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Broken light bulb sparks debate
bangordailynews.com ^ | 3/18/07 | cp124

Posted on 03/18/2007 6:53:30 AM PDT by cp124

BANGOR - Compact fluorescent lights, those swirly bulbs displacing the old incandescent type in many homes, have become the darlings of the energy-conscious crowd, thanks to their capacity to both fight global warming and lower utility bills.

But with more than a million bulbs sold in Maine, questions are being raised about whether consumers know enough about the special disposal and handling requirements that come with these well-documented energy-savers.

In one unusual case, a Prospect woman was told recently that it could cost $2,000 to clean up the mess left by a single shattered bulb.

(Excerpt) Read more at bangordailynews.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; US: Maine
KEYWORDS: cfl; energy
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To: cp124
In one unusual case, a Prospect woman was told recently that it could cost $2,000 to clean up the mess left by a single shattered bulb.

How many 4 foot and 8 foot fluorescent tubes were broken on 9-11?

41 posted on 03/18/2007 7:50:18 AM PDT by Gorzaloon (Global Warming: A New Kind Of Scientology for the Rest Of Us.)
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To: cp124

Mercury is considered dangerous because it vaporizes, right? Wouldn't the small quantity of mercury found in a CFL fixture be pretty well vaporized within a few hours, and pretty much gone within a few days?

I would think the key step to minimizing the hazard would be to ventilate the area of the spill and not stay around that area or the broken pieces for a few hours.


42 posted on 03/18/2007 7:50:24 AM PDT by supercat (Sony delenda est.)
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To: Gorzaloon
Maine's geology is spiked with beryllium, uranium and thorium.

Not to mention lead. I suppose that anyone selling a house that has used compact fluorescent lights will have to certify that the home has been properly inspected and decontaminated before selling it.

43 posted on 03/18/2007 7:55:43 AM PDT by NewHampshireDuo
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To: cp124

I'll clean in up for only $1,500.


44 posted on 03/18/2007 7:59:36 AM PDT by TommyDale (What will Rudy do in the War on Terror? ImAplement gun control on insurgents and Al Qaeda?)
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To: Ditter

I found a book somewhere as a kid that showed how to coat pennies with mercury by boiling Mercurochrome (sp) on the kitchen stove. Probably not a great idea.


45 posted on 03/18/2007 8:05:37 AM PDT by Freedom4US (u)
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To: P-Marlowe
What is it going to cost to clean up all the arsenic and cyanide and selenium after you spill a glass of tap water?

Shhhh. Someone will think about the tap water filter cartridges we've been chucking in the trash can...

46 posted on 03/18/2007 8:06:28 AM PDT by Smokin' Joe (How often God must weep at humans' folly.)
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To: cp124

They are in essence eating their young through abortion, one of their religions.


47 posted on 03/18/2007 8:07:54 AM PDT by UB355 (Slower traffic keep right)
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To: cp124
The specialist referred Bridges to an environmental cleanup company. The estimated cost, according to Bridges, was about $2,000.

Sucker. My environmental cleanup company offers much better rates.


$1,495

$1,995

48 posted on 03/18/2007 8:11:46 AM PDT by Polybius
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To: Freedom4US

Yeah, ain't it the truth! When we were kids we ran with scissors all the time too.


Ya know those little American flags on little sticks? I remember running with one of those in my mouth. Yep, I fell down and stuck it down my throat.

What do you expect...... there were no warning labels! How was I to know?

;)


49 posted on 03/18/2007 8:18:05 AM PDT by Ditter
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To: cp124

My sister's son lives there and is making a mint doing decontamination. The state is full of nuts.


50 posted on 03/18/2007 8:27:01 AM PDT by ArtyFO (I love to smoke cigars when I adjust artillery fire at the moonbat loonery.)
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To: cp124

How many envirowhackos does it take to change a lightbulb?


51 posted on 03/18/2007 8:31:25 AM PDT by dfwgator (The University of Florida - Championship U)
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To: pinz-n-needlez; onyx; ohioWfan; Texasforever; BigSkyFreeper; Tamzee; mrs tiggywinkle; Dog; ...
The specialist referred Bridges to an environmental cleanup company. The estimated cost, according to Bridges, was about $2,000.

"Save 40 cents a month on your electric bill, but it will cost you two grand to clean up?" Bridges said.

Wonder how many folks just threw it in the trash and had it carted off to the dump??

52 posted on 03/18/2007 8:39:28 AM PDT by Mo1 ( http://www.gohunter08.com)
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To: Mo1; dfwgator

Maybe the moonbats can use the lightbulbs as replacement thermometers..just screw them into their a******s...


53 posted on 03/18/2007 8:42:17 AM PDT by ken5050 (The 2008 winning ticket: Rudy/Newtie, with Hunter for SecDef, Pete King at DHS, Bill Simon at Treas)
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To: cp124

Haven't you heard? They already do ... ESCR cannibalizes humans at embryo age.


54 posted on 03/18/2007 8:42:39 AM PDT by MHGinTN (If you've had life support. Promote life support for others.)
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To: Mo1

LOL


55 posted on 03/18/2007 8:48:40 AM PDT by onyx (DEFEAT Hillary Clinton, Marxist, student of Saul Alinsky & ally and beneficiary of Soros.)
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To: MarkL
What we REALLY need to worry about when you spill water is all the dihydrogen monoxide! That stuff will kill you!

Just ask "The Swimmer" how deadly it can be for young women in his Oldsmobile.
56 posted on 03/18/2007 8:57:08 AM PDT by JayNorth
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To: robertpaulsen
Remember to follow "careful instructions and wear gloves, safety glasses, coveralls and respiratory protection."

You forgot to mention the "do not operate heavy machinery" while doing this....

Or the "don't do this while in your bathtub or shower.."

57 posted on 03/18/2007 9:01:32 AM PDT by LasVegasMac (Islam........not fit for human consumption.)
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To: Condor51

No: I am talking about those 4 foot and 8 foot long fluorescent tubes that I have to replace at the Legion Post when they burn out.


58 posted on 03/18/2007 9:03:53 AM PDT by sgtbono2002 (I will forgive Jane Fonda, when the Jews forgive Hitler.)
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To: cp124

"thanks to their capacity to both fight global warming and lower utility bills."

"Fight" global warming? How? In what capacity?

The author is a moron.


59 posted on 03/18/2007 9:10:59 AM PDT by ByDesign
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To: cp124
The crisis du jour.

I'm still wondering what happened to the ozone layer,ozone hole.I guess that problem was solved when I wasn't listening.

I've read of late that there was a concern about global cooling in the 70's which I don't remember.(I don't remember the cooling "crisis",I remember the 70's just fine).I guess that problem became global warming.When I read the articles today about warming,they usually mention the average temperature rise in the past century,and then note the increased rate since...the seventies.Well,if there were those who thought that the trend in the 70's was cooling,it stands to reason that average temperatures had been dropping up to that point.It is therefore a bit disingenuous to speak of the rapid rise in temperatures since that time if you do not at the same time identify that base period as the trough it appears to have been.

Foxy Loxy: "How do you know the sky is falling?" Chicken Little: "I saw it with my own eyes, and heard it with my own ears, and part of it fell on my head!" Foxy Loxy: "I see. Well then, follow me, and I'll show you the way to the king." Narrator: So Foxy Loxy led Chicken Little, Henny Penny, Ducky Lucky, Goosey Loosey, and Turkey Lurkey across a field and through the woods. He led them straight to his den, and they never saw the king to tell him that the sky is falling.

60 posted on 03/18/2007 9:18:02 AM PDT by kennyo
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