What To Do If You Break A Compact Fluorescent Bulb

If you happen to break a compact fluorescent bulb containing trace amounts of mercury, you can do the cleanup yourself, without renting a moon suit or contacting authorities.

The EPA advises the following treatment:

1. Open a window and leave the room for at least 15 minutes (to let the mercury vaporize).
2. Remove all materials (i.e., the pieces of the broken bulb) without using a vacuum cleaner. You don't want even a small amount of mercury lurking in your vacuum. To do so:
   • Wear disposable rubber gloves, if available. (Never touch the bulb pieces with your bare hands.)
   • Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard (you don't want the stuff to get on your broom or dustpan either).
   • Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe. Sticky tape, such as duct tape (yet another use for the versatile material!), can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.
3. Place all cleanup materials in a plastic bag and seal it. If your state permits you to put used or broken CFLs in the garbage, seal the CFL in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash (if no other disposal or recycling options are available). If your state doesn't allow this, consult the local hazardous-waste authority for safe-recycling information. Some hardware stores will also accept old bulbs; to find a recycler near you (see below), try Earth 911 , or (800) CLEAN-UP, for a location near you.
4. Wash your hands after disposing of the bag.
5. The first time you vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag once done cleaning the area (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag and/or vacuum debris, as well as the cleaning materials, in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal.

Full details can be found in http://www.energystar.gov/ia/partners/promotions/change_light/downloads/Fact_Sheet_Mercury.pdf

LOCAL RECYCLER:

Southwest Recycling and Transfer Station

Municipal Drop-Off 425-388-3425

21311 61st Place West MOUNTLAKE TERRACE, WA 98043

Web Site

Service limited to residents of:
SNOHOMISH COUNTY

New Studies Broaden Scientific Support for Five Dimensions of the Organic Benefit

This post comes courtesy of The Organic Center and its most recent newsletter.

If you are not familiar with this organization you should really check it out. Lots of great articles and resources for any person or organization interested in all things Organic.

Like many, it took me a long time to learn more about all the benefits associated with using Organic products as much as possible.

One of the more disturbing aspects to me is the linkage established between pesticides and Autism. Most people know that we have seen an increased percentage of children diagnosed with various degrees of Autism over the past 50 years.

I have long felt that it was not a coincidence that this development matched the huge increase of pesticide use in our food chain. As the Organic Center newsletter points out, there are now studies to show that there is indeed a link.

So I just shake my head when I hear a "debate" about the "supposed" health benefits of eating organic food but it's nice to have some verbal ammo to use if and when I'm caught in this discussion.


I. Linkage Established Between Pesticides and Autism

For years epidemiologists have seen hints of a link between pesticide exposure and autism. As of July 30, 2007, these days are over. Scientists working for the California Department of Health Services have found that pregnant women living near fields sprayed with the common insecticides dicofol and endosulfan were six-times more likely to give birth to children with "Autism Spectrum Disorders" (ASD) than women living many miles from treated fields.

Six-times higher risk - it is very rare for such a large and statistically significant difference to be found in a study of this kind. Plus, the authors report that the closer a mother lived to treated fields, and/or the more pounds of pesticides applied, the greater the risk.

These two insecticides are the last widely used organochlorines - the family of insecticides including DDT, chlordane, aldrin, and toxaphene, among others. Both are known endocrine disruptors, they are persistent in the environment, and bioaccumulate up food chains. Residues of these insecticides, in particular endosulfan, are common in conventional fruits and vegetables, especially imports. This study should compel the EPA to finally take decisive action to end exposures to these two insecticides.

The full study appeared in the online version of Environmental Health Perspectives and is available free of charge.

II. Organic Milk and Meat Dramatically Enhances the Nutritional Quality of Mom's Breast Milk

Mothers consuming mostly organic milk and meat products were found to have about 50 percent higher levels of rumenic acid in their breast milk. This Conjugated Linoleic Acid (CLA) is responsible for most of the health benefits of CLAs in milk and meat. The authors of this European study published in the British Journal of Nutrition in June 2007 report that the greater reliance of organic beef and dairy farmers on pasture and forage grasses increases the levels of CLAs in milk and beef, and in turn in the breast milk of women eating organic animal products.

