How many compact fluorescent bulbs can I safely eat?

Many folk are alarmed at the mercury content in CF lamps, mostly due to the fact they either eat the bulbs, or break the globe and lick the broken glass to clean it up (the standard hazardous materials handling method).

(For the benefit of everyone, I’ll exclude accidental compact fluorescent suppository incidents).

So how many CF lamps would the Food Standards agency recommend consuming?

* Each CFL contains 4mg of mercury.
* Total permitted methylmercury intake per week is 221.1 micrograms per week for an average person over 2 years of age. (105.6 for preggies, 62.7 for infants).

The Australian standards would only recommend eating 2.8 compact fluorescents per year for the average person over 2 years of age and weighing around 67kgs. Pregnant women should restrict themselves to 1.38, and infants should only eat 0.8 bulbs per year.

Oh, and you probably shouldn’t eat fish.

Facts from here and here.