However, I don’t think we would necessarily have rejected a coinage just for having it be as whimsical as “octopoodledoo”, which I hereby nominate as the new, someday-to-be-standard plural of octopus. On the contrary, a coinage is more likely to be accepted if it’s fun — which is, by the way, my real reason for preferring “octopodes”. It’s just more fun to say.

I have calmed down slightly and my hands have stopped trembling as much as they were (nerves), I thought I gave them severe brain damage. I will never forgive myself for this and my home is very uncomfortable.

I honestly thought it was just a little tiny harmless amount (like the government, companies, an people always say it is)

I think this is insane. Why is there no warning on the package or public information about them. Why not mandate a cover for them or use an amalgam. No one knows about this in Canada, everyone thinks its a joke. My friends laughed at me when I warned them about these things. Everyone has them in every lamp and fixture , and I’m absolutely sure I’m not the only one who’s kids have broken these. I thought to look it up quickly and leave the room (though I still vacuumed by then), open the door and and throw out toys and clothes that could have been contaminated, wiped the whole floor down . I also have had my kids avoid the area like the plague. I am absolutely sure by the truly minimal amount of people on the Internet asking questions, and the lack of knowledge of poison control and doctors (who had basically never heard of this and didn’t tell me to ventilate or anything, actually two doctors and poison control both argued with me that it was harmless), that people are vacuuming them up on carpet with their kids in the room, not opening their windows , throwing the broken bulb in the garbage in their kitchens, and letting their kids play on contaminated carpet with contaminated toys.

If you find the time I have a couple more questions with all my reading I can’t find consistent answers for.

I have seen information that says elemental mercury only stays in blood 5 days, some say 16 days who’s right? is this true?

Ive also seen information that says elemental mercurys half-life in blood is 24-48 hours, does this mean i should multiply exponentially to get actual exposure blood levels at time of break (blood test was 8 days later) or was the blood test useless?

If so are urine tests accurate (it’s been 5 1/2 months now)?

What would be a concerning blood mercury number ug/L after 8 days when blood test was taken.

Is there a point in time where I no longer have to look for the signs of mercury poisoning that you linked?
These symptoms sound very serious.

Am I looking for health effects forever?

Thank you so much

Should we do anything for the kids medically, tests, etc?

It sounds like you already did a blood mercury test on your child a few days after exposure. You said the levels were “low” (and I assume low enough that doctors were not concerned). Frankly, that tells me already that you’re probably fine. More tests at this point are unnecessary unless you expected chronic exposure.

We didn’t get baby tested because he was mostly in dining room during cleanup. Should we?

I don’t know exactly what the results of your other child were. You said “low.” I’m assuming that means they were low enough not to be of concern medically. If that child’s exposure was greater, and his levels were not abnormal, there’s little reason to have your baby tested if he had even less exposure.

Could this be major health effects ?

No. There is ABSOLUTELY NO CHANCE of “major health effects” from a single CFL break. I emphasize precautions with them, particularly around small children, because mercury has been shown to have greater effects on developing brains. But even if there was some effect from this small amount of exposure, it would be quite minor (and, frankly, hard to even diagnose as specifically caused by mercury exposure), not a “major” problem.

If this did give them brain damage or health effects, what are we looking for?

Again, you’re not going to have significant “brain damage.” And, frankly, unless your son had elevated levels of blood mercury, it’s really unlikely that he will ever display any of symptoms of actual mercury poisoning. (Here’s a list of symptoms of mercury poisoning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning#Signs_and_symptoms), but without measurable elevated blood mercury levels, even if you saw these, it’s probably from something else.)

If we do need to see a doctor do you know of any in Canada we could talk to?

You probably don’t need to see a doctor; in any case, I don’t have specific advice about local doctors.

If our clothes, bedding, did get contaminated by the washing machine if we missed a sock or something how long till there is absolutely nothing but background levels.

“Absolutely nothing but background levels” will probably take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months, depending on conditions (temperature, ventilation, etc.). Still, except for porous surfaces directly exposed to the break (i.e., something that was actually underneath the lamp when it broke), there should be no significant contamination from a CFL break. If you had broken a thermometer or had a larger mercury spill, it would be a different matter. But in this case, your main concern about contamination is only porous items directly under or in the immediate area of the break.

Is this as bad as my husbands reaction is making it out to be?

