Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb Mercury Warning

The claim

News reports claim that if a Compact Fluorescent Light Bulb (CFL) is broken, it can release dangerous levels of mercury into the house and a professional environmental cleanup crew is required to handle the problem.

Subject: Mercury Alert WASHINGTON – Brandy Bridges heard the claims of government officials, environmentalists and retailers like Wal-Mart all pushing the idea of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and money-saving compact fluorescent lamps.

So, last month, the Prospect, Maine, resident went out and bought two dozen CFLs and began installing them in her home. One broke. A month later, her daughter’s bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, while Bridges works on a way to pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally sound cleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.

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