Old-fashioned bulb thermometers have it. So do batteries, televisions and computer components. Toxic mercury, which is bad for the environment if it leaches into groundwater or vaporizes into the air, is an unfortunate reality of some common consumer goods.

One of the darlings of the environmental movement and a product found at Park + Vine is the compact flourescent bulb. It has mercury too, but there are commonsense ways to dispose of it properly.

These two Hamilton County Solid Waste District hazardous household waste sites, Environmental Enterprises, take all sorts of hazardous materials through Nov. 22:

1. 4650 Spring Grove Ave. in Spring Grove Village
2. 10163 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in West Chester Township

This recent article from the Cincinnati Enquirer, with help from the Hamilton County Solid Waste District and Environmental Protection Agency, lays it all out:

Mercury pollution risk of new bulbs
Amount tiny, but adds up in landfills
BY PEGGY O’FARRELL | POFARRELL@ENQUIRER.COM

Compact fluorescent bulbs use less energy than old-style incandescent light bulbs, which is good for the environment.

But the new lights also contain toxic mercury, which is bad for the environment if it leaches into groundwater or vaporizes into the air.

State and federal regulators need to come up with guidelines on how to safely dispose of the new bulbs, said Kim Dietrich, an environmental health researcher and mercury expert at the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. In most states, it’s legal to throw broken bulbs in with the rest of the household trash.

In the meantime, though, Dietrich has advice for consumers who want to help the earth and their wallets without hurting their health.

Mercury can cause cancer, as well as neurological damage in children.

Most compact fluorescent lights, or CFLs, contain only about 5 milligrams of powdered mercury – “about the size that would fit on the head of a pin,” Dietrich said.

If the bulbs break, the mercury can easily disperse into the air or work its way into carpet or flooring.

The amount in a single bulb isn’t enough to hurt anyone, he said.

“But when you’re looking at thousands of these things in a landfill or millions upon millions, it’s a lot of mercury,” he said. “Within the household, it’s a manageable problem. But the country as a whole, we’re not ready to manage it.”

Consumers can dispose of old fluorescent lights wherever they get rid of other toxic household waste, such as paint or old batteries.

Hamilton County Solid Waste District staff tell residents to drop off their old CFLs at its hazardous household waste sites, said Sarah Dowers, spokeswoman for the district. The sites, open through Nov. 22, are located at Environmental Enterprises, 4650 Spring Grove Ave. in Spring Grove Village and 10163 Cincinnati-Dayton Road in West Chester Township.

County officials haven’t drawn up specific guidelines for disposing of CFLs yet, Dowers said, “but it’s on our radar.”

CFLs are the newest source of mercury in most households, Dietrich said. It’s also found in old-fashioned bulb thermometers, batteries, televisions and computer components.

Cleaning up mercury

If a single light bulb containing mercury breaks, homeowners don’t need to call a HAZ-MAT team to clean up the mess, said mercury expert Kim Dietrich. But some precautions are necessary:

• Try to prevent the spilled mercury – probably tiny “beads” – from getting into cracks and crevices.
• Turn off heat or air-conditioning systems, which can circulate mercury vapors into other rooms.
• Get people and pets out of the room where mercury spilled and open doors and windows. Let the room air out for an hour.
• Don’t use a vacuum cleaner to clean up mercury, he said. It will circulate mercury vapors and contaminate the vacuum itself.
• Use a medicine dropper or a strip of sticky tape to collect the mercury.
• Put the mercury and anything it touched into a sealed jar or zip-top bag. Put the jar or bag into a second zip-top bag, and take the bags to a hazardous household waste collection site.

Learn more at www.epa.state.oh.us

Source: Ohio Environmental Protection Agency