major accident with lights, I'm freaking out!
 

I can't believe this, this is my first post, not how I planned to join... I don't even know where to put this post so I'm sorry if it's the wrong place...
My husband was putting up a rod to hang my mounted orchids from, and he hit my 4 ft light shattering the tubes and spraying the orchids underneath with glass and white powder. I've since been googling and that white powder is phosphor, with maybe mercury in it! I did my best to get most of the glass out of the pots, though I'm sure theres still some microscopic pieces in the medium. I'm really freaking out about the powder though, these are t12 tubes and supposedly they have less mercury in them than CFLs do, but they were also new bulbs, which may contain more mercury than older b ulbs. What should I do? Several plants were COVERED, mostly the leaves, I rinsed them off carefully trying not to get any water/powder in the medium. Should I repot? There was about 25-30 plan ts under that light... I didn,t even know what that white powder was, so I just vacuumed the stuff up and then went to feed my parrots, OMG I might have poisoned them and my orchids too...Please, any advice greatly appreciated.

Barbara

I'm so sorry to hear this! I can't really help with what to do about your orchids, but this is the EPA's website about mercury bulbs, hopefully it might help: Cleaning Up a Broken CFL | Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs (CFLs) | US EPA

edited to say I realize these are not the same bulbs, but I imagine the advice is still the same. If your vacuum is one with a bag, I would probably dispose of the bag somewhere that excepts hazardous waste.

So sorry. I would follow the above recommendations.

Note the following quote. The cleanup information applies to standard, old-fashioned fluorescent tubes, as well as high-output T5 tubes.

Which Bulbs Contain Mercury?
You should follow the recommendations on this page if you've broken either a CFL or another type of mercury-containing light bulb, such as:
Fluorescent bulbs:
Linear, U-tube and circline fluorescent tubes
Bug zappers
Tanning bulbs
Black lights
Germicidal bulbs
High output bulbs, and
Cold-cathode fluorescent bulbs.

High intensity discharge bulbs:
Metal halide
Ceramic metal halide
High pressure sodium, and mercury vapor.
Mercury short-arc bulbs; and
Neon bulbs.

You may not be aware that they make something to avoid this very situation. Google T12 48" Fluorescent Safety Sleeves. They are plastic sleeves that slid over the tubes. They help prevent breakage and contain the bits if they do break.

Disclaimer: I am not a professional in this subject matter, so take my advice with a grain of salt.

I really don't think there's enough "toxic" material in those bulbs to make a difference. The form of mercury is unlikely to be one of the particularly dangerous biologically active forms, and if you washed the bulk of the residue away with minimal amounts getting into the potting mix, I just don't think there's much danger to you or the plants. You still need to clean up the area carefully as others have pointed out and make sure to protect yourself.

I would not panic. While mercury is something you should try to avoid, you should not panic either. Just clean it up as well as you can. There is not likely to be much mercury in the lamp and it is the high doses that cause harm. Mercury is actually found in many surprising places, including seafood. Here is a short EPA briefing:

How People are Exposed to Mercury | Mercury in Your Environment | US EPA

Well... mercury is extremely toxic in very, very small doses. That's why the EPA says not to vacuum the dust. It will go through the vacuum cleaner filter and be exhausted to your room, and you will breathe it in.

Yes, I agree that the glass and dust should be cleaned as carefully as possible according to the EPA's instructions. Our kids broke two mercury thermometers when they were little and we put a great deal of effort into making certain that, each time, it was cleaned up properly.

Lotusbird, welcome to the board. Like you, I'm so sorry that this had to be your first post. I can't add anything to the replies already given, but I do have to just sort of wonder why on earth such a toxic substance is allowed to be inside of a commonly used household object that is so easily prone to breakage and certainly happens on a daily basis by large numbers of people. :( :twocents:

Still freaking out...
 

Thanks everyone for replying to me.I don't know if I feel better or not, like I said, I did not even know w
hat that white powder was, so I just cleaned it up like I normally would, usin g my BAGLESS vac, I was vacuuming for over an hour so who knows how much of the stuff I breathed in? Anyway, because I am a worry wort I googled symptoms of mercury poisioning and just laughed at what I read. Before you think I am totally insane let me tell you where I am coming from, I have a rare neurological condition that causes some bizarre symptoms, and what I read was virtually the same symptoms as I already have! If I didn't have this neuro stuff I would have been pretty alarmed, but been there done that set in. I immediately stopped laughing when I read the next paragraph though, saying exposure to as little as 1 gram of mercury can be toxic and cause death. Anyway, it is after the fact so not much I can do now, I will call the 800 number on the bulb box though...
I am more concerned about my parrots and orchids. I washed my hands before I fed the birds, but just a quick wash, not knowing what might be on my hands.
As for the orchids, I thought most would be cut up or killed, but amazingly only 1 leaf was chopped off an African Violet and a few cattleyas had some minor cuts on their leaves, which I doused with cinnamon. So, I guess all I can do is wait and see what happens. Eventually I will do a normal post to introduce myself! I am going to an orchid open house this weekend, hopefully that will cheer me up.


Barbara (running to the store to get some safety sleeve bulb covers for the new lights, if I can find them- I live in a very rural town in the southern tier of NY, not much around here but cows:)