Are Fluorescent Lights Safe?
The buzz about compact fluorescent light bulbs lately has been amazing, at least. They seem to be the perfect light source aside of Mr. Sun. They use significantly less energy, burn just as bright as older lights, last for years longer, and on top of all that, they look attractive and modern. I know that I’m not the only person who has been seeing them everywhere. A few weeks ago, I asked my mom why she hasn’t considered buying a few for our house, to use when our current bulbs wear out. She replied that she had considered it, but heard from a friend that they contain mercury (Hg). Well that certainly doesn’t sound nice, but how much of an impact does that mercury have? Is it dangerous enough in flourescent bulbs to cause negative effects in humans?
The average flourescent bulb contains about 20 milligrams (mg) of Hg, or .02 grams. According to worldwise.com, an environmentally-conscious website that also sells it’s own cat toys, the solution to this problem is not to stop using the bulbs, because:
“The largest man-made source of mercury in the atmosphere is fossil fuel combustion (58% of total). When the mercury in a fossil fuel is heated in a combustor, it turns into a vapor and escapes into the atmosphere….On average, fossil-fueled power plants emit 0.04 milligrams of mercury per kilowatt-hour sold.”
From the atmosphere, the mercury returns to the earth through precipitation. If we could reduce the number of kilowatt-hours needed to be produced, we could reduce the amount of mercury in the amosphere, and by connection, the amount of mercury in the water supply.
The mercury in flourescent light bulbs has shown no ill effects as long as the bulb remains undamaged, but when broken, the mercury can evaporate at room temperature. A high point, however, is that the bulbs, mercury and all, can be recycled. As long as the bulbs are transported to the recycling plant in tact, roughly 99.9% of the mercury can be recycled for other purposes, as well as 100% of the rest of the bulb. In the end, these bulbs seem beneficial enough to be worth the risk. Users of these bulbs just need to take the caution to prevent breaking the bulbs. One tip- package them in a cardboard tube before sending them away.
March 4, 2007 at 9:33 pm
Interesting. I remember when my Mom used to take my temperature with a thermometer that had mercury inside the glass. She would always tell me to be really careful with it. I guess if you are careful with the lightbulb, it would be okay. It is a plus that the bulbs can be recycled. Plus they cut your electric bill.