Why is mercury bad in my fish but good for the light bulb the libs what in my kids bedroom?

Question

Why is mercury bad in my fish but good for the light bulb the libs what in my kids bedroom?

Answer 1

ALL those "Bulbs" are made in China! Does that give you a "Clue"?



OK, one more "Clue": Follow the Money!



And one more thing for those talking about "Eating" it: That is not the problem with mercury from light bulbs, it is Vapor that you breath that causes the brain damage! Complete link in "Source below but here is an excerpt:



"The degree of mercury’s toxicity depends on the form and route of exposure. You can swallow the liquid form of elemental mercury without much fear because it doesn’t easily penetrate the lining of the stomach and intestines. On the other hand, liquid mercury vaporizes at room temperature, and when you inhale the vapor it moves right from the lungs to the bloodstream to the brain. A broken thermometer can release enough mercury vapor to poison the air in a room—one reason why some cities and several states discourage the sale of mercury fever thermometers.



Mercury also binds with other elements in salts and organic compounds of varying toxicity. Dimethyl mercury, the substance that poisoned the Dartmouth chemist, is a synthetic form of organic mercury rarely found outside a lab. A simpler organic compound called methylmercury is of greater concern because methyl- mercury is the form found in the flesh of fish."



Edit:----for the 12 people who said you would have to eat the mercury from the bulbs!------ Interesting that 12 out of 30 answerers indicate that you have to "Eat it"! Fact is that eating the Mercury from the bulb is almost harmless, you are harmed by vapors. While in Fish you have to eat it!



12 out of 30----Dead wrong!





Proud Vet

Answer 2

Umm...what freaky Light bulbs are you eating?



Fish is okay to eat, just not all the time or you'll be consuming more mercury than your body has time to get rid of.



Mercury is an element, very good. Used to be used for lots of stuff, until we found out it is poisonous. They don't even make mercury thermometers anymore (they have better digital ones now) , why is it in you Light bulbs?



Edit: never mind, I understand now. (See Link) However, my understanding of the situation is that these companies are pushing for the product because it is energy efficient and environmental groups like that. Too bad, it was a good idea, but I this is a big problem. If you want to get rid of you bulbs try to get in touch with local hazardous waste companies or see if your town or a near by town sponsors house hold hazardous waste days. I used to work for Clean Harbors and we would collect Florescent light bulbs, I'm sure they take CFL Bulbs too.

Answer 3

It's good because they can make money off of it. The new bulbs will be mandatory in 2012 I think. And if someone actually does ANY research on these bulbs they will realize they need to be disposed of like toxic waste. They cannot be put in regular trash and it also says that opening all windows to ventilate the room where the bulb broke is recommended and small children should be evacuated. How many of these bulbs do you think have already been tossed into our landfills because no one knows.. Yeah that's great for the environment right????

Answer 4

The mercury in a compact fluorescent bulb isn't very high, compared to the T8 or T5 bulbs in a ceiling light fixture.



However even so it makes good sense for stores to provide drop-off points so the mercury (and in some cases lead solder and other materials in the ballast) can be safely disposed of.



Of course the bulbs may occasionally break. But again, the amount of mercury is very small. Cleaning the residue up is pretty easy, but you still should be cautious. See the link below.

Answer 5

it's such small amounts in the lightbulb... and people are usually pretty careful about cleaning it up, in the rare occasion one breaks... SINCE IT'S BROKEN GLASS... it would be pretty impressive to break enough bulbs and to mishandle them enough to lead to a problem...



you actually eat the fish, and while it is also in small amounts, there is a CONSIDERABLE difference between intentional repeated ingestion... and possible accidental contact in a relatively rare event, like a light bulb breaking...



EDIT: I have read news stories about people who eat a lot of fish having mercury poisoning... I haven't read one about someone getting it from broken bulbs though...



EDIT2: "If a fluorescent lamp is broken, mercury can contaminate the surrounding environment. A 1987 report described a 23-month-old toddler hospitalized due to mercury poisoning traced to a carton of 8-foot fluorescent lamps that had broken. The glass was cleaned up and discarded, but the child often used the area for play."



in short...it would take a whole carton of HUGE lights breaking all at once, to make a very small child sick...

