MERCURY WARNING: Compact fluorescent lightbulbs contain very small amounts of mercury and care must be taken in disposing of them or when they break.
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Lightbulbs break all the time. So why would a single broken bulb in a Maine household trigger the state's Department of Environmental Protection to refer the homeowner to a decontaminator?
The answer lies in the type of bulb that broke—a compact fluorescent lightbulb—and what was inside that bulb. Compact fluorescents, like their tubular fluorescent precursors, contain a small amount of mercury—typically around five milligrams. Mercury is essential to a fluorescent bulb's ability to emit light; no other element has proved as efficient.
As effective as it is at enabling white light, however, mercury—sometimes called quicksilver—is also highly toxic. It is especially harmful to the brains of both fetuses and children. That's why officials have curtailed or banned its use in applications from thermometers to automotive and thermostat switches. (A single thermostat switch, still common in many homes, may contain 3,000 milligrams (0.1 ounce) of mercury, or as much as 600 compact fluorescents.)
The problem comes when a bulb breaks. Mercury escapes as vapor that can be inhaled and as a fine powder that can settle into carpet and other textiles. At least one case of mercury poisoning has been linked to fluorescents: A 1987 article in Pediatrics describes a 23-month-old who suffered weight loss and severe rashes after a carton of eight-foot (2.4-meter) tubular bulbs broke in a play area.
State and federal government agencies say that breakages, though deserving of caution, can usually be cleaned up inexpensively with household goods. (In the Maine case, the state acknowledges providing the referral but insists the homeowner was informed that such a step was unnecessary.)
Jim Berlow, director of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Hazardous Waste Minimization and Management Division, recommends starting by opening the windows and stepping outside. "Any problems at all frequently are handled for the most part by quickly ventilating the room," he says. "Get all the people and pets out of the room for 15 minutes and let the room air out. If you have a central heating system or an HVAC [heating, ventilating and air-conditioning] system, you don't want it sucking the fumes around, so shut that down."
The important thing is not to touch the heavy metal. After airing out the room, the larger pieces of the bulb should be scooped off hard surfaces with stiff paper or cardboard or picked up off carpeted surfaces with gloves to avoid contact. Use sticky tape or duct tape to pick up smaller fragments; then, on hard surfaces, wipe down the area with a damp paper towel or a wet wipe. All materials should be placed in a sealable plastic bag or, even better, in a glass jar with a metal lid.
"If it gets in the jar, that's pretty good containment," Berlow states. "We've found that the plastic bags actually don't contain any mercury fumes, so absolutely, if you've got the plastic bag, get it outside when you're done." Vacuums or brooms should generally be avoided, as they can spread mercury to other parts of the house.
Intact bulbs can be a headache to dispose of, too. In many locales it is illegal to throw fluorescents out with regular garbage, but the closest recycling or take-back facility may be miles away. (And, given the number of bottles and cans that end up in landfills despite the prevalence of curbside recycling programs, it seems likely that any barrier to recycling will make for relatively low reclamation rates; in 2004 the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers estimated a residential mercury bulb recycling rate of 2 percent.) Many municipal waste facilities and some vendors accept fluorescents; the EPA and Earth 911 maintain online directories of collection sites. Among major retailers of fluorescents, IKEA offers to take back compact fluorescent bulbs in its stores free of charge.
"Our first preference is not to see them go into landfills," Berlow says. "Recycling really closes the loop on this as best we can right now. But on the other hand, we also don't see huge risks from them going into landfills, either."
And compact fluorescent bulbs actually reduce the mercury pollution from the single largest U.S. source: coal-fired power plants. "Probably the most important thing that people need to connect with compact fluorescents is that they save significant quantities of energy," Berlow adds. "We're talking about two thirds to three quarters of the energy associated with lighting being reduced."
James Dakin, senior consulting engineer at GE Lighting in Cleveland, says that a mercury-free lighting replacement may be in the works: light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are advancing rapidly. "LEDs are perhaps the most promising mercury-free alternative," he says, "but they currently fall far short in the overall efficiency/color/cost trade-off."
