Anything dangerous in brake light bulb?

[johnsmith222]

Hi guys.

A quick question. Is there any dangerous elements in a brake light bulb?

It was a P21w 12v type bulb that I smashed in my garage by accident, and then I got some weird neck spasm thing just there. Could be unrelated but I haven't had anything like that before.

Thanks for any help.

[The Artist]

LOL, I don't think so.

Nothing that would cause a neck spasm.

I wouldn't put my face near one, smash it and inhale deeply though. Bits of glass, dust and filament.

[johnsmith222]

[The Artist]

I don't think there is anything poisonous in a bulb.

Most likely thing is nothing is wrong. Do you feel ill or anything? It was probably just a normal spasm.

[95Theses]

If there was anything that dangerous - cause muscle spasms if it broke nearby in a lightbulb

Do you really think Health and Safety in the UK would allow them to be sold?

[Blackwolf]

It was just a coinsidence dobnt worry about it!


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Current: Ducati Multistrada 1200s

[johnsmith222]

Thanks a lot for the help guys.

I guess I am just being paranoid. I'm not really sure what the neck spasm thing was but it proper took me by surprise. Likewise, I didn't think there was anything in the bulb and wasn't bothered by it until I had that neck thing. I wasn't turning the vice or doing anything when it happened. I properly thought I was just going to pass out when it happened.

Thanks again.

[Frost]

[Blackwolf]

[95Theses]

Health and safety gone mad!

You wouldn't want to break and directly inhale the contents of 20 in a row, but there is no need to leave the room and air it out if you break one.

Even still, at worst it would cause mercury poisoning which has a long onset, for it to have an instant effect and cause muscle spasms with the quantity of gas that is held in a brake light bulb it would need to be as potent as Sarin or Tabun.

[DrDonnyBrago]

The gas in the bulb is probably argon, the tiny amount in a bulb will do nothing. The only way it could kill you is if there was soooo much that it replaced all of the air in the room and you were asphyxiated.

Other parts of the bulb are the glass, a few wires, some tungsten in the filamen and tiny bit of lead as one of the electrodes - none of these are toxic.

The only way it could harm you is if you cut yourself on it or tried to eat it.



You will be fine, neck probably had a spasm from being crouched over by your brake lights for too long.

[Pete.]

Most likely you had an involuntary muscle movement from having the bulb smash near your face which has caused the spasm. Don't worry about it.
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a.k.a 'Geri'

132.9mph off and walked away. Gear is good, gear is good, gear is very very good

[Ariel Badger]

They are full of vacuum, did you breath any of it in?
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Bikers make great organ donors, get 115 on your licence today.

[Chinaboy]

Here is a little extract I found. I hope it explains a bit about bulbs.

A halogen lamp also uses a tungsten filament, but it is encased inside a much smaller quartz envelope. Because the envelope is so close to the filament, it would melt if it were made from glass. The gas inside the envelope is also different -- it consists of a gas from the halogen group. These gases have a very interesting property: They combine with tungsten vapor. If the temperature is high enough, the halogen gas will combine with tungsten atoms as they evaporate and redeposit them on the filament. This recycling process lets the filament last a lot longer. In addition, it is now possible to run the filament hotter, meaning you get more light per unit of energy. You still get a lot of heat, though; and because the quartz envelope is so close to the filament, it is extremely hot compared to a normal light bulb.

[Nexus Icon]

It's far more likely that you flinched involuntarily when the bulb went and the spasm a bit later was a result of that. Muscles are funny like that.
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Greetings from Shitsville!

[DrDonnyBrago]

Just noticed I said lead isn't toxic ...

I meant that lead is is bad if ingested - not when in a bulb stuck to your bike.