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The CFL Light bulb scareHave you heard of the recent ordinance signed by President Bush regarding the gradual phasing out of incandescent bulbs, starting with the highest wattage bulbs initially, and extending the same to 40 wattsbulbs by 2012? (On 19 December 2007, United States President George W. Bush signed the EnergyIndependence and Security Act of 2007)These bulbs will cease to exist by then and will have onlynostalagical value after 2012, and children born after two or three generations later will learn aboutthese bulbs only from history books.Not only in US, replacement of incandescent bulbs by CFL/LED bulbs for domestic and other lightingpurposes is a worldwide phenomenoa, a number of countries having already passed necessarylegislation in this regard.What is the reason for this, and why are we bidding good bye to the good old incandescent bulbs,hanging with a long wire from our roofs? They had their own charm, and used to come in variousornamental shades, and bore the hallmark of wealth and fame by hanging in rich people

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s houses.The main reason is that they emit light by burning themselves, and produce harmful carbondioxide,releasing the same into the atmosphere. They are therefore contributing to Global Warming, along witha number of of heat generating products like refrigerators, Airconditioners etc. In fact, our yearning forbodily comforts of any type, be it transport, lighting, travel etc contribute substantially to GlobalWarming, and unless we do something about in the matter, we are heading for unknown frontiers.It is in this context, as an alternatives to our old incadenscent bulbs, the CFL bulb technology has come.The CFL bulbs have become extremely popular and acceptable since 1980s. They use a quarter of theenergy of incandescents, they last seven to ten times longer, they save homeowners money and theyhelp reduce our impact on the environment. They come in all shapes and sizes, colors and intensitiesand a lot of people are using them these days. People using CFLs are very satisfied with their bulbs andthe energy savings and want to get more of them for their needs.But there is a small rider here. The CFL bulbs contain approximately four mgms of mercury, a dangeroustoxic substance, and may sometimes escape as a vapour, causing untold harm by its penetration into thegroundwaterThe comment below is common:

What about the Mercury clean-up when they break? Floresent [sic] lamps all have mercury in them andthe main problem with them is that it is a vapor

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Why would you fix one so-called problem withanother even greater problem

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The ground water will become contaminated with this heavy metal andwe will not be able to use it.But is this argument correct?Using CFLs actually helps to REDUCE the amount of mercury in the environment. Most of our electricityis produced by burning coal. This process not only produces massive amount of carbon dioxide, adangerous greenhouse gas, but also mercury. By using products such as compact fluorescent light bulbsand therefore using less electricity,we can help reduce the amount of coal burned and thus the amountof pollutants pumped into our environment. In fact, coal-fired power accounts for roughly 40% of mercury emissions in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency of thatcountry.Further, even if the CFL breaks and the 4 milligrams of mercury escapes, it is polluting less than anincandescent would. If you never break that CFL, and recycle it properly at a local household hazardouswaste site or hardware store, then you will be emitting a fifth of the mercury than if you were usingincandescents to light your home. If a CFL breaks, you

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re still polluting less than if you were using anincandescent. You just simply follow the proper procedure to clean up the bulb - open windows and letthe room air out, do not use bare hands or a vacuum cleaner and bring the pieces in a plastic bag withyour other bulbs when you recycle them.Ultimately, is it true,when broken, energy-saving light bulbs (CFLs) loose dangerous amounts of mercuryinto a home.?:l CFLs contain mercury, a dangerous substance: True.l While mercury stays safely contained in intact CFLs, it escapes from broken CFLs into the immediatesurroundings: True.l The amount of mercury contained in one CFL bulb poses a grave danger to a home's inhabitants:False.l But folks do need to handle the breakage of a CFL bulb with a great deal of care and follow certainprocedures in removing the broken bulb and its contents from the home: True.l An environmental clean-up crew needs be called in to deal with the mercury dispersed by one brokenCFL bulb: False.

What , if any, are the problems with these CFL Lamps?Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs), whose use is estimated to result in a $47 savings in energy costsover the life of each bulb versus incandescents, have had their critics. They take longer to switch on.Regular CFLs won't work with dimmer switches. They can interfere with radios,cordless phones, and remote controls.They also contain mercury, a fact that causes no small amount of concern in light of how dangerous thatsubstance is. Yet the amount housed in each bulb is very small,about 5 milligrams, which is about thesize of the period at the end of a sentence.And, provided the bulbs aren't broken open, none of that leaches into the home.Like batteries, used CFLs need to be disposed at a toxic waste depot rather than tossed out with theordinary household trash. Because mercury is cumulative, this poisonous element would add up if all thespent bulbs went into a landfill. Instead, the mercury in dead bulbs is reclaimed at such depots andrecycled.As to the potential for harm posed by mercury escaping from broken bulbs, says the King CountyHazardous Waste Program: "Crushing and breaking fluorescent lamps release mercury vapor andmercury-containing phosphor powder. These can be difficult to contain."Case of, Mrs Brandy Bridges,Prospect, Maine WashingtonMotivated by lot of publicity,Mrs Brandy Bridges, a resident of Prospect, Maine, Washington, went outand bought two dozen CFLs and began installing them in her home. One broke. A month later, herdaughter's bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, whileBridges works on a way to pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally soundcleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.Is this expenditure justified? Perhaps no, if you can follow all the necessary precautiuons, mentionedbelow:-Before Clean-up: Ventilate the Room1. Have people and pets leave the room, and don't let anyone walk through the breakage area on theirway out.

Category:	Research > Science
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Upload Date:	05/19/2009
Copyright:	Attribution Non-commercial
Tags:	environment environment (fewer)

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