Answer 6

You are all wrong. Just one of these broken in any room is way over the limits of mercury exposure. IT IS ludicrous. We all know how light bulbs get broken easily, its done all over the country/within our homes and work places every single day.



Look it up, and see what bullshit one has to go through just to clean such a broken light bulb up. Also research the amount of containment that our government is not reporting per broken light bulb.



On top of those above, now we wrap these dead bulbs in plastic and put them in our trash?? Around my area there is no recycling of such bulbs.

Answer 7

I do wonder about the broken bulb, since every time mercury is spilled in a high school it is evacuated and treated as a hazardous chemical spill and the cleaners wear special suits....

Answer 8

Good question ! Yes most don't eat light bulbs , but then I had the same thought about all the lead paint testing and things ! Who let's there kid eat the wall or a bannister ! No wonder we have warning labels on everything there really are people that stupid out there !

Answer 9

I see you are another child Bush left behind.



Here's the deal Sparky:



There are different forms of mercury.



The mercury in fish is methy mercury, (Ch3Hg+). It is composed of a methyl group (CH3-) bonded to a mercury atom. It attaches easily to anions such as chloride (Cl−), hydroxide (OH-) and nitrate (NO3−), all of which are abundant in human body tissues, and to proteins. (Hint for hillbillies: That's BAD for you!!!!!!)



The mercury in light bulbs is elemental mercury, which is relatively inert chemically and does not bind to your body tissue like methylmercury does.



CLASS DISMISSED!!!!



Source: Chemical Engineer/Environmental Risk Assessor



edit: You have been schooled. You have obviously never had even a basic high school chemistry course. Of course, Rash Limpboy and Sean-boy Hannity have no education to speak of either. No wonder their audience asks such ignorant questions.



ruth: No. But since the facts and science are against you and waaaaaaay over your head anyway, keep flailing. I know that forcing you to learn about what you're blathering about is extremely painful and sometimes even fatal to conservadunces.

Answer 10

Probably because you don't normally eat a light bulb.

Answer 11

Now I know what to do on earth day... BBQ, burn my excess cardboard and smash a few CF bulbs!

Answer 12

You have to be careful with the murcury in your lightbulbs as well...you aren't supposed to touch any broken glass with your bare hands....and you should dispose of it differently than with regular lightbulbs.

Answer 13

Unless you eat lightbulbs...that mercury is unlikely to enter your system. BTW, people are also campaigning to get rid of those bulbs.

Answer 14

I do not eat to many light bulbs never did like the taste.

Answer 15

You eat fish. You don't eat light bulbs.

Answer 16

My plan is to use LED lightbulbs instead.

Answer 17

Wow, how many idiots does it take to say, ....."your kids wont eat the light bulb".

Agenda GE wants your money.

Answer 18

A good example of how enviro-types care more about the planet (not really) than they do about human-beings. They see us as a plight on the earth.

Answer 19

Have you noticed a lot of extra saliva from your kid in that room?

Answer 20

They're so crazy about "global warming" that they'll take the risk of poisoning YOUR children just to stop it. (And it will continue as long as they think this phenomenon is man-caused.)



EDIT: And what is all this "eating light bulbs" crap? The mercury in these bulbs doesn't have to be eaten. It can be absorbed through the skin pores and the mucous membranes from breathing the dust if the light bulb BREAKS. Light bulbs have been known to break on occasion.

Answer 21

kids raised in Democrat households are smart enough not to eat the light bulbs

Answer 22

Wow, what you don't know about pretty much everything...learn something, OK?

Answer 23

So leave your old light bulbs in place...we don't care..soon people like you will disappear....much like the Do-Do...right??

Answer 24

Well, it's only bad if your kids eat the light bulb. Unless you really hate your kids...?

Answer 25

if the bulb breaks, you have to call a HAZMAT team to clean it up

Answer 26

You will have to call in a haz-mat team to clean up your child's carpet.

Answer 27

Because you don't eat your lightbulbs.

Answer 28

Well, normally, people don't eat lightbulbs!:)