could only find one case of mercury poisoning from eating tuna even though you're technically supposed to limit your intake of albacore tuna to one or 2 servings a week. Some woman was on an all tuna diet and ate a full serving of the stuff 3 meals a day every day for 8 months and started to show some symptoms after that. She did recover just fine though after stopping that. I just dont like tuna that much...

James S said:

OUCH! I hadn't considered that as a point of entry for the stuff... I hope you washed it out

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It was tainted on the glass, after using a tweezer and a few gut wrenching moments, i removed the glass intact [whew] but it itched more than any of my previous glass wounds, and it took longer to heal, the wound was away from the vitals, so i can still proform daily functions...

James S said:

next time you do that setup a camera so that the rest of can enjoy your flailing about after the fact

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I'll never do that again....camera or no camera good thing on that occasion the bulb didnt shatter under me, that would be more scary than the typical flesh wound on the finger.