But for as long as fluorescents reign, don't look for a mercury phaseout. "Lots of other atoms and molecules have been investigated," Dakin explains, "but nobody has found anything as practical and efficient as mercury."
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22 Comments
Add CommentOh, no, you've been suckered into this story. Look it up, folks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/05/compact_fluorescent_lights_are.php
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Steve Milloy, junk science peddler and loser, has a new crusade: he is opposed to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
How much money does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent light bulb? About US$4.28 for the bulb and labour -- unless you break the bulb. Then you, like Brandy Bridges of Ellsworth, Maine, could be looking at a cost of about US$2,004.28, which doesn't include the costs of frayed nerves and risks to health.
Sound crazy?
Yes, Steve, it does sound crazy. It doesn't help that it's coming from you, either. Can we get more details on Brandy Bridges' story?
Uh-oh. It's World Net Daily. We've gone from the dishonest industry shill with no credibility to the house organ of addle-pated right-wing conspiracy theorists and angry grandpas who hate those damn kids on their lawn. But OK, here's their story....
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[Edited: Honest, I clicked once; somehow you show four copies, though the total count of responses didn't go up -- hiccups in the Intertubes? -- and the edit timestamp is earlier than the posting timestamp. Curiouser ...]
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Edited by hankroberts at 04/10/2008 3:17 PM
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Edited by hankroberts at 04/10/2008 3:19 PM
Oh, no, you've been suckered into this story. Look it up, folks.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://scienceblogs.com/pharyngula/2007/05/compact_fluorescent_lights_are.php
Steve Milloy, junk science peddler and loser, has a new crusade: he is opposed to compact fluorescent light bulbs.
How much money does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent light bulb? About US$4.28 for the bulb and labour -- unless you break the bulb. Then you, like Brandy Bridges of Ellsworth, Maine, could be looking at a cost of about US$2,004.28, which doesn't include the costs of frayed nerves and risks to health.
Sound crazy?
Yes, Steve, it does sound crazy. It doesn't help that it's coming from you, either. Can we get more details on Brandy Bridges' story?
Uh-oh. It's World Net Daily. We've gone from the dishonest industry shill with no credibility to the house organ of addle-pated right-wing conspiracy theorists and angry grandpas who hate those damn kids on their lawn. But OK, here's their story....
Hank: if you re-read the story, I think you'll see it's in agreement with what you've linked to. This passage in particular: "State and federal government agencies say that breakages, though deserving of caution, can usually be cleaned up inexpensively with household goods. (In the Maine case, the state acknowledges providing the referral but insists the homeowner was informed that such a step was unnecessary.)"
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisYeah, it was "news" sometime last month in the Boulder/Denver area --- it appeared on the local television station as a news story -- one of my inlaws told me about it, believing it was (a) new and (b) factual and (c) news.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAnd I went to the Web and showed her line by line what they were quoting -- Milloy's PR hit piece distributed for the coal companies.
Read the links at Pharyngula.
No point re-beating this horsemeat.
It's a hit piece posing as news and it's ba-a-a-a-ck.
lets see, a 2 year old gets a rash after the equivalent of about 100 CFLs bulbs are broken in the play area, Hmm, I'd say they are safe!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisTo me this ranks right up there with keeping sharp objects & plastic bags from toddlers. Common sense should tell you that the internals of fluorescent tubes are toxic. Kerosene heaters were popular a few years back, properly cared for they provided moist comfortable heat. But despite warnings people didn't think to provide ventilation for the rooms they were in. The results were predictable.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSorry I spoke so soon, I didn't get the gist of the story till I read your insert. Interesting article.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisSo, let's see. Mercury is highly toxic. Unless it's in a politically correct light bulb. Then it's no big deal. And, so what if you have to ventilate and evacuate a room when the bulb breaks, then carefully scoop up mercury droplets with cardboard and seal them in a plastic bag and take them outside. See? You don't have to call a hazmat team. That's just fearmongering by right-wing nutburgers.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisWhat? With incandescent bulbs, you just sweep it up and throw it away? You capitalist nazi pig! We're talking about saving the planet. Shut your mouth and learn how to scoop up mercury.
