AUGUSTA (AP) – The Maine Department of Environmental Protection on Monday issued a study on the health risks of compact fluorescent light bulbs and the best way to clean up the bulbs when they break.

The DEP has been promoting the bulbs as a way to save energy and reduce pollution. But the bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, a neurotoxin that can pose health risks.

For the study, the DEP broke dozens of bulbs in a laboratory and tested ways to clean them up from a variety of floor surfaces.

People should consider not using the bulbs where they can be easily broken or in places frequented by young children or pregnant women, the study says.

If a bulb does break, people should open windows and leave the room for 15 minutes to reduce the mercury emissions, put the broken pieces in a glass jar with a screw top, and take the jar outside, the report says.

People are advised to not vacuum up shattered bulbs, which could contaminate the vacuum cleaner and further spread the mercury into the air. If a bulb breaks on a carpet, people should consider removing the part of the carpet where the break occurred, according to the report.

DEP officials said they are still encouraging people to use the bulbs.

“Compact fluorescent light bulbs are important to use in order to reduce energy consumption and our impact on climate change,” said DEP Commissioner David Littell.

The study is available on the DEP’s Web site.

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Department of Environmental Protection: www.mainedep.com

AP-ES-02-25-08 1500EST

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