how do you clean up a broken energy saving light bulb safely?
I accidently broke an energy saving light bulb in my room a few months ago. I saw on the news a few days ago that these light bulbs contain mercury. I think I picked up the broken parts with my bare hands when it broke. Should i clean the area again and will this affect my health???
You probably will be just fine. Over exposure to the mercury will cause problems, but the relatively small amount in one bulb is minimal.
There have been case studies by Universities that say to ventilate the area for an hour before attempting to vacuum or clean up. This study was done to see what steps for disposal were needed for “minimal to no chance” of contamination. It is written as a Hazardous Waste Disposal, which may be true, but on a really low level.
I would be more worried if you broke one every week and didn’t clean up afterwards. Run your vacuum a few times over the area, [maybe open a window while vacuuming], and dispose of the bag, rather than leaving it in the machine.
this website will tell you the proper clean up http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm