VLA comment: Congressman Poe’s speech is one of the most hysterical speeches every levied on Congress.
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 (I’ll be the one in SCBA too!); 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