The light bulb deal (las week's news)

[Keith R]

Originally Posted by pyratt

Has anyone brought up the fact that these bulbs contain mercury and should one break you must use extreme care in the clean up and disposal.

Actually, I did raise it in post #14 (scroll up)

and not on the other key caveats mentioned in the Green Team article: mercury/proper disposal

and in the Green Team article itself.

[J D Sauser]

Originally Posted by pyratt

Has anyone brought up the fact that these bulbs contain mercury and should one break you must use extreme care in the clean up and disposal. Personally, I hate the color of the light they produce.

I have one in my house....

Keith R does in his Green Team writings:
http://www.dr1.com/blogs/entry.php?u...ment&e_id=3990
If my reading was correct, a CFL would contain a relatively small quantity of Mercury (5mg) but at the rate of 10 Millions that would amount to 50kg or 3.8 Liters (110 Lbs - 1 Gallon) of Mercury which will eventually find it's way into DR soil and waters.

... J-D.

[J D Sauser]

From wikipedia:

Broken and discarded lamps

Public adoption of CFLs has been slowed by one widely-circulated story of how the Maine Department of Environmental Resources detected mercury contamination following a residential CFL breakage incident, and the homeowner was presented with a US$2,000 estimate from an environmental cleanup firm.[42]
Spent lamps should be recycled to contain the small amount of mercury in each lamp, in preference to disposal in landfills. Only 3 percent of CFL bulbs are properly disposed of or recycled.[citation needed] In the European Union, CFLs are one of many products subject to the WEEE recycling scheme. The retail price includes an amount to pay for recycling, and manufacturers and importers have an obligation to collect and recycle CFLs. Safe disposal requires storing the bulbs unbroken until they can be processed. In the US, The Home Depot is the first retailer to make CFL recycling options widely available.[43]
Special handling upon breakage is currently not printed on the packaging of household CFL bulbs in many countries. It is important to note that the amount of mercury released by one bulb can exceed U.S. federal guidelines for chronic exposure.[44][45] Chronic however, implies that the exposure takes place over a long period of time. One time exposure to a trace amount of mercury is unlikely to be harmful. Conventional tubular fluorescent lamps have been used since 1938 with little concern about handling. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recommends that, in the absence of local guideline, fluorescent bulbs be double-bagged in plastic bags before disposal.[46]
The first step of processing CFLs involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or cold trap to contain mercury vapor. Many municipalities are purchasing such machines. The crushed glass and metal is stored in drums, ready for shipping to recycling factories.
According to the Northwest Compact Fluorescent Lamp Recycling Project, because household users have the option of disposing of these products in the same way they dispose of other solid waste, "a large majority of household CFLs are going to municipal solid waste". They additionally note that an EPA report on mercury emissions from fluorescent tube lamp disposal indicates the percentage of total mercury released from the following disposal options: municipal waste landfill 3.2%, recycling 3%, municipal waste incineration 17.55% and hazardous waste disposal 0.2%.[47]

From Yahoo's Fequently Asked Questions:

Do CFLs contain mercury?
CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass tubing – an average of 4 milligrams – about
the amount that would cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. By comparison, older thermometers contain about 500
milligrams of mercury – an amount equal to the mercury in 125 CFLs. Mercury is an essential part of CFLs; it
allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. No mercury is released when the bulbs are intact (not broken) or in
use.

Most makers of light bulbs have reduced mercury in their fluorescent lighting products. Thanks to technology
advances and a commitment from members of the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the average
mercury content in CFLs has dropped at least 20 percent in the past year. Some manufacturers have even made
further reductions, dropping mercury content to 1.4 – 2.5 milligrams per light bulb.

What are mercury emissions caused by humans?
EPA estimates the U.S. is responsible for the release of 104 metric tons of mercury emissions each year. Most of
these emissions come from coal-fired electrical power. Mercury released into the air is the main way that mercury
gets into water and bio-accumulates in fish. (Eating fish contaminated with mercury is the main way for humans to
be exposed.)

