A few minutes ago, one of our smoke detectors activated. A nearby compact fluorescent light bulb was flickering and pouring out white smoke. Wow those things smell bad and get really hot when they die.

Is this a normal failure? It seems kind of dangerous.

I just contacted GE about the bulb. They said it happens, but it is rare. Apparently it was the ballast going bad.

They are sending a coupon for a replacement bulb and a pre-paid mailer so I can send the failed bulb back to them.

Don't those bulbs contain mercury and phosphorus?

You might want to call Poison Control and have a chat:
1-800-222-1222

Fluorescent might be cheaper, but they're not as safe as incandescent.

They do, but mainly in the glass part. I don't know if there would be any difference between CFL ballast and your run of the mill office overhead lighting. The cautions on the packaging all warn about if the bulb breaks, not ballast failure. Sounds like the smoke detector earned it's keep today

Glad you're OK. Doesn't sound like anything I have experienced with my CFL lamps. How were you using it? In an enclosed housing, or "open air"?

One of the problems with mass migration to CFL's are that the housings intended for incandescent bulbs retain too much heat for long CFL service life. That's a particularly annoying problem when you spend the money on good quality CFL's, only to have them die prematurely from overheating. That actually tilts the cost/benefit calculations you often see regarding the overall cost savings of CFL's versus incandescent.

A guy I knew had a bunch of very cheap CFL's that he used in some ceiling cans and he went through that pack faster than he would have with just incandescent bulbs. That was a waste of money.

My other concern with the world moving to CFL's is that I assume they don't do well in cold - like other fluorescent lighting.

If so, they simply cannot be used in our horse barn. If incandescent bulbs disappear its back to using Coleman lanterns in winter - another safety issue in a barn.

The bulb was installed in a basement light fixture. The fixture is the old fashioned ceramic base that is open, not recessed. The bulb was pointing down. The switch is a standard on/off wall switch.

I don't think anything about the installation should have led to a problem.

I think you're supposed to call Hazmat.

Seriously, GE has FAQ's on these bulbs on its website, including the smoking situation:

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_lighting/ask_us/faq_compact.htm

And I do recall reading that if one breaks you're supposed to clear the room of children and pets.

You might be right but...

I've read about CFL's that have plastic bases, instead of ceramic, and were installed upside down. Evidently the plastic bases don't hold up well to the extra heat when they are upside down. This may not have come into play on your bulb but maybe it's something to consider when buying new units. <shrug>

Do you call for the Hazmat team when a regular 4' fluorescent tube breaks? Because there is FAR MORE mercury in one of those than there is in a CFL.

Some of the precautions are a bit overkill and are simply fear mongering, however, ventilating the room/house IS a good idea as well as removing yourself/kids/pets from the area for a little while so the mercury vapour can dissipate.

Wearing gloves while picking up the pieces, don't use your vacuum cleaner as the bits of mercury can just contaminate the equipment and pass it around. Double bag the waste and any towels, gloves, etc. used to clean up the debris and then dispose of in the proper manner by contacting an enviro centre.