1. Cordon off the area where breakage occurred so that nobody steps in broken glass, phosphor powder or mercury.  This should be done as soon as possible.  The goal is not to make a lot of airborne particulates during cleanup.
  2. If there is a window or door that opens to the outside near the broken bulb, open it to ventilate the area and wait about 15 minutes.  If the bulb broke in an inside area, such as a hallway where there is no window or door to the outside, or outside the building, do not wait to clean up.
  3. Wearing disposable gloves, use stiff paper to carefully push the glass and powder to a central point where you can scoop it up, being careful not to get it on your clothing. Place the collected fragments into a plastic container.  If you need to further break the glass to fit it into the container, do this outside, being careful not to cut yourself.
  4. Use duck tape to pick up any visible glass shards or powder (use caution when performing this task) and place it in the container.  Then, using moist paper towels, wipe the area thoroughly. Place used towels and disposable gloves into the container and close it tightly.  
  5. If vacuuming is needed after all visible materials are removed, HEPA vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, the bag can then be given to the EH&S Office with any and all contaminants for proper disposal. DOT NOT use a regular vacuum or brook to sweep up the broken flourescent lamp.
  6. Label the container "Universal Waste - Broken Fluorescent Lamp" and place a date on it.  Bring the container to the Universal Waste Storage Area.