Sending a member of a hazardous response team to evaluate the mercury “contamination” from a broken compact fluorescent light bulb, which the Department of Environmental Protection recently did, caused more alarm than necessary. This is compounded by warnings from the DEP on its Web site to wear protective clothing when cleaning up one of the bulbs. Instead, a little caution and a lot of common sense will suffice.

CFL bulbs contain about 5 milligrams of mercury, about as much as the ink on the tip of a ball point pen. The mercury is necessary to create the charge that makes the bulb glow. Fever thermometers, by comparison, contain 100 to thousands of times more mercury.

Further, CFLs use about two-thirds less electricity as incandescent bulbs, thereby avoiding about two-thirds of the emissions of mercury and other pollutants from power plants. Because of their energy savings and corresponding environmental benefits, Australia plans to phase out incandescent bulbs by 2010.

Recently, however, a Prospect woman discovered that a broken CFL can be problematic. When Brandy Bridges dropped a bulb in her daughter’s bedroom, she sought direction in cleaning it up. Home Depot, where she bought the bulb, referred her to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which referred her to the Maine DEP, where she spoke with the environmental response team. A team member came to her house and measured mercury levels six times acceptable levels at the spot where the bulb broke. A few feet away, the level was within safe limits. An environmental clean up company said it would cost about $2,000 to clean up the mercury.

This over-the-top response was unnecessary and could encourage others to avoid the efficient bulbs. Compounding the problem, the DEP’s Web site on cleaning up a broken CFL advises people to wear protective equipment, including respiratory protection. Gloves and a wet paper towel may be plenty cautious, although a vacuum should definitely not be used.

Instead of alarmist warnings and dispatching response team members, a rational but cautious approach is warranted.

A bill, LD 1234, that lawmakers will soon consider would require that the labels on CFLs contain a warning that the bulbs contain mercury and that they may not be put in the trash. Most of the bulbs sold in Maine already carry such a warning. Instead, lawmakers should consider requiring bulb makers to include instructions for disposal and cleanup with the packaging. Lawmakers should also look into whether collection bins are a possibility. IKEA already collects used CFLs in its stores, and Connecticut officials are trying to persuade other retailers to do the same.

This is a better approach than dispatching the hazmat team.