Mercury Pollution from Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFLs)

NPR reports on the dangers of mercury in compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs):

Wal-Mart wants to sell 100 million compact fluorescent light bulbs this year. The Environmental Protection Agency has almost the same goal. The bulbs save energy and reduce emissions of the greenhouse gases that contribute to climate change.

But there’s a hitch: Each bulb contains about 5 milligrams of mercury, a toxic heavy metal.

The bulbs last a long time, but eventually they burn out. The EPA says that people should recycle them, but most people don’t know they should.

This blog talked about this issue before, and back then I also remarked on my experience in Uganda and theÂ near ubiquity of CFLs.

If the US doesn’t have the capabilities to safely dispose of mercury in CFLs, and the US population isn’t informed about this or is able to do anything about it, what are the people in Uganda to do? I’m sure people are just throwing these into the trash, sending the mercury straight into the soil and ground water, and back into the people. Bad stuff.

One of the problems with mass recycling is that the bulbs inevitably break and leak, so you can’t just put out bins for people to drop them off or for services to come by and pick them up. Technology may be able to reduce the amount of mercury, but right now there’s no way to avoid it. Maybe in the scheme of things, this isn’t as bad as other solid waste problems–sewage treatment, electronics and circuit boards–and the energy savings are worth it. With rolling black-outs, more people have light more of the time because of the significant reduction in energy consumption. Maybe this is something the world will have to live with for now.

Environment, International, News, Sustainability, Technology | paul | February 15, 2007 6:24 pm

13 Comments

By Jason Petty, February 16, 2007 @ 11:40 am

I have been in the lighting business for 20 years and have witnessed the evolution of the CFL. What I have found that the key to liking the light is directly associated to the brand bulb you buy. It is all about color temperature. Some brands cast a â€œwhiteâ€ light that is not easy on the eyes – what you want to look for are bulbs that truly produce 2700K.

We sell nearly every brand out there but I can absolutely say that what you want in your house is TCP brand. TCP is the largest producer of CFLâ€™s in the world and from our experience as a distributor; we believe they are the closest to producing true 2700K. Whether you buy them from us is your choice but it makes me sick when I go into someoneâ€™s house and their yellow walls turned green – simply because of the color temp that the CFL produce.

Another option is Cold Cathode technology. These are lower wattage bulbs that produce a nice yellow light and come in a variety of designs. They work great in lamps that you want to leave on all the time. I have them in lamps in our house and they never go offâ€¦ and I can unscrew them at any point with our burning my hand. They take a while to warm up but they are great for the environment and they cast a good light. Here is a link if you want to check them out.

http://www.soslightbulbs.com/shop/customer/home.php?cat=1703

We all want everyone to convert to CFLâ€™s or LEDâ€™s or even the newest technology Cold Cathode Lamps BUT we all need to have a good experience when we plug them in AND actually like the light output. If any of you need or want to learn more go to http://www.soslightbulbs.com then click the home icon in the center of the page – we have put some pretty informative stuff on there, even a energy savings calculator.

I know that this sounds like I am selling BUT I want everyone to have a good experience with a conversion to low wattage CFLâ€™s whether or not they buy them from SOS is really up to you. I think Home Depot is carrying a decent line of CFLâ€™s that we have tested if you would prefer to buy them there. What is ultimately important is that we all try to conserve where we can and be less dependant on power companies to produce more and more energy through environmentally unfriendly means such as coal plants.

http://www.SOSLightBulbs.com
By Ray, April 5, 2007 @ 9:45 am

What about where the compacts are MADE?
China makes the CF’s and that it is a cole fired plant which puts off MUCH MUCH more in toxic emissions than incondescent bulbs do.
When they are used, they save a little bit of energy, however, when they are created, they punish the earth. What is worse? It sounds like an even trade off, however, I don’t want the mercury in my home. I’ll be stocking up on Incondescents just incase our government starts feeling “green”.
By jd1261, April 8, 2007 @ 6:35 pm

Of course Walmart wants to sell these light bulbs. They are going to make a killing off these once the government mandates their use. China will be happy also. They will sure have to ramp up their coal burning plants for the juice to run these CFL plants. What about the record 200 billion trade deficit with China or that it’s the second largest holder of American debt.

Sooner or later there is going to have to be tarriffs on China’s imports into the U.S.. So the cost of these CFL bulbs will probably double.

China and Saudi Arabia are making deals with U.S. companies that will provide tons of jobs overseas — work Americans could be doing. What is the U.S. doing to fight back? Mandating use of these products in our homes and work places.
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