I recently had a ballast/power supply in my Screenplay 5000 fail and my bulb exploded. When I took the bulb out, there was some white powder comming out of it...

I called infocus tech support and the guy on the phone told me it is from the mercury. On Saturday, I fully disassembled the projector to repair it (see my other thread: Repairing a broken Screenplay 5000 (http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?p=9611740#post9611740) ). In case some of the residual mercury got on my work surfaces, I'll need to clean this stuff up.

Does anyone know about the safe handling of this material and it's cleanup? For reference, it is an extremely fine white crystalline powder (looks like micro silica or glass powder; it is not metallic pure mercury)

Wear a mask, (don't vacuum it up as you'll spray that crap everywhere) brush it with a disposable foam brush into a gallon ziplock bag, throw away the brush in the same bag, seal it inside another ziplock bag, and pitch it in the trash.

If you need to vacuum the projector out, then do it outside while wearing a mask. If you can use a filtered bag for the vacuum it's better. You may want to pitch the vacuum bag and run the vacuum outside without the bag after that to clear the nozzle and motor of any residual powder, and then install the new bag before using inside.

I'm sure Huey's right. I'm just sure though that I remember playing with mercury in grade school science class.

How times have changed!

before going through all that, do a bit more research to find out if it, indeed, is mercury.... it doesn't sound to me like it is.... as noted, pure mercury is that familiar silvery liquid metal.... and mercuric-oxide is reddish, like rust (think mercurichrome)...

:cool:

I've figured it out. It's pure microcrystalline mercury, which behaves like a solid powder when the particles are so small. UHP bulbs contain mercury vapor at high pressure, and when the bulb breaks, the mercury condenses.

Wear a mask, (don't vacuum it up as you'll spray that crap everywhere) brush it with a disposable foam brush into a gallon ziplock bag, throw away the brush in the same bag, seal it inside another ziplock bag, and pitch it in the trash.

If you need to vacuum the projector out, then do it outside while wearing a mask. If you can use a filtered bag for the vacuum it's better. You may want to pitch the vacuum bag and run the vacuum outside without the bag after that to clear the nozzle and motor of any residual powder, and then install the new bag before using inside.

Do everything said here except "pitch it in the trash". Mercury should not be disposed of like regular garbage.
Most municipalities, towns and cities have disposal sites for mercury (batteries, etc.). Try searching for florescent lamp disposal/electronics disposal sites in your local directory.

The last thing we need is more mecury seeping into the ground.

The last thing we need is more mecury seeping into the ground.

:D from whence it came....

:cool:

Do everything said here except "pitch it in the trash". Mercury should not be disposed of like regular garbage.
Most municipalities, towns and cities have disposal sites for mercury (batteries, etc.). Try searching for florescent lamp disposal/electronics disposal sites in your local directory.

The last thing we need is more mercury seeping into the ground.


Moreover, in many municipalities it is illegal to dispose of mercury outside of a hazardous materials collection point. And if the spill happens in a commercial setting, OSHA and many municipalities legally require you to notify your state regional HazMat team (sometimes associated with Fire Departments.)

Note that Metallic Mercury (Hg0, a neurotoxin found in some household goods including thermometers, CFLs and other bulbs) starts vaporizing at room temperature. This means any metallic mercury spill produces Mercury vapor. Metallic Mercury vapor is bad because our bodies can purportedly uptake 80% of inhaled metallic Mercury, which is then carried by the bloodstream to the kidneys and the brain. While some metallic Mercury can be excreted (over the course of several weeks) from the body, the kidneys can be damaged (depending on the amount); metallic Mercury in the brain purportedly tends to be 'trapped' and not eliminated.

Please, never use a vacuum cleaner of any kind (not even outdoors) for direct (untreated) metallic Mercury clean up. The vacuum cleaner will be contaminated and changing the filter/bag will not decontaminate; moreover you greatly increase your risk of exposure.
The recommended method for metallic Mercury clean up is to disturb it as little as possible. "Gloves and foot protection are recommended as mercury spreads under nails etc., very easily." Gently guide the Mercury onto a catch piece of paper or cardboard using another sheet of paper. Alternatively using an eye dropper as a collection tool is recommended. The Materials Safety Data Sheet recommends to "Sprinkle area with sulfur or calcium polysulfide to suppress mercury" which might be useful in parent poster's case.
When cleanup is complete, the paper/cardboard/eye dropper AND EXPOSED CLOTHING should then be placed in a double plastic bag and deposited at an appropriate HazMat collection point (your local health department, fire department or the ATSDR <number below> can guide you.) Be sure to completely wash exposed skin / hair with mild soap and water (preferably under a shower).

This may or may not be possible in the parent poster's case. If you need additional information or advice on clean up, you can contact the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/) at 1-888-422-8737.

The ATSDR Public Health Statement on Mercury is here (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp46-c1.pdf)
The ATSDR Medical Management Guidelines (MMGs) are here (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/MHMI/mmg46.html)
The Materials Safety Data Sheet for Mercury is here (http://www.jtbaker.com/msds/englishhtml/m1599.htm)
The Hazardous Substances Data Bank entry for Mercury is here (http://toxnet.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/sis/search/r?dbs+hsdb:@term+@rn+@rel+7439-97-6)

Hope that helps.

Vapor pressure: 0.002 mm Hg at 77ºF (25ºC)
["Note: Although the vapor pressure of elemental mercury is low, at 24ºC, an atmosphere that is fully saturated with mercury vapor contains approximately 18 mg/m³. The levels attainable in indoor airs at room temperature can therefore greatly exceed safe levels and result in poisoning."]

:D from whence it came....

:cool:

For those who are unfamiliar, metallic Mercury (see Wiki entry here (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_%28element%29) ) comes from reduction of red mercury sulfide, or Cinnabar. Many naturally occuring relatively inert things in the wild become highly toxic when purified/refined.

From the Wikipedia article on Mercury poising (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_poisoning), when "...dropped or disturbed, mercury will form microscopic drops, increasing its surface area dramatically." This quickens the conversion to Mercury vapor.

"The mercury that is released in the environment ends up in surface water or soils eventually. When the pH values in acidic surface waters are between five and seven, the mercury concentrations in the water will increase. This is due to the mobilization of mercury in the ground near a water source." The EPA warns you not to dump motor oil (a known carcinogen) on or in soil for a similar reason (as it will contaminate water supplies.)

Bacteria then converts the metallic mercury into methyl mercury, which is absorbed quickly. Fish "absorb methyl mercury in great amounts from water." This is the vector for mercury entering the food chain. "The deleterious effects of mercury consumed by animals that eat fish include reproductive failure, damage to intestines, stomach disruption, DNA alteration, and kidney damage."

Best bet, call Infocus, ask them if they use mercury in the lamps and how to proceed with remediation. Metallic mercury is silver and very lustrous. The most dangerous form of mercury is organomercury, not something a manufacturer would want to distribute (not to mention, looks nothing like what is described). Most likely the white powder is an oxide of some sorts and not likely to be one of mercury, as mentioned above. For the person reporting microcrystalline mercury... no. The lamps are sealed and at high pressure relative to atmosphere. Increased pressure causes a phase change from liquid to solid. A decrease in pressure (i.e., when the lamp housing bursts) would result in the opposite. There may be some phosphorus oxide associated with the vacuum tube, which looks similar to what is being described. If indeed IF says the substance contains mercury, contact the proper authorities for disposal (and for everyone's clean water). Otherwise, clean it up and move on to the next bulb or pj.