I can’t guarantee anything, since I can’t know all the details. But on the basis of the information you’re giving me, I can say that it is nowhere near as bad as your husband’s level of concern.

We’ve read a couple of articles comparing this dose to tuna which calmed him down a bit about about everything but the “spike”and contamination.

Is this spike anything like eating albacore tuna. He has fed our kids this and it doesn’t bother him at all.

Yes, I would say in most cases that an exposure to a single CFL break is probably not going to result in higher mercury levels than eating a few cans of tuna. Again, it’s difficult to know exactly, but I’d say it’s roughly comparable. And the blood test results seem to agree with this assumption.

If not what about this spike in mercury is worse exactly because he’s calculated their dose for worse case and best case and says its lower than a can of tuna so why is he freaking out?

I think there are possible situations where the mercury from a CFL break could be concentrated and actually be a hazard for a child. (Broken bulb in a small unventilated closet, child in with it for hours, etc.) That kind of scenario is very unlikely. Most of the advice here I mention is precautionary — not because there is a significant danger or major medical problems resulting from a single exposure. I do think the risk is not ZERO, which is why I urge caution. With repeated exposures to CFL breaks, exposure to large quantities of CFLs, exposure to situations where the CFL vapor is concentrated and/or proper clean-up/ventilation procedures are not followed… in some of these cases, there might be concern. So I urge caution, but in most cases there’s unlikely to major ramifications.

I hope this helps.

If you estimate that the spilled mercury is likely more than a pound (that is, more than about a few tablespoons), it is actually mandatory to report such a spill to the National Response Center (http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/nrchp.html) as a chemical spill. If you think it was less than a pound (but more than the few drops you might find in a typical thermometer), you should still contact your local environmental or hazardous waste disposal agency for advice.

I don’t want to be alarmist here, but an uncontrolled release of mercury in laboratory quantities is not a small matter. You should IMMEDIATELY open any windows or ventilation to the basement, close any doors or access to other parts of the hours, and then leave the house (along with your family) until you receive advice from your local environmental agency. Vapor levels in your basement, if unventilated, could already be at hazardous levels, and it will probably get worse. I would not attempt cleanup myself until you have contacted environmental authorities.

He called someone from the maine dept who basically told him that he could go back in the room by now but he didnt trust anyone anymore because there was too much conflicting information, he started emailing doctors in the USA. He says some of them are saying to get hair samples (he says they don’t know what they are taking about because hair samples don’t show elemental mercury), some of them say its no big deal and like a nibble of fish. Some say get urine, and blood tests done and that we are still being chronically exposed from contamination. He made me throw out all of the kids toys all clothes from that laundry basket. He keeps throwing away mops if I use them where cfl broke though he’d wiped it down twice before with wet towels ). There is a gate between living room and dining room the kids aren’t allowed to pass. He’s recently let them back downstairs in the dining room.

It’s been 5 months of this.
He says because he doesn’t know what’s contaminated everything is.
He says that initial break droplets exposed kids and gave them brain damage.

I know you can’t change facts and this isn’t your problem at all but a little more advice would be sooo appreciated because you are the only one who we can find who seems to know anything about this.

I know you’re not a medical doctor but they are oblivious, so I’m asking for just your knowledgeable personal opinion.

Should we do anything for the kids medically, tests, etc?

We didn’t get baby tested because he was mostly in dining room during cleanup. Should we?

Could this be major health effects ?

If this did give them brain damage or health effects, what are we looking for?

If we do need to see a doctor do you know of any in Canada we could talk to?

If our clothes, bedding, did get contaminated by the washing machine if we missed a sock or something how long till there is absolutely nothing but background levels.

Is this as bad as my husbands reaction is making it out to be?

I know you’ve answered this before and I know you’ve said “It’s a good idea to take extra precautions, especially around pregnant women and small children, but the first thing you should know is that the danger from these types of mercury exposure is probably minimal except under unusual circumstances.” But he just can’t let it go.

We’ve read a couple of articles comparing this dose to tuna which calmed him down a bit about about everything but the “spike”and contamination.

Is this spike anything like eating albacore tuna. He has fed our kids this and it doesn’t bother him at all.

If not what about this spike in mercury is worse exactly because he’s calculated their dose for worse case and best case and says its lower than a can of tuna so why is he freaking out?

Please help
Concerned wife.