Are CFLs that good ...

came across this peice of article following some links ...

"According to an April 12 article in The Ellsworth American, Brandy Bridges had the misfortune of breaking a CFL during installation in her daughter's bedroom: It dropped and shattered on the carpeted floor. Aware that CFLs contain potentially hazardous substances, Bridges called her local Home Depot for advice. The store told her that the CFL contained mercury and that she should call the Poison Control hotline, which in turn directed her to the Maine Department of Environmental Protection.

The DEP sent a specialist to Bridges' house to test for mercury contamination. The specialist found mercury levels in the bedroom in excess of six times the state's "safe" level for mercury contamination of 300 billionths of a gram per cubic meter. The DEP specialist recommended that Bridges call an environmental cleanup firm, which reportedly gave her a "low-ball" estimate of US$2,000 to clean up the room. The room then was sealed off with plastic and Bridges began "gathering finances" to pay for the US$2,000 cleaning. Reportedly, her insurance company wouldn't cover the cleanup costs because mercury is a pollutant.

As each CFL contains five milligrams of mercury, at the Maine "safety" standard of 300 nanograms per cubic meter, it would take 16,667 cubic meters of soil to "safely" contain all the mercury in a single CFL. While CFL vendors and environmentalists tout the energy cost savings of CFLs, they conveniently omit the personal and societal costs of CFL disposal."

and isnt it true that they keep on saying save electricity and use CFL ... it shud ... save urself and dont use CFL

*hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/07/10/02/1231202.shtml

not so ...........
i do like CFL's there good source of light
but proper caring shud be taken

In india we are hardly bothered about all this.

dude with kids around .... mercury is potentially very very dangerous

T

CFLs are becoming famous as their prices are falling but they are hazardous as they contain mercury. Next in line are LED lamps which consume even less power and contain no mercury. But they are very expensive for now , rs. 500-600 for bulb which are equivalent to 40 watt old type bulbs

Still to see Led bulb at my place

N

iMav said:
dude with kids around .... mercury is potentially very very dangerous

hv a clinical thermometer at home? and more reachable than a light i guess

H

Very good info.

Thanks didn't knew this.Anyways i don't use CFL.I don't mind on paying a few extra rupees than to pay thousand on hospital bill.Guys be careful.

T

int86 said:
Still to see Led bulb at my place

You won't be able to see it for 2-3 more years as was the case with CFLs 6-7 years ago. They are too expensive

.

This looks like FUD.
Even tube lights contain the same amount (if not more) of mercury. Every fluorescent lamp or cathode ray tube (including your monitor) which contain the phosphor coating contains mercury. (i guess it helps in chelating the phosphor to the glass)

Any case, don't buy the cheap chinese unbranded ones.
I do agree however that there should be strict industrial norms.

From Wikipedia *en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp:

*upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/11/Mercury_emissions_by_light_source_%28en%29.svg/300px-Mercury_emissions_by_light_source_%28en%29.svg.png *en.wikipedia.org/skins-1.5/common/images/magnify-clip.png
Mercury use of compact fluorescent lamp vs. incandescent lamp when powered by electricity generated from coal.

Code:

[B]Mercury emissions[/B]

