Sunday, March 18, 2007
About those compact fluorescent light bulbs
Life's choices can certainly be difficult.
Not to mention the terrorist aspect...
Not to mention the terrorist aspect...
Just wait 'til you this article by Kevin Miller in the Bangor Daily News:
"Brandy Bridges was among the untold thousands of Mainers who liked the idea of saving both money and the environment. She installed more than two dozen compact fluorescent bulbs in her Prospect home.
But Bridges’ trust in the new technology literally shattered this week when a minor incident with a loose bulb turned into a major headache. A bulb she was trying to rethread tumbled from her hands and broke on the carpeted floor of her daughter’s bedroom.
Remembering lessons from shop class about fluorescent bulbs, Bridges began calling around for advice on the proper cleanup procedure.
'I was nervous. Something about this gave me a bad feeling,' Bridges said in an interview.
She called The Home Depot, where she bought the bulb, and was referred to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which eventually referred her to the DEP’s environmental response team. A specialist who responded found mercury readings more than six times the state’s acceptable level at the spot of the broken bulb.
Readings a few feet from the spot where the bulb broke were within safe levels.
The specialist referred Bridges to an environmental cleanup company. The estimated cost, according to Bridges, was about $2,000."