Most mercury vapor inside fluorescent light bulbs becomes bound to the inside of the light bulb as it is used. EPA
estimates that the rest of the mercury within a CFL – about 11 percent – is released into air or water when it is
sent to a landfill, assuming the light bulb is broken. Therefore, if all 290 million CFLs sold in 2007 were sent to a
landfill (versus recycled, as a worst case) – they would add 0.13 metric tons, or 0.1 percent, to U.S. mercury
emissions caused by humans.

How do CFLs result in less mercury in the environment compared to traditional light
bulbs?
Electricity use is the main source of mercury emissions in the U.S. CFLs use less electricity than incandescent
lights, meaning CFLs reduce the amount of mercury into the environment. As shown in the table below, a 13-watt,
8,000-rated-hour-life CFL (60-watt equivalent; a common light bulb type) will save 376 kWh over its lifetime, thus
avoiding 4.5 mg of mercury. If the bulb goes to a landfill, overall emissions savings would drop a little, to 4.2 mg.
EPA recommends that CFLs are recycled where possible, to maximize mercury savings.

... J-D.

[Keith R]

As I have pointed out before in another thread in the Environment Forum, the Maine housewife story has since been shown to be an urban legend running around the internet, disowned by the environmental authorities in Maine themselves. You have to be careful with putting too much faith in Wikipedia.

[hi-tec]

LED (light emitting diode) is the answer, last longer, it is cool, consume much less power, does not use mercury (a toxic metal)

I have used them as replacemet when incandescent lamps burnout in my car, and never buy a flashligh unless it is LED

LED is bein used for traffic light everywhere
it can me dimmed

light can be modulated (not detected by the human eye) so can work as "bluetooth" or "WI-FI", to communicate with other devices and future VEHICLES, the applications are unlimited, for traffic warnings etc

[J D Sauser]

Originally Posted by hi-tec

LED (light emitting diode) is the answer, last longer, it is cool, consume much less power, does not use mercury (a toxic metal)

I have used them as replacemet when incandescent lamps burnout in my car, and never buy a flashligh unless it is LED

LED is bein used for traffic light everywhere
it can me dimmed

light can be modulated (not detected by the human eye) so can work as "bluetooth" or "WI-FI", to communicate with other devices and future VEHICLES, the applications are unlimited, for traffic warnings etc

... and lumen per lumen LED is yet to expensive. Yes, it may become the answer someday soon but not today. LED works well as a sign light (a stop or brake light on a vehicle) but a an illuminating device, it is only starting to find use in applications like pool lights and other places where large lights are OK.
The world has been using neon quite indiscriminately many decades now... many systems which used multiples of mercury (per watt or lumen) than what today's CFL use. Yes, I agree, LED needs to continue it's recent development but as of today we can't afford just to stand still, waiting on an emerging technology.


... J-D.

[hi-tec]

as always, follow the money and find out who is to blame for holding good proven inventions from reaching mass market.The only 'waiting' is on the ones who control economic strings (folLow the money)

As energy (oil, $), contamination, and global warming is concerned, get rid of the ICE (internal combustion engine) car, or make them burn hydrogen only.

btw tthe gov is going in the right direction in that regard, trying to convert vehicles from gasoline to natural gas.

spacecraft have been using hydrogen as fuel for decades, And remember WATER is H2O.

why can't people use hydrogen in their cars? (follow the money for the answer).

what ever happened to the "hydrogen highway" in california ?

electric cars are much more efficient than gasolilne, but manufactures are still playing with hybrids, at a low level.

[windeguy]

After reading up on fuel cells, there are several obstacles to their widespread use. One of them is the high cost because they require a fair amount of platinum used. Also, obtaining hydrogen is expensive, but as the prices of other fuels rise, this will become less of a barrier. From the reading I did, there would not even be enough platinum available to replace all of the internal combustion engines of the world.

Technologists are working on fuel cells that don't need platinum. There is one such prototype fuel cell, but it works on hydrazine instead of elemental hydrogen. I don't think anyone wants a car with hydrazine in the tank. It is really nasty stuff.

Hopefully researchers will "find the money" to come up with a less expensive fuel cell that uses hydrogen as well as more cost effective methods to obtain hydrogen. Only then will fuel cell powered electric cars become a practical solution.

[gmiller261]

as metal hydrides?

I saw that proposed several years ago.

Safe Hydrogen Storage Devices