So today I was changing a fluorescent light bulb in my bedroom, you know, the long and white color light bulb and I accidentally drop it and it landed on the chair then fell onto the carpet, now the glass pieces are everywhere on the carpet and some white powdery stuff and then I quickly grab the big glass pieces and then vacuum it with a vacuum cleaner then it was pretty clean then I researched online and found out that these light bulbs contain mercury which is harmful, and the websites said that it shouldn%26#039;t be vacuum and that I have to pick these shattered glasses up with a glove, and that if you vacuum it the white powder stuff would get airborne so I would get mercury on my skin, inhale it in my nose, lung, so will I get mercury poisoning or be fatal? Would I get cancer, help please.|||Yes, you%26#039;ll be fine.
Not only is there barely any mercury such that you would get more from just about anything in the house including gold jewelry but the form of mercury that%26#039;s in the bulbs isn%26#039;t bio-available and isn%26#039;t easily absorbed by your body.
The concern over mercury in the bulbs is because if they end up in anaerobic landfills, the anaerobic bacteria will bio-methlyase the mercury into methly-mercury which is bioavailable and will bioaccumulate up the food chain to toxic levels. You would have to break millions of bulbs in your room, remove all oxygen to let the anaerobic bacteria at it, then have an entire ecosystem to bio-accumulate up the food chain and then eat the bald eagle at the top of the food chain for you to be harmed.
Now pass me that bald eagle egg salad.|||Relax! Clean it up and vacuum the floor. You have listened to too much Algore and he insisted we only buy bulbs containing mercury! How sane is that?|||you will be fine.There are small amounts of mercury in the bulb and you probably have more mercury in your body from your fillings.the white stuff is called phosphor.It is not poisonous and can be safely vaccumed.The small amount of mercury will evaporate and you could leave your windows open for a few days if you are worried.
I have worked around broken fluorescent bulbs fro years and I have had no ill affects.The second head is almost grown in now.
Lol.
