Electricity gives us light, but it costs money, so a person naturally wants to save it, but it's not necessary to sit in the semi-darkness. This will help you energy-saving light bulb.
It differs from a conventional light bulb not only by reducing the amount of electricity consumed with the same quality of lighting, but also by the content of mercury. And this chemical element is dangerous for human health. Therefore, it is very important to know what to do if an energy-saving light bulb is broken in the house.
If a mercury lamp broke up
Energy-saving light bulbs come in European, Russian and Chinese production. In the first case, mercury is used for their production in the form of amalgam (up to 300 mg), which is less dangerous for human health, in other cases 3-5 g of liquid, which is much more dangerous. If any of them is damaged, it is necessary to clean. There are several basic rules for how to act in this situation:
- Open the windows indoors. It is very important to ventilate the place where the light bulb broke, so it is better to close them no sooner than in half an hour. At this time, you need to leave the room and pick up pets.
- Remove the broken glass. To do this, you can not use a vacuum cleaner, a broom, a mop or a brush. The best piece is a piece of thick paper or cardboard folded in the shape of a shovel. To collect the powder, you can use a sticky tape or sponge. The collected (glass and mercury) should be placed in a tight plastic bag, preferably if it is sealed.
- Carry out a wet cleaning of the entire room. For washing the floors, you need to make a solution with bleach (for this you can dilute "Belize" or "Domestos"), or a 1% solution of manganese-potassium hydroxide. Do it necessary, starting from the edges of the room and moving to the middle, to prevent the separation of fragments.
- Wash the sole of shoes. To do this, we use the same rag and mortar as for cleaning the room.
- At the end of the work, the rag that the floor was washing should be placed in the bag to the collected lamp fragments. Disposal of those clothes and items of interior, on which the shards of the broken mercury lamp fell. After all, small particles of glass or mercury can get stuck in the folds and further pose a threat to human health.
It is very important to perform all manipulations in rubber seals. This will protect your hands from cuts, since the fragments of such light bulbs are very thin, almost invisible, and from getting mercury on bare skin. Also, wear a face mask.
Since mercury is liquid, even if such a bulb is not completely broken, but only cracked, then it should still be replaced, because the vapors of this chemical element will be released and concentrated in the room, which can lead to poisoning .
In cases where several energy-saving light bulbs containing liquid mercury are broken down in the room, it is better to contact specialists (to the EMERCOM service) to collect the hazardous chemical that has been spilled. Also then it is better to measure the concentration of mercury vapor in the air. If it exceeds the maximum allowable concentration (0.003 mg / m3), then additional treatment of the infected room may be necessary.
A broken energy-saving light bulb will not harm your family's health if everything is done according to the instructions in the article.