After returning from our day of asking Capitol Hill tourists about the government mandated phase out of incandescent light bulbs that begins in 2012, we got a first hand lesson in how the government expects Americans to handle the impending switch.As Dan Joseph got out of the car in the MRC garage, he dropped the CFL that was used as a visual aid during the shoot. CFL’s contain Mercury which can be dangerous to humans is they are exposed to it.
One might think that taking specific safety measures when disposing of broken light bulb is a bit alarmist, but as it turns out the very same government that is mandating the sale of the CFL also has endorsed a long series of steps that need to be taken to ensure that your family survives in case an individual breaks one of the bulbs.
After receiving no response from light bulb disposal experts at the EPA, Dan took it upon himself to follow the government guidelines to the best of his ability and save MRC from impending catastrophe.
OMG. That's hilarious…but I'm not sure if I should laugh or cry.
Dan, you forgot to wear a Haz-Mat suit, eye protection and gloves! And then, you touched the door handle to your building with bare hands! If I ever visit your building, I can't touch any door handles now! We're doomed!
All kidding aside, great video on the ridiculousness (or, as the Reverend Jackson would say, 'ridiculosity') of hare-brained government regulations. Not to mention the unintended consequences of them (i.e. all the extra trash from following the instructions). I have 4 kids and I wish they'd bring back the old mercury thermometers my parents used when I was a kid. The new ones often don't work, they aren't nearly as accurate, and new batteries are constantly needed! It's maddening!
Cry, pdxqy, cry.
For one thing, I used to PLAY WITH MERCURY ON THE PALM OF MY HAND when I was a kid – I had access to mercury switches that contained a minimum of 5cc's of Mercury, I used to roll it around in my hand! I have since fathered four great kids, no abnormalities, nothing unusual in my family – other than the usual insanity we are subject to, that is…
1) mercury is NON-soluble. Trying to mop it up with a wet hankie ain't gonna do a darn thing, other than smear it around.
2) It has a high vapor pressure – you have to get it HOT for it to turn in to dangerous vapor. Just what do you think goes on in a CFL to get the "bulb" energized, anyway? That's right, you pump in enough energy to vaporize the mercury!
3) The freakin' phosphorus that lines the inside of the bulb is more poisonous than the mercury, for crying out loud!
4) The steps outlined in the EPA HazMat procedures are just flat stupid. Geez, I could write a book!
Vacuum it up and be done with it. If it happens outside, just grind the glass to a fine powder and fhuggedaboudit, already. Let the natural forces bind up the Mercury and Phosphorus back into compounds found naturally in Nature. The glass, likewise, when powdered, poses no problem whatsoever.
Government Gone Wild! Film at 11!!
YOURE BLOG IS AWESOME!!! BEEN READING YOU FOR YEARS!!! KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK ON BRINGING SANITY…TO THEIR PROPAGANDA DEBATE!!
STOP SHOUTING. Find the Caps Lock key and turn off CAPS LOCK, please.
The days of ASR-33 terminals are long over, dude…
Yes indeedy, I played around with mercury quite a bit as a kid also.
If mercury is spilled onto concrete, the metal being denser than the cement in the concrete, well, the hg seeps right on through said concrete…
But here we go with the Parts Per Million/Parts Per Billion thing again, the amount of hg inside that CFL is not very likely to be dangerous.
However, multiply that by ove3 300 million folks being FORCED to use the CFL's by our gummint and there will likely be an environmental problem from them some day in the future.
Edit Delete
Right on Machine!
Product placement! Go FedEx! (A Tennessee company)
How long might it be before the pronouncement: The mercury and phosphorus in CFL's contribute to Globa…uh climate cha…er…uh… ?
…and when the Government says the mercury in vaccines is safe we can all sleep well at night.
Here is an intersting film about mercury in Japan. http://youtu.be/ihFkyPv1jtU
Why do they mercury to produce fertilizer?
I mean" Why do they need mercury to produce fertilizer? "