I'm not saying that CFLs don't pose any risk, what I'm saying is they've been dramatically overblown in the past.
Using gloves and a filter mask is a common sense precaution. The problem was a while back, scare stories about someone who called their state environmental department and the inexperienced person on the other line suggested that they could call a hazardous materials disposal company. The hazmat company was asking for $2000 to clean it up so a bunch of "Don't buy CFLs, they're so dangerous that you need a $2000 hazmat team to clean it up if they break, environmentalists are trying to kill us!!!!1!one" stories were going around. But it was just that the person they called had no clue on what to do about CFLs and their advice was overkill.
As for breaking LEDs, I keep thinking about going all "Will It Blend?" and stuffing them in a blender. "Diode smoke, don't breath this!" That's probably what it would take to get the hazardous materials out on a personal basis. Manufacturing and bulk waste disposal are legitimate concerns, but breaking an LED and getting toxed? No.
no subject
Using gloves and a filter mask is a common sense precaution. The problem was a while back, scare stories about someone who called their state environmental department and the inexperienced person on the other line suggested that they could call a hazardous materials disposal company. The hazmat company was asking for $2000 to clean it up so a bunch of "Don't buy CFLs, they're so dangerous that you need a $2000 hazmat team to clean it up if they break, environmentalists are trying to kill us!!!!1!one" stories were going around. But it was just that the person they called had no clue on what to do about CFLs and their advice was overkill.
As for breaking LEDs, I keep thinking about going all "Will It Blend?" and stuffing them in a blender. "Diode smoke, don't breath this!" That's probably what it would take to get the hazardous materials out on a personal basis. Manufacturing and bulk waste disposal are legitimate concerns, but breaking an LED and getting toxed? No.