Personally, I hate fluorescent lights! I hate the type of light it gives off and my daughter gets headaches as a result of them. My husband said he heard that the non-fluo lights were going to be banned. I was in a panic!
Mercury in Fluorescent Light Bulbs
Low-wattage fluorescent bulbs are being pushed heavily now that their prices have come down. However, there is a catch: They contain small amounts of mercury.
NPR reports in
CFL Bulbs Have One Hitch: Toxic Mercury:
“The problem with the bulbs is that they’ll break before they get to the landfill. They’ll break in containers, or they’ll break in a dumpster or they’ll break in the trucks. Workers may be exposed to very high levels of mercury when that happens,” says John Skinner, executive director of the Solid Waste Association of North America, the trade group for the people who handle trash and recycling.
Skinner says when bulbs break near homes, they can contaminate the soil.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and it’s especially dangerous for children and fetuses. Most exposure to mercury comes from eating fish contaminated with mercury.
However, some fish naturally absorb mercury that is found in nature. So technically it’s not always “contamination.”
However,
The head of the Environmental Protection Agency program concedes that not enough has been done to urge people to recycle CFL bulbs and make it easier for them to do so.
“I share your frustration that there isn’t a national infrastructure for the proper recycling of this product,” says Wendy Reed, who manages EPA’s Energy Star program.
She says that even though fluorescent bulbs contain mercury, using them contributes less mercury to the environment than using regular incandescent bulbs. That’s because they use less electricity — and coal-fired power plants are the biggest source of mercury emissions in the air.
Can the mercury be removed?
EPA also has asked retailers to sell the lower mercury compact bulbs that some manufacturers are making. Engineers say you can’t cut mercury out completely.
General Electric has been making compact fluorescents for 20 years. Now the company admits that the little bit of mercury in each bulbs could become a real problem if sales balloon as expected.
It’s ironic how the ultimate symbol of green products, fluorescent bulbs, really aren’t all that green. Many have warnings on the label concerning mercury content, so this really isn’t a new revelation. It reminds me of how many environmentalists are turning to nuclear power, once the evil of all evils, because nuclear is more climate-friendly. Sometimes we can control toxics to better improve the world.
Maybe we need to focus on how much mercury really is dangerous. Or is this really a problem? These bulbs are supposed to last for years, so we shouldn’t be overwhelmed by them for many years. Will it be enough mercury to make a noticeable increase against existing or naturally occurring mercury? Take a deep breath everyone and we will find a solution. The bulbs still can reduce energy usage, just don’t break them.
Mercury in Fluorescent Light Bulbs
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