[mmasters]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')ASHINGTON – Brandy Bridges heard the claims of government officials, environmentalists and retailers like Wal-Mart all pushing the idea of replacing incandescent light bulbs with energy-saving and money-saving compact fluorescent lamps.

So, last month, the Prospect, Maine, resident went out and bought two dozen CFLs and began installing them in her home. One broke. A month later, her daughter's bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, while Bridges works on a way to pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally sound cleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.

With everyone from Al Gore to Wal-Mart to the Environmental Protection Agency promoting CFLs as the greatest thing since, well, the light bulb, consumers have been left in the dark about a problem they will all face eventually – how to get rid of the darn things when they burn out or, worse yet, break.

http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=55213

[killJOY]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')There's no way out."--Robert Newman

[Ludi]

"Compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs) last far longer and use electricity more efficiently than conventional incandescent bulbs. Buy them if you can. They do contain a minuscule amount of mercury -- roughly four milligrams, or an amount the size of the period at the end of this sentence. (By comparison, a watch battery can contain up to 25 milligrams of mercury.) Hence, when a compact fluorescent bulb has reached the end of its long life, you should, if possible, take it to a hazardous-waste disposal facility rather than dumping it in the trash.

That said, the mercury in compact fluorescent bulbs currently does not pose a major problem -- and you know I don't take pollutants lightly. In municipalities such as Grist's hometown of Seattle, which is emphasizing conservation as a cost-cutting measure and pushing CFLs to the point of sending them free to ratepayers, there is an attendant concern about the solid-waste-disposal effects down the road. But let me emphasize: The tiny punctuation of mercury should not stop you from buying CFLs, any more than it stops you from wearing a watch.

One final note: Burning fossil fuels to generate electricity creates mercury pollution. Thus using compact fluorescent bulbs actually reduces mercury pollution, because CFLs use far less electricity than incandescent bulbs."
http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2003/01 ... a-mercury/

"Is it true that CFLs contain mercury? Why and how much?
CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing - an average of 5 milligrams (roughly equivalent to the tip of a ball-point pen). Mercury is an essential, irreplaceable element in CFLs and is what allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. By comparison, older home thermometers contain 500 milligrams of mercury and many manual thermostats contain up to 3000 milligrams. It would take between 100 and 600 CFLs to equal those amounts.

There is currently no substitute for mercury in CFLs; however, manufacturers have taken significant steps to reduce mercury used in their fluorescent lighting products over the past decade.

Download the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) fact sheet on Mercury in CFLs. (PDF, 17 KB)"

http://www.gelighting.com/na/home_light ... m#mercur...



"Q 2: I've heard CF bulbs have dangerous levels of mercury in them. What happens if I break one? Can I throw it in my garbage?

A 2: CF bulbs have about 4.0 milligrams of mercury in them to assist with starting. A troy ounce of mercury equals 31 grams, so 4.0 milligrams is about 1/1,000 of that amount. That amount of mercury is about the volume that would fill the size of the period at the end of this sentence. That amount of mercury is not dangerous in the home, but only becomes problematic when large amounts of CF bulbs are disposed in waste dumps.

If you accidentally break a CF bulb, the broken glass is more problematic than the mercury, as what mercury is left will be released into the air in a gaseous state."

http://www.seattle.gov/light/Conserve/R ... v5_lw2.htm

[pedalling_faster]

there's a pharmacy on Geary in San Francisco that is selling these for $1 for 2 bulbs; they are well-stocked.

my personal gripe with these is - i was cleaning in the boudoir and broke one. i didn't know for sure about the mercury but the dust & glass shards - to use a California term - GNARLY.

i think it's better to use low-wattage incandescents in locations where they are more likely to get broken.

[Falconoffury]

I believe that LED lighting technology uses even less energy for the amount of light produced. It would be nice if someone developed a way to make those comparable to standard light bulbs in size and light intensity.

[Plantagenet]

Mercury is an extremely hazardous substance. It is also volatile at high temperatures. Whose bright idea was it to sell lightbulbs with mercury in them?