Details on the study are on the Center's website.

III. Organic Farming Practices Improve Water Quality in Minnesota

A team of University of Minnesota scientists studied the impact of organic and sustainable agricultural practices over three years on subsurface drainage and water quality in southwestern Minnesota. Their focus was on corn-soybean farms.

They found that organic and sustainable systems reduced the volume of subsurface drainage water discharges by 41 percent – a major benefit for the farmer, especially in dry years when lack of soil moisture cuts back yields. Organic and sustainable systems also reduced the loss of nitrate nitrogen by about 60 percent, allowing farmers to reduce fertilization rates by nearly half without sacrificing yields in most years. The improved soil quality on the organic/sustainable plots, coupled with more diverse land use patterns, were credited by the team with improving the efficiency of nutrient uptake and water infiltration and use, especially in average to wet years.

The full text of the University of Minnesota study is available free of charge.

IV. Organically Grown Melons Deliver More Vitamin C and Polyphenols

During the 2007 annual meeting of the American Society for Horticultural Science, a team from Colorado State University reported encouraging results from a two-year comparison of organic and conventional melon production systems. The team highlighted the impact of crop genetics on total antioxidant activity, which varied over ten-fold across varieties. Crop genotype accounted for 65 percent of this variation, with production system accounting for most of the rest. Organic management was found to increase both vitamin C and polyphenol.

The team's work is ongoing, and has expanded to include some key Colorado vegetable crops.

V. Pesticide Exposures Increase Risk of Gestational Diabetes

The Agricultural Health Study, underway for over a decade, has produced valuable data on the impacts of pesticides on human health. In an important March 2007 paper in "Diabetes Care," a team of government scientists found that pregnant women exposed to pesticides occupationally (i.e., spraying, mixing pesticides) had more than double the risk of developing gestational diabetes (diabetes during pregnancy). Four herbicides, including two in the phenoxy herbicide class that also includes 2,4-D (see the item on pesticide use and biotech crops below), plus three insecticides were found to be associated with elevated risk of gestational diabetes.

Additional information on this study is on the Center's website.

Back Blogging - with a new name

You know what they say - the only constant in life is change. And we're continuing to experience a lot of change here at GreenforGood.com.

After testing our beta site for nearly 6 months we pulled it down and went back to the drawing board to incorporate changes/suggestions made from users as well as friends and family.

The new and improved site will be live very soon and we are quite excited to pull back the curtain.

Among the other changes made we've also changed the name of our blog - and are starting to fire it up again. I took a sabbatical from writing for a few months while I focused on the new design and strategy for GreenforGood.com as well as planning, building and launching of GreenMediaList.com - a media directory and resource for public and medial relations professionals and companies who are trying to get their Green message out.

And touching on my background and experience as the co-founder and CEO of a successful high tech PR agency, I've also teamed with some high quality professionals to offer public relations and communications programs for companies committed to sustainable business practices and/or Green & eco-friendly products through my new firm, GreenBuzzPR.

And there is more fun to come!

There are a few new features that we'll be including on the Green Dirt Blog (as well as sites within the new GreenforGood.com network). Two of them are related: Green Heroes and the Green Penalty Box.

Green Heroes will focus on people, organizations and companies who step up and go above and beyond the call of duty to help protect or improve the environment.

The Green Penalty Box will be used for people, organizations and companies who do very bad things to the environment and need to be called out for it. These will go beyond the simple lousy service or minor accident and will focus on major spills, fines from the EPA and all around bad environmental behavior (BEB for those who need another acronym).

The other feature will be a Green Article of the day. This will be a wild card - it could be from the mainstream media it could be from the green media or it could be from a press release. It just will depend on the day, topic and my mood.

It's fun to be writing again and I'm looking forward to be doing lots more of it as we get ready to launch all of our exciting Green projects here in Edmonds, Washington.

David R. Kaufer
Founder and Chief Green Officer
GreenforGood.com
GreenMediaList.com
GreenBuzzPR