How dangerous is a broken tv?

[OhBladdyHell]

Got myself all into a panic haven't I - so yesterday my eldest child managed to knock the TV over in the kitchen and it smashed good and proper. Cleaned up any glass, have it a Hoover and have stuck TV in porch ready to dispose of. For some reason today a though entered my head that there could have been chemicals in the tv so I googled (I know, I know...) and have panicked my self now that there may have been mercury in a backlight or something. (I have no idea what im talking about in case you hadn't realised!)

Google has told me that I shouldn't have hoovered up mercury and should have disposed of my clothes. I also should have ventilated room and evacuated it. I did none of these things.

That advise was from nhs website re breaking of bulbs with mercury in. Admittedly I have no idea I'd there was any mercury and certainly didn't see any... but google also tells me that I didn't need to see any for it to be harmful. Hmmm...

So TV is about 4/5 years old and screen was pretty badly smashed as feel from the height of the kitchen units onto a stone tiled floor.

Was this likely to have been hazardous (aside from the broken glass?) Am I just late night catastrophising...?

The amount of mercury in an LCD screen backlight is very low, and the backlight might not even have broken. 'LED' tvs have an led backlight, no mercury there at all, also none in plasma or oled screens.

Thanks @safariboot - that's put my mind at rest because it was an LED TV

Ok so mercury aside, would the liquid crystals be of grave danger? The screen ended up quite smashed up. How toxic is this?

Bump

Surely is smashed TVs were of 'grave danger' they would come with bloody great warning signs across the box? I have never heard of anyone being made ill by a smashed TV screen, LED or otherwise, I have worked on children's wards and never had a patient admitted for that reason.

I think most of the time when tv screens break they don't actually get smashed if you see what I mean. The awkward fall onto a tiled floor and clipping corner of kitchen worktop meant that there was actual breakage and glass (?) on the floor and the screen came away from casing. I swept and hoovered up in the manner that you would with a broken glass but I have terrified myself since with reading stuff on internet about how I may have spread contamination around the house in doing this. I can't find any decent information though...

@OhBladdyHell I would call curry's or similar and ask them.

Do you suffer from anxiety generally? This isn’t something that would even enter my consciousness.
If this was a risk, as a PP says TV’s would come with warnings and information around what to do in case of a smashed screen.

You would also be able to find clear instructions on how to deal with it when googling, which you haven’t been able to find.

That's a good point @SoyDora!

I have got a tendency to catastrophise, especially after a week of little sleep and craziness at work!

I think you're tired and your brain is running away with things. I do it too.

1. It's highly highly unlikely there was anything harmful. People accidentally smash TVs all the time. If there was a real danger, there would be safety info issued with every tv and it'd be well known. You wouldn't have to search for the info. You'd also have heard of someone who had become ill because of a smashed tv. As there's no common info available (other than that bit on nhs about bulbs), or loads of ill people posting on social media and in the news, you can come to the conclusion that it isn't A Thing.

1. It's happened now and you did a good clear up of the obvious immediate danger. You did the right thing.

1. If it was remotely a Thing, someone on here would definitely have replied by now.

I think you should do whatever self care things make you feel calmer and relaxed and try to have an early night. Everything is ok.