What to do when a compact fluorescent bulb breaks?

The environmentalists are campaigning to have everyone get rid of their 17-cent incadescent light bulbs and replace them with compact fluorescent bulbs at $5 to $6 each. That’s right, we got a 4-pack of 60-watt bulbs for 66 cents at our local Wal-Mart (60-watt bulbs are perfect for 3 to 6 bulb chandeliers).

The big worry about compact fluorescent bulbs is the mercury vapor leak if a bulb cracks. Is mercury harmful?

When I was a kid I grabbed every non-working thermometer I could find so I could salvage the mercury. I would capture some mercury between my thumb and forefinger and transfer the slippery, silver stuff to a dime. The dime will glisten and almost glow. As a 10-year-old I thought it was cool.

I’m not sure if getting mercury on my fingers was harmful. What does seem alarming is to breathe in the mercury vapor.

We had an energy-efficient light bulb suddenly break a seal and a large amount of pungent smelling smoke poured out. We were able to turn the switch off quickly but the room smelled so bad it took quite a while to air the room out. What would have happened if we had been gone for several hours?

We may never use one of the bulbs pictured unless the light bulb police break down our door and put us in chains.

What do you do when compact fluorescent crack bulbs crack? The link below gives TEN things to do if one of these bulbs crack.

A word of warning, after you have read all ten things you must do if a bulb cracks, you may just throw out the ones you have and never buy another. And that’s not even considering the cancer and migraine headache warnings attributed to these bulbs.

Link