I recently read an article which stated that the incandescent light bulb, you know, the one Thomas Edison invented in 1880, is being phased out starting next year.
By 2014, only a few specialty incandescents will be available like three-way bulbs and lights for plants and appliances.
No more simple incandescent bulbs that cast that warm, cozy glow over the pages of your book as you curl up reading each evening in your favorite chair!
The incandescent bulb is being slowly but surely rooted out by the cold, impersonal light of the compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).    There is another option, called the LED bulbs, but as of this writing are virtually unknown in American stores.
So, at least for now, this leaves us with the CFLs.
My main beef with the CFLs is not the Antarctic light they cast.  While I don’t like CFL light nearly as much as the warm glow of incandescents, I could probably get used to it after a while.   I’ve also noticed some of the newer CFL bulbs cast a much warmer glow than a few years ago.
My issue is with the small amount of mercury present in each CFL bulb not to mention the amount of dirty electricity your family is exposed to when you use fluorescent bulbs around your home.
Supporters of CFLs say that the small amount of mercury in the bulbs is less than the mercury emissions from coal-fired power plants and CFLs use a lot less electricity than incandescents thereby significantly reducing those emissions.
My take is that mercury is a neurotoxin and is not safe in any amount, certainly not in your home.   What if that adventurous toddler knocks over a lamp and breaks one on your living room carpet?
The result is not just a pile of broken glass like what would happen with an incandescent bulb. The result is exposure to a potent neurotoxin.
I don’t personally derive any level of comfort from claims that the small amount of mercury from a broken CFL would not contaminate a home or require an environmental crew to clean up the mess.  The FDA makes similar claims about dental amalgams too, but the fact is that people are experiencing toxic effects from them just the same.
CFLs Not Recycled by Most People
Another worrisome problem is that most people throw CFLs in the trash rather than recycle them despite laws against this in many areas of the country.    Not only does this potentially expose sanitation workers to high levels of mercury from multiple broken bulbs but it has the likelihood of turning our landfills into toxic waste dumps.  What’s more, CFLs that break near homes can contaminate the soil.
Adding to the problem is the lack of participation by big retailers such as Wal-Mart in assisting with the recycling effort.
Even General Electric, which has manufactured CFLs for about 20 years, says the small amount of mercury in each CFL bulb could add up to big contamination problems once incandescents are no longer available and sales of the toxic bulbs rapidly increase.
Incandescents still represent about 80% of the market for bulbs in America with CFL bulbs accounting for only 17% of sales.
It seems to me that the switch from incandescent bulbs to CFLs represents a classic case of robbing Peter to pay Paul.   I, for one, will not be embracing the CFL trend.   I’ve got quite a stash of incandescents that should last me a good long while and when those run-out, hopefully, this new LED bulb technology will offer a decent non-toxic solution for my home.
Source
National Public Radio, CFL Bulbs Have One Hitch:Â Toxic Mercury
ONE broken CFL produces an equivalent mercury as one full can of tuna. That is a fact. If you eat a lot of tuna…you get a lot of mercury;)
Lets talk about the real issue here. Not the tan your going to get from these stupid bulbs, Mercury. I thought, because of all these news programs, the government, and granola munching idiots, saying the amount is tiny in them, that there really wasn’t much to worry about with these things. Boy was I wrong. Normally I hear comparisons 5 mg (its also not 5 mg its .9 to 20mg, thats an average) of mercury in a cfl to a thermometer’s 500 mg or a thermostat’s 3000 mg (they are both now not sold because they are too toxic just fyi so good comparison) it is a misnomer. A cfl when broken disperses that mercury into tiny droplets that readily evapourate into a vapor which is directly inhaled and absorbed through the lungs at a rate of 80-97%. The Maine CFL study shows that enough mercury can be dispursed immediately into the air that it can poison you or your children. Rates over .1 mg/m3 were measured from one bulb breaking OSHA limits (ceiling never to surpass limits) for adults in the workplace. Mercury’s evapouration rate is based on surface area, a CFL throws millions of microscopic droplets into the air instantly (high surface area=high evapouration rate) A thermometers mercury is liquid and only vapourizes at a rate of .056mg per c2 of surface area PER HOUR!! Making a thermometer only as dangerous if dispersed around (vacuumed, walked in). So if you put your nose an inch from a broken thermometer, in an hour you would only get a dose of around .056 mg of mercury vapour and that’s if you inhaled every last bit an inch over it. It’s the way cfls vaporize their small amount if mercury that makes them dangerous. Yet the thermometer and the thermostat phased out but something more dangerous than these brought in, and than promoted without warning the public of very serious cleanup. See epa cleanup. But you don’t have to believe me. Read this study where they actually broke them and measured the vapour.( Google Maine cfl study) and just for a reference here’s the workplace limits (google OSHA workplace mercury vapor limits). I think the news people need to do some studying or research and inform the public. ITS ONLY A LIITLE BIT OF MERCURY!!!
I brought these toxic things into my home. Guess what? One broke around my kids. And guess what? There are ZERO , yes ZERO epidemiological studies on the effects of this kind of acute exposure on developing brains. To add insult to injury it seems they contaminate your bedding, clothing and even contaminate your hardwood floor, even if proper EPA cleanup is done. So now I’m worried because I listened to news stations and the government both of which are supposed to inform and protect people. Its just a little bit of mercury, they say. Ya well break one in your home. Guess I’m the idiot that listened to “green” idiots and the stupid government.
Here is the link for a chemist that has a blog he is really knowledgeable.
http://www.heracliteanriver.com/?p=246
What no one seems to be talking about is all the UV radiation these new spiral CFL bulbs leak out. The bulbs work by passing a high voltage electrical current through mercury vapor, producing UV. The UV radiation then causes the phosphor coating the inside of the bulb to give off light. The problem is that cracks are formed in the phosphor during manufacturing when the tube is shaped into a spiral. This allows UV to get though when the bulb is on. In addition, CFLs seldom have acrylic diffusor panel coverings like fluorescent tubes in offices do.
I can’t imagine all this extra UV is good for everyone. After all, it is not a good idea to spend too many hours out in direct sunlight. It could lead to premature wrinkling and increase the risk of skin cancer.
I happen to be one of the individuals with skin sensitivity to these CFL spiral bulbs. My skin begins to feel irritated after about 20 minutes under CFL lighting. It feels as if my skin is being “ruffed up”, not exactly pain, but an uncomfortable mild soreness. It also strains my eyes after a while, and then for many hours afterwards my eyes continue to feel irritated. It’s like snowblindness, for those of you who have ever gone skiing.
I’ve slowly started buying LEDs.
already happened in australia
Absolutely agree!! You’re right, we should have a choice and the toxic mercury is definitely a bad trade off to our current bulbs. Stand up and scream at to your government taking away freedoms one by one. I have added skylights to my house and use no electric lights during the daytime, but of course night time we still need light. I’ll be stock piling bulbs soon enough.
I found 100’s on clearance, I bought what they had. Another inflationary and health robbing policy of our government.
Thanks
I’m so sick of the foolish “powers that be” nothing but a pain in the___!!!!