A Light Bulb Situation

“We have a light bulb situation!” Trent announced in his best “play-by-play” voice. He always feels the need to bring excitement to every event, even the most mundane problem of a burnt out bulb.

A few weeks ago, we did experience a true “light bulb situation.” I laid two energy efficient, compact fluorescent bulbs on the kitchen counter while we installed a new fixture in the other room. Along came a child, who shall remain nameless, who knocked one of the bulbs to the kitchen floor where it shattered into innumerable pieces.

Our local news had just run a segment on what to do if a fluorescent bulb broke but I couldn’t remember the exact instructions. I quickly ran to the computer to look up this information. I read that we needed to: 1.Clear the area by opening windows to ventilate, 2.Turn off central air conditioning, 3.Get all people and pets out of the area for 15 minutes. So, okay, we did that. Guinea pig made a trip outside with us while we waited for the chemicals to dissipate.

According to the news and web site, fluorescent bulbs have mercury in them, which should not be disposed of in the regular garbage. The box instructs consumers to recycle the bulbs, not throw them in the trash. After it was “safe” to return inside, I had the joy of cleaning up the mess. The web site (Did I mention that it was a government web site?) said: 1.Use gloves to handle the glass shards, 2.All textiles which had come in contact with the substance should never to be used again, 3.Place all pieces of the bulb into a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid or double bag in zippered plastic bags, along with anything else that the mercury powder may have touched, 4.Use disposable wipes or shaving cream and an old paintbrush to clean up all of the miniscule particles of glass and powder. 5. Never vacuum the debris.

Great! So, I had to get rid of my pretty little rug that I had in front of the sink and it took forever to ensure that there was no glass particulate in the grooves between the floor tiles. The shaving cream idea was a good one. I can be thankful that it was only the kitchen floor as opposed to one with carpeting, and that no one was in the way of the crashing bulb.

Anyway, after all the mess was safely sealed in protective plastic bags, I called my local recycling place to ask if they take broken fluorescent bulbs. The answer, “No. The law states that fluorescent bulbs used in residential homes may be disposed of with the regular refuse. No big deal.” What? That’s right, ordinary people are permitted to put mercury into their garbage and subsequently into the local landfill. I’m not sure how I feel about this. On the one hand, if these bulbs are going to become the only ones available in a few years, it should not be a “situation” to handle their breakage. On the other hand, when a mercury thermometer breaks in a junior high school they send the kids home and the “hazmat team” in. Is it worth it? Troy says there probably isn’t enough mercury in the bulbs to really impact anything, but if everyone has to use them, there is bound to be a greater concentration of that poison.

Apparently it wasn’t that big a deal. Now the situation is this: as we try to market our house, we have a lovely announcement on the driveway that commemorates the event. During those 15 minutes of quarantine from the house, Trevor took a “writing berry” from the tree out front and wrote, “Mercury Spill, 06/07/08,” on the concrete. The rain is slowly washing the message away. Hopefully it will be unreadable by the next open house.