Exposure to a fluroescent light bulb ? ! ?
HRQ
2,849 Posts
Hey all! I've been away for several months except for some occasional lurking, and now I have a question.
Yesterday, an ee broke a fluorescent tube light bulb while taking it to the dumpster. She told her supervisor she was going home to take a shower. For whatever reason, the supervisor let her go without question, even though they were short staffed.
The ee returned to work 2 hours later and demanded she be paid for the time off since she had to shower because of breaking the bulb at work.
She claims she was exposed to the dangerous gasses contained in the bulb and had to shower to protect herself.
I realize we don't have to pay her for her time while showering. I cannot imagine incidental exposure to the contents of a fluorescent bulb can be dangerous. (She didn't say she was cut or ingested anything, just "exposed" to contents of the bulb when it hit the ground)
Is it dangerous???
Yesterday, an ee broke a fluorescent tube light bulb while taking it to the dumpster. She told her supervisor she was going home to take a shower. For whatever reason, the supervisor let her go without question, even though they were short staffed.
The ee returned to work 2 hours later and demanded she be paid for the time off since she had to shower because of breaking the bulb at work.
She claims she was exposed to the dangerous gasses contained in the bulb and had to shower to protect herself.
I realize we don't have to pay her for her time while showering. I cannot imagine incidental exposure to the contents of a fluorescent bulb can be dangerous. (She didn't say she was cut or ingested anything, just "exposed" to contents of the bulb when it hit the ground)
Is it dangerous???
Comments
"Incidental exposure to fluorescentlamp contents is not harmful. The basic phosphor used in the manufacture of fluorescent lamps is a relatively inert phosphate. The small amount of mercury contained in each lamp will not cause any significant amount of airborne mercury, since most of the elemental mercury remains adhered to the phosphor surface. No adverse health effects are expected from exposure to a broken fluorescent tube."
I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to criticize, discipline or dock her pay unless I was satisfied that generally accepted post-accident behavior/reaction/reporting procedures are in place and well understood by all employees.
Geno