I accidently broke a flourescent light bulb when it slipped from my fingers. A friend a week later told me they were toxic. I would have ignored his comment had I not had a burning throat.

This sent me on a quest to find the true answer.

The florescent lightbulbs being given out by states and marketed as a better alternative to the current light bulb are deadly.

They contain mercury. Which when vaporized are highly toxic to animals and humans. When you break one of these bulbs you are not supposed to use a vaccum cleaner to suck up the dust. That will contaminate your vaccum and scatter mercury throughout your home.

You are supposed to call your states environmental control and spend a LOT of money decontaminating your home.

Buyer Beware.

I hope you are feeling better.  I recently researched this topic, and found that if the bulb does break, it is suggested that you clean up the shards using electrician's tape.  That sounds like a great idea for cleaning up just about any type of small shards. 

I also saw suggestions that you wear gloves and eye protection when you change any bulb to prevent cuts or getting shards in your eyes