CFL Cleanup: Harder Than It Sounds

Cleaning up after a compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) breaks is a big proposition -- believe it or not.

With the new federal law mandating the elimination of "inefficient" light bulbs by 2012, CFLs are increasingly a green alternative that integrators will have available.

But what many consumers and integrators don't know is that CFLs contain mercury -- yeah, the stuff that you used to play with when you broke a thermometer (but probably shouldn't have).

So what happens when a CFL bulb breaks and the mercury leaks out?

The NBC Nightly News took a look at this on their March 20 broadcast -- and found out some eye-opening information.

Watch the video below.