If you’ve read any of my earlier blog posts or website entries you’ll know I believe mercury from dental amalgam and various vaccines has played an enormous part in my life.

Apart from those two sources,  mercury, the second most toxic substance on the planet can be found in various forms in many other common household items.

We all know it used  to be used in medical thermometers which have now been withdrawn from use incase they broke, BUT did you know it is in the new eco-friendly “energy efficient” light bulbs?

If you break one of these new bulbs, which we are all now being encouraged to use to save energy, the recommendations from the Department for Environment, Food And Rural Affairs are you evacuate the room for 15 minutes.

The toxic mercury inside the bulbs can cause conditions such as eczema to flare up, and aggravate a range of problems including migraine and dizziness.

You also need to
* Take care not to cut yourself on the shards of glass

* Try not to inhale dust from the broken bulb

* Put on rubber gloves and sweep the debris into a dustpan.

You shouldn’t use a vacuum cleaner to clear up the mess either because the sucking action could spread toxic  mercury droplets around the house.

* The remains should be put in a sealed plastic bag and placed in the same recycling bin as used for batteries (which also contain mercury)

If you want a full report on how to deal with Mercuryspills, disposal and site cleanup when a fluorescent light bulb breaks, I recommend you go here -

http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm#fluorescen