Personal Injury Law

Mercury Warning About Energy Efficient Fluorescent Bulbs

By Jane Akre

They are touted as energy-efficient alternative to combat global warning when compared to the standard light bulbs. 

But those spiral-twisted compact fluorescent tubes actually do nothing for the environment if they break. Two reports conclude that the bulbs contain mercury and pose a risk of mercury poisoning to infants, young children and pregnant women.

It is recommended if the bulb breaks, get children and pets out of the room immediately and ventilate the room. Do not use a vacuum but rather use stiff paper such as cardboard or index cards to pick up the pieces.  Then wipe the areas with a damp paper towl. 

The reports come from the state of Maine and the Mercury Policy Project.   

Keep on using the bulbs they say because of the energy savings. The bulbs use about 1 percent of the amount of mercury you might find in an old thermometer. Unfortunately there is no known substitute for mercury's ability to produce light.  And at 1 to 30 milligrams of mercury compare that to 48 tons of mercury released from power plants.

Just to make sure, researchers in Maine shattered 65 of the compact fluorescent bulbs. They then tested air quality.  That's when the levels of mercury vapor sometimes exceeded federal guidelines for exposure- by as much as 100 times.

Using even more precaution, if there are pregnant women in the house, the study recommends you consider removing the piece of carpet where the glass broke as a precaution then put the debris in a glass jar and screw on the top and remove it from the house.

Depending on what state you live in dictates disposal. Vermont, Minnesota and California ban disposal in trash. Maine and Massachusetts are participating in compact fluorescent recycling programs.

More than 290 million of the bulbs were sold last year. According to the federal government, if we all used them, the U.S. would save $600 million in energy costs every year and prevent greenhouse gas equal to 800,000 cars. #

Full post as published by InjuryBoard on February 26, 2008 (boomark / email).