Now They Tell Us!!

We've got the whole world in our hands!

For the past year or so the airwaves and papers have been full of warnings that we needed to replace our old light bulbs with the new twisted ones. The newer bulbs are longer lasting and use dramatically less energy to produce the same light. That is good news.

So, I went out and bought a bunch of these "Twisted Sisters" and started using them to replace my old ones when they burned out. So far so good.

Today I read a very disturbing story about these new bulbs. I was reading the Wall Street Journal when I came across a report that the bulbs are VERY, VERY DANGEROUS if broken!!!!!!!!!! Yikes!!!!!

Here is the report from a Boston paper.

The Maine study, which shattered 65 bulbs to test air quality and clean-up methods made these recommendations: If a bulb breaks, get children and pets out of the room. Ventilate the room. Never use a vacuum -- even on a rug -- to clean up a compact fluorescent light. Instead, while wearing rubber gloves, use stiff paper such as index cards and tape to pick up pieces, then wipe the area with a wet wipe or damp paper towel. If there are young children or pregnant woman in the house, consider cutting out the piece of carpet where the bulb broke. Use a glass jar with a screw top to contain the shards and clean-up debris.

That is not all.
“We found some very high levels (of mercury), even after we tried a number of clean-up techniques," said Mark Hyland, Maine director of the Bureau of Remediation and Waste Management. During several of the experiments, for example, he said mercury in the air was more than 100 times levels considered safe even after a floor was cleaned. He said such levels would quickly decline if the room were ventilated and people followed their tips.
http://www.boston.com/news/health/articles/2008/02/25/high_efficient_lightbulbs_come_with_mercury_risk/

This is a double bind. We are damned either way. Buy and die or don't buy and the world melts. Green, or Mercury Red?