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> there's frankly no reason to get them to replace a CFL except for mercury

Isn't that enough? I try to keep things that can kill me to a minimum.

In my observation, it is not enough for most people. They need an economic reason as well. Besides, the amount of mercury in a modern CFL is not all that bad as long as you don't try to vacuum it up and.

Disclaimer: I'm sort of a chemist, so let's just say I've been around far, far worse than a few milligrams of mercury. I do have a healthy respect for safety hazards, and am very cautious, but I don't have a strong immediate inclination to avoid small amount of mercury (or DMF, or THF, or paint thinner, or...) outright as too risky.

I actually have a room of my house I don't go in because a cfl broke there a year ago.

When I read how to clean it up it sounded so scary I now stear clear of the whole room :-(

Even if you'd have spilled all of the mercury on the carpet (and most of it will possibly have stuck on the inside of the bulb and been disposed of with the shards), it will have evaporated (and hence, left the room in gaseous phase) a long time ago.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/research/mercury-bulbs.pdf

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