 CFLs, like all [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fluorescent_lamps"]fluorescent lamps[/URL] (e.g., long tubular lamps common in offices and kitchens), contain small amounts of [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mercury_%28element%29"]mercury[/URL][URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-23"][24][/URL][URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-24"][25][/URL] and it is a concern for [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Landfill"]landfills[/URL] and [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Incinerator"]waste incinerators[/URL] where the mercury from lamps may be released and contribute to air and water [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pollution"]pollution[/URL]. In the USA, lighting manufacturer members of the [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Electrical_Manufacturers_Association"]National Electrical Manufacturers Association[/URL] (NEMA) have made a voluntary commitment to cap the amount of mercury used in CFLs:[INDENT] Under the voluntary commitment, effective [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/April_15"]April 15[/URL], [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007"]2007[/URL], NEMA members will cap the total mercury content in CFLs of less than 25 watts at 5 milligrams (mg) per unit. The total mercury content of CFLs that use 25 to 40 watts of electricity will be capped at 6 mg per unit.[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-NEMAHgCap"][26][/URL]
 [/INDENT][URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal"]Coal[/URL] [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fossil_fuel_power_plant"]power plants[/URL] are the "the largest uncontrolled industrial source of mercury emissions in Canada".[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-25"][27][/URL] According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), (when coal power is used) the mercury released from powering an incandescent lamp for five years exceeds the total of (a) the mercury released by powering a comparably luminous CFL for the same period and (b) the mercury contained in the lamp.[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-26"][28][/URL] It should be noted, however that the "EPA is implementing policies to reduce airborne mercury emissions. Under regulations issued in 2005, coal-fired power plants will need to reduce their emissions by 70 percent by 2018."[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-27"][29][/URL].
 Some manufacturers such as [URL="*www.philips.co.uk/"]Philips[/URL] and GE make very low-mercury content CFLs.[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-28"][30][/URL] In 2007, Philips claimed its Master TL-D Alto range to have the lowest mercury content of any CFL on the market, at 2mg.[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-29"][31][/URL]
 Safe disposal requires storing the bulbs unbroken until they can be processed. Consumers should seek advice from [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Local_government"]local authorities[/URL]. Usually, one can either:[LIST]
[*]Return used CFLs to where they were purchased, so the store can recycle them correctly; or
[*]Take used CFLs to a local [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Recycling"]recycling[/URL] facility.[/LIST]The [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Environmental_Protection_Agency"]United States Environmental Protection Agency[/URL] publishes guidelines on how to clean up after CFL tube ('bulb') breakage [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-30"][32][/URL] and recommends that, in the absence of local guideline, CFLs be double-bagged in plastic bags before disposal.
 The first step of processing CFLs involves crushing the bulbs in a machine that uses [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Negative_pressure"]negative pressure[/URL] ventilation and a mercury-absorbing filter or [URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryopump"]cold trap[/URL] to contain and treat the contaminated gases. 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%.[URL="*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#_note-31"][33][/URL].

*en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Mercury_emissions_by_light_source_%28en%29.svg The west is always looking for pretexts of sueing. Looks like the above example is typical.
Nevertheless, we are surrounded by toxic chemicals and heavy metals. Do you know how much rich a source of heavy metals is your water supply or the polluted air of the metropolitan cities? Aren't you still drinking that pesticide laden cola?
Guess there is no end to poisons in our lives.

K

We have mercury in the physics lab of our college. We use it to perform experiments on it. I've handled it many times, even dipped my bare fingers in it to see how it feels (its a really funny sensation). However i haven't got as much as a nosebleed because of it. I'm perfectly fine (or i haven't been typing this).

CFLs are really good. They produce so much light but still consume so little power. Also they don't heat too much.Their light is also very soothing to the eyes.

N

@Free Radical.. gr8 wrk dude...

The west is always looking for pretexts of sueing. Looks like the above example is typical.

exactly

Read the complete article (this consists the same incident iMav posted), the replies, the solutions etc.

*www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp

Some interesting things in there.

In a few yrs CFLs will give way to LED bulbs.

P

Hi

I used to own a CFL manufacturing plant and now manufacture CFL machinery (Angelo Brothers Company (India) Ltd.). I have pioneered CFL designs and machinery for the past 30 years to what they are today especially in India (hope, its not too much to brag about, and you can credit cheaper CFLs in India to me

).

India is the fastest growing CFL market (growing for the past seven years at 200% per annum)

India has no restrictions on mercury content in CFLs. However, USA and Europe have a 3mg requirement.

CFL plants have minimal wastage as opposed to the figures presented by you all. A typical CFL plant quotes a capacity of 6 million lamps pa. of which 175000-200000 is wastage (finished lamps). Note CFL companies usually produce 5.5 million pa per CFL line.

Mercury is reused through distillation (no mercury problem at our end) and so is ionized water (involved elsewhere). Glass portion is recycled in bottling plants and plastic portion is bought buy scrap dealers for reuse (only in India).

So basically from our (manufacturer) end there is no wastage.

Manufacturers in India (mainly) offer replacement services for CFLs that go bad within a year to two years. So once again no wastage.

Some manufacturers also go to the extent of buying back old CFLs at a minimal cost for recycling. However, in recent years its feasibility has declined. But once again any wastage can be easily be disposed off.

There are (were) a handful of environmentalists who are against CFLs but that is probably because they have nothing better to do.

They hear mercury and they panic.

By the way did you know tube light use 15mg mercury. No issues raised there???

LED is in a very nascent stage. It will still take another 30 years to develop the way CFL is today. But it is the future to come.

Cheers

Pradeep Saxena

S

is CFL "Cleared FLight Level" !!

sorry but because of job habbits