Health Danger with CFL lighting in Asheville NC

Health Danger in Asheville NC with (CFL) compact fluorescent light bulbs

I received this article from a fellow Chiropractor who felt we needed to get this out to the public. Much of our health care from the chiropractic perspective is about prevention. This is one of those topics. Hope you find this helpful and please share this with others. Learn more from an Asheville NC chiropractor.

By now, we have all seen them. We probably all have some in ourhomes. We most certainly have come into contact with them in the homes to which we respond. I am talking about energy-savinglight bulbs. They have many different names; compact fluorescent lamp (CFL), compact fluorescent light, and compact fluorescent tube, all describe a fluorescent lamp designed to replace an incandescent lamp. Compared to their incandescent brothers producing the same amount of visible light, CFLs consume less power (from 1/5 to 1/3) and have a longer service life (8 to 15 times). But the news in our quest to be better stewards of our planet is not all good. These CFLs have a small electronic ballast in their base.

The issue that was associated with danger of the bulbs is that they contain mercury in them that is very poisonous and thus a health danger. In the case sited in this article which had pictures that where way to harsh to print. The issue sited was that a man dropped a bulb due to it being hot and it broke on the floor and then stepped on it with his bear foot and ended up almost loosing his foot.

Symptoms in Asheville NC

The symptoms of mercury poisoning typically include sensory impairment (vision, hearing, and speech), a lack of coordination, skin discoloration, tingling, itching, burning or pain, and desquamation (shedding of skin).

The following are the recommended actions to take in the event of a broken CFL.

Evacuate the room, taking care not to step on the broken glass littering the floor

Ventilate the room for a MINIMUM of 15 minutes (EPA recommendation)

DO NOT clean the debris of the broken lamp with a vacuum cleaner as this will spread toxic mercury droplets throughout the house either immediately or upon the future use of the vacuum

Don protective gloves. use a broom or brush to sweep the debris into a dustpan; empty the contents of the dustpan into a plastic bag; seal the plastic bag

DO NOT dispose of the plastic bag into an ordinary refuse receptacle. The debris is lawfully a Hazardous Material and must be disposed of accordingly

Depending on the severity of the spill, a more thorough clean-up regimen may need to be employed. Private companies exist that specialize in this type of operation.

Mercury is a toxin, and should be treated with the utmost of care and respect. A CFL may look benign, and make you feel good about “going green,” but once the poison is “out of its box” and able to cause an exposure, it’s a brand new deal. Stay Safe folks!

This is a very serious topic and hope it helps to prevent someone you know from getting injured.

Yours in health! Dr. Mathew Stockstad of Asheville Chiropractor.

Our contact number is 828-299-4555