Yes, they are a danger. I was reading one evening and heard a buzzing noise, a few minutes latter my light began to flicker along with more buzzing. Then to my suprise the bulb caught fire! It was the first CFL that I had ever purchased actually supporting a flame! Right inside a very flammable lamp shade. I just dont trust CFL's anymore. One thing about it though, you will not leave lights on when you leave the house.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNow wait a minute! I don't mean to question your creditability, but isn't that why we see the "UL" stamp placed on electrical appliances to assure us that they are safe under normal use? CFLs don't generate the heat incandescents do, and what's the kindling temperature of the bases anyway? I'm sure these considerations were taken into account before they were promoted to the general public. This sounds so much like the scare years ago with the "death rays" emitting from your microwave oven. Disregarding the fact, of course, that RF falls off inversely the square the distance. I won't " bet the farm" that your wrong, but I remain skeptical.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisJust a short bit of history...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisAt the end of the 19th century, man was awakened with a fabulous new lighting for all to enjoy. The incandescent light bulb was born. Thanks to the inventiveness and perseverance of one of the most famous inventors of our times, Thomas a. Edison, we are able to still enjoy its benefits, but can we still enjoy its luxuries?
http://www.quazen.com/Science/Environment/Led-Lighting-The-Worlds-Final-Frontier.17178
Led Lighting, The World's Final Frontier
You didn't have that on a dimmer, did you?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisDimmers will make most CFLs catch fire eventually. This is admittedly not a good thing. People aren't all that smart when a new product comes along that when added to an old product causes new problems.
Just ask any janitor who's mixed a chlorine-based cleaner with an ammonia-based cleaner! And I've seen that happen a few times (sigh).
Used to be you didn't need a chemistry credential to clean toilets safely, nor an electrical competence to use a light bulb safely.
Welcome to the future. Watch your step ....
I'd like to know what brand -- and if you contacted the manufacturer.
And where it was made.
I ask because I've seen this happen (not flame, but quite a stink) just once, and that was a "Lights of America" super-cheap all-plastic made overseas piece of junk. They're, last I heard, notorious for early failures.
I've had one other CFL fail and get noticeably hot. That's out of many years of use. I read up on the problem, and it's a known one, there's some component in the drive circuitry that does get hot just as the light's failing (and a brownout on your electrical system can cause this just like a dimmer).
It's -- not ready technology, I'll agree with that for sure.
Too bad LEDs are so extremely strong in the blue, they won't solve the insomnia problem, nor be much safer on erratic spiky electricity systems, and most of them also fail if used on dimmers.
Thanks to the inventiveness and perseverance of one of the most famous inventors of our times, Thomas a. Edison, we are able to still enjoy its benefits, but can we still enjoy its luxuries?
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thishttp://www.quazen.com/Science/Environment/Led-Lighting-The-Worlds-Final-Frontier.17178
Led Lighting, The World's Final Frontier
The solution...
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisNear the end of the 19th century, Thomas Edison invented a new and revolutionary lighting source, requiring no burning of whale oils or gas which would also shed light on their needs with even greater intensity. Only a few could have envisioned the future global use of the incandescent light bulb.
http://www.quazen.com/Science/LEDs,-The-Future-Of-Global-Lighting.15042
LEDs, The Future Of Global Lighting
What is disturbing is the way these bulb are touted as "cure-alls" for every lighting need and a miracle cure for the planet. But we don't "solve" the energy usage problem at all -- we just reduce it (which isn't a bad thing). However, we introduce a new problem with the additional mercury that will potentially be introduced into the landscape.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisPreviously, most fluorescents were in commercial applications like office buildings (not counting the occasional shop light), and presumably the building janitors knew how to dispose of them. But the same can't be said for the average Joe, who probably doesn't know about the mercury in the bulbs, especially because no one in the media says much about it until after it's a crisis point.
