What if I accidentally break a CFL, fluorescent bulb or mercury thermometer in my home?

If you break a CFL or other fluorescent bulb, follow the instructions below to keep your family, home and environment safe from toxic mercury. If you break a thermometer you think may contain mercury, call immediately to report the spill. 1-800-452-4664.

Before you start:

• Do not use a vacuum cleaner to clean up the breakage. This can spread mercury vapor and dust throughout the area and may contaminate the vacuum.
• Keep people and pets away from the area until cleanup is complete.
• Open windows to ventilate and leave the area for 15 minutes before beginning the cleanup. Mercury vapor levels will be lower by then.
• Turn off heating or air conditioning to room.
• Gather clean up supplies:
• Dishwashing or disposable gloves;
• A glass container with a metal screw top lid like an empty canning or pickle jar that can be securely closed is the best choice for containing mercury vapors;
  (If you do not have a glass jar, you can use an empty heavy duty plastic #2 container with a screw or snap on lid, like a kitty litter container, but make sure you remove it from the house as soon as you complete the cleanup.)
• Stiff paper, like index cards or playing cards;
• Duct, packing or masking tape; and
• Damp paper towels or wet wipes.

Cleanup, step by step:

• Wear dishwashing or disposable gloves while cleaning up the broken mercury lamp.
• Carefully place the larger broken pieces in your container.
• What if my broken lamp pieces do not fit in my container?
• Next, begin collecting the smaller pieces and dust. You can use two stiff pieces of paper such as index cards or playing cards to scoop up pieces.
• Pat the area with the sticky side your tape to pick up fine particles.
• Wipe the area with a wet wipe or damp paper towel to pick up even smaller bits.
• Put all waste and materials used to clean up into the container including paper, tape, wet wipes, paper towels and gloves. Label the container as “broken lamp – contains mercury”.
• Remove the container with the breakage and cleanup materials from your living space. This is particularly important if you did not use a glass container.
• A cool garage or storage shed is the best place to protect the container until you can take it to your local solid waste facility.
• Wash your hands and face.

After the cleanup:

• Continue ventilating the room for several hours.
• As soon as possible, take the container with the waste material to a facility that accepts “universal waste” for recycling. Find a universal waste facility near you: municipal collection sites (pdf format) or call your municipal office.
• When a break happens on carpeting, homeowners may consider removing throw rugs or the area of carpet where the breakage occurred as a precaution, particularly if the rug is in an area frequented by infants, small children or pregnant women. If the carpet is not removed, open the window to the room during the next several times you vacuum the area to provide good ventilation.

The next time you replace a lamp, consider putting a drop cloth on the floor so that any accidental breakage can be easily cleaned up. You may consider not using CFLs in areas where they could be easily broken or in bedrooms or in carpeted areas frequented by infants, small children, or pregnant women.

Also when you change a bulb, remember to recycle used and spent lamps as soon as possible instead of storing them to decrease your chances of breakage.

Also see: Maine Compact Fluorescent Lamp Breakage Study Report

Contact

For more information contact Stacy Ladner at (207) 287-7853.

For more information about the mercury-added lamp product stewardship program contact Megan Pryor at (207) 314-3357.