You couldn't find a more FRAGILE, UNSAFE container for mercury than a lightbulb.

Perhaps we should have warning labels or laws prohibiting the use of fluorescent bulbs in children's rooms, schools, etc.?



"Mercury exposure in very young children can have severe neurological consequences, preventing nerve sheaths from forming properly. Research has been done that demonstrates the inhibitory effect that mercury has on myelin, the building block protein that forms these sheaths.[1]
Mercury poisoning in the young is suspected as a possible cause of autistic behaviors....."

[frankthetank]

Power plants spew out mercury from coal burning, so yeah, i doubt whats in lights is any worse...

[The_Toecutter]

Power plants are also sewing out small amounts of radioactive wastes. But the real truth is, the overall environmental impact of flourescent lightbulbs is reduced over incandescient ones.

LED lightbulbs are rapidly improving. Indoor pot growers are starting to fancy the prospect of using them due to their low energy consumption per lumen emitted. The overall amount of lumens per each unit of space dedicated to generating light with LED bulbs is still low compared to flourescents and incandescents(a 9W LED bulb built to fit a 60W incandescent socket will generate about half the light of the incandescent), and the cost per unit is very expensive due to relatively low volume($70-90 for a 9W LED bulb is the lower end of the price range). Give it five to ten years. The current industry making incandescent lightbulbs is none too thrilled with LED versions, given their 100,000+ hour life.


Basically, here's a breakdown:

Incandescent: ~20 lumens per watt, 1000 hour life
Flourescent: ~60 lumens per watt, 15000 hour life
LED: ~50 lumens per watt, 100000 hour life

[Plantagenet]

In the past asbestos insulation was put into schools to "save energy."

Now we know asbestos can cause lung cancer.

Now we are putting fluorescent light bulbs into schools to "save energy."

We already know mercury is a dangerous poison, especially to children.

[dukey]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e already know mercury is a dangerous poison, especially to children.

[Newsseeker]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('dukey', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'W')e already know mercury is a dangerous poison, especially to children.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', '"')...what mercury is left will be released into the air in a gaseous state."

[Plantagenet]

"Fluorescent lamps are in fact the best choice because of their energy efficiency, but they also contain mercury, a highly persistent and toxic chemical that is building up to dangerous concentrations in fish, wildlife, and human beings throughout the US. For this reason, INFORM recommends buying fluorescent lamps with the lowest mercury content possible, and ensuring that they are recycled at end of life to prevent the release of mercury to the environment."

http://www.informinc.org/fact_P3fluorescentlamps.php

Seems reasonable. The toxic effects of mercury are well established.

[jupiters_release]

Thanks for posting this!

I figure by the time they make mercury-less bulbs illegal TSWHAHTF so it won't matter too much.

[sysfce2]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'N')ow we are putting fluorescent light bulbs into schools to "save energy."

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('sysfce2', 'A')re you serious? .

[Plantagenet]

Most compact flourescent bulbs are made in China and most are sold through WALMART.

States in the USA are just waking up to the environmental hazards associated with fluorescent bulbs

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... t=1&f=1001

"Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and it's especially dangerous for children and fetuses."
--npr story on fluorescent bulbs

[Zentric]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Plantagenet', 'M')ost compact flourescent bulbs are made in China and most are sold through WALMART.

States in the USA are just waking up to the environmental hazards associated with fluorescent bulbs

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/stor ... t=1&f=1001

"Mercury is a potent neurotoxin, and it's especially dangerous for children and fetuses."
--npr story on fluorescent bulbs

[Plantagenet]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('frankthetank', 'P')ower plants spew out mercury from coal burning, so yeah, i doubt whats in lights is any worse...

[Plantagenet]

Mercury is similar to lead in that both are heavy metals and neurotoxins.

Lead paint was once thought to be safe for schools and homes, but is now banned.

Mercury is probably even more toxic then lead.

Signs/symptoms of Mercury Poisoning

Muscle cramps or tremors
Headache
Tachycardia
Intermittent fever
Acrodynia
Personality change
Neurological dysfunction
Can produce severe birth defects