For once, can we prevent a major problem before it happens? What is it with the media that they never ask questions about environmental cures? They just assume it will all work, like in Pollyanna Land. The corn ethanol debacle is the same: a product of pie-in-the-sky wishing not followed through with tough analysis. Does anyone really think about this stuff beforehand?
What if you work at say, Lowe's, Home Depot, or Walmart? I work at one of the three, and I have to say that there at LEAST ten broken bulbs a week in the boxes that are shipped. Usually they are broken when the bulbs are loaded on the trucks. Just the other day out of two boxes, each box contains three two-packs of CFL's, each two-pack had one broken bulb, so out of twelve bulbs, SIX WERE BROKEN! This was just one instance of my own personal contamination. Of course the question is, what about the warehouse, truck, stockroom, or even store, at which in any of these places the bulb gets broken. Let's think of how much of this mercury is release in these places. So I ask, is it really worth it? One the one hand we have a light bulb with a vacuum, absolutely no pollution when broken save a few minute pieces of glass; on the other, is the compact fluorescent bulb with its deadly heavy metal, highly toxic, oh and all that glass that can aid in introducing the mercury to the blood stream. I just LOVE going green, don't you? :)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI, too, have had (more than one) CFL flicker and exhibit considerable flames from the base. Research shows that they are intended to do this as part of the "failure" system, and that the base is not flamable. There was an accompanying electrical? stench which took the greater part of the day to air out of the house. My concern was in breathing these fumes (do they contain mercury?) and what health concerns are related to cleanup and disposal. Directed at my local Health Authority (Environmental), they could not give me one bit of informed advice on the matter. Further investigation (via internet) gives me sound advice on cleanup of broken bulb, so now I have safely sequestered 15 CFL bulbs......lacking any place to receive them as a hazardous waste!!!!! I now know that I should air my home out and turn off the forced air heating system when this happens - but living in Canada I have at least half of the year with outside temperatures of less than 0 degrees celsius - leaving my doors and windows open for 15 minutes would burn countless BTU's of heat. The UL stamped on the bottom of the lightbulb and CSA (Canadian Standards Association) are not of much comfort to me. Such endorsements of products bring to memory the AMA endorsing the use of thalidamide and silicone for breast implants as being safe.....something that lends one to pause for sober second thought. Ultimately, I am responsible for the choices that I make concerning my own health, and the health of the planet. I am personally removing all CFL's from my home ( disposing of all of them at once - sending to Ministry of Environment at my own expense!) and reverting to old fashioned incandescent bulbs. Perhaps even my headaches will go away then ......... (another story althogether!!!!!!)
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisI don't know if they're "safe" but, they *ARE* dim-watted.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisOh, and they DO NOT LAST as long as old style tungston, and they are FRAGILE.
CFL's are JUNK science.
This discussion is probably a bit stale, but I was recently interested in the issue. The problem for me, aside from the fact that they are an inferior product that mostly cannot be used with a dimmer and require a warm-up time of up to several minutes, along with the potential problems with disposal, relates to their manufacture. While US factories probably have high standards for working with mercury, most of these bulbs now come from--surprise--China, and I have not heard anything comforting about their worker protection programs.
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisLet's await the price reduction for LED bulbs and skip this phase of our energy saving future.
hello my friends and I are 8th graders that have to do a paper and the topic we chose was CFL light bulbs and we were wondering if we could contact you to get more information about the lights if possible respond as quickly as you can but if not we understand, thank you
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisIf Americans are forced to switch to fluorescent bulbs which holds mercury and other dangerous chemicals (thanks to Bush) signing into law, what happens when people don't recycle the bulbs or recycling companies dispose of them properly? More bulbs in my opinion means more Mercury in the air and soil as you destroy them. These bulbs are worse than the incandecents although they use more power. Lets not ban what we have!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to thisGreat response. I just purchased 4 40-watt incandescent bulbs for .99, to add to our cache in the closet. They last a long time, and we are worry-free!!
Reply | Report Abuse | Link to this