Regarding the presence of mercury in UV lamps
UV lamps & Mercury
UV lamps and all household compact fluorescent lamps work the same way. When electricity enters the lamp, mercury and argon vapors inside the bulb produce ultraviolet light. Both UV and CFL bulbs contain very small amounts of mercury, less than 1/100th of the amount contained in a mercury thermometer. Just as all CFL bulbs There is no risk to human health when the bulb glass is intact and not damaged.
When a lamp is broken, the mercury fumes are released and disperse rapidly when the room is ventilated, the small amount of the mercury in the lamp fumes will have diluted enough that it is no longer pose any health risk. Though there is only a small amount of mercury, it is still recommended to follow the proper safety cleaning guidelines for the broken UV lamp.
Clean-up guidelines for broken UV lamps
Ensure young children leave the immediate area of the broken lamp quickly and safely.
Please visit US Environmental Protection Agency’s website for updated information on cleaning broken CFL.
- DO NOT use bare hands to clean up the broken glass: wear disposable plastic gloves to avoid direct contact.
- DO NOT use a vacuum cleaner: to avoid the trap and spread the mercury.
- DO use the disposable material such as stiff paper or cardboard to scoop up broken material.
- DO place broken glass pieces into a sealed container to protect anyone from possible cuts from broken glass.
- DO use sticky tape or a damp cloth to wipe up any remaining glass fragments.
- DO dispose of all cleanup equipment in sealed containers.
Please click here to see how to recycle used UV lamps.
Do NOT place broken lamps in your household recycling bin for waste collection. The broken lamps can potentially contaminate other recyclable items.
DO put broken lamps in a sealed container.
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