Compact Fluorescent Lights pollute!!!! read?

Question

all fluorescent bulbs contain mercury vapor wether they are compact or the tube-like .... and we will be throwing them in the trash... at my work we send them to a special place for recycling...... its a hazardous material.... any comments?

Answer 1

No, they don't.

Using compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) REDUCES mercury pollution.

Fossil fuels contain mercury.  Using incandescent bulbs causes more mercury to be emitted from power plants.  More than is in a CFL.

It's better if you dispose of old CFLs properly so that even the tiny amount of mercury is not released.  But, no matter how they're disposed of, CFLs reduce mercury pollution.

http://www.cityofberkeley.info/sustainab...

Answer 2

Yes, It is right, All the fluoroscent lights contains mercury, around 10ppm. used tube lights and CFL must be considered as Hazardous waste and it should be disposed as per applicable law . I am humbly requesting all,  please dont throw away it next time onwards,  It will pollute our Earth .You can handover it to the nearest recycler or some one like this for proper disposal.

Answer 3

I didn't know that! But I guess as long as you recylcle it it's fine. Maybe they should make sure that people know how to recycle them when they buy them?

P.S. Where did you get this information?

         If it was a website can you put up the link? =)

**EDIT***

Ok, so the guy above me knows all about it. I have to say, I think he's right! Sorry man!

Answer 4

They do contain a little mercury so it is best to dispose of them in the proper recycling facility.  I did a search online for a place to take them in my town and found out the city takes them at their recyling headquarters.

Answer 5

yes that's true. aside from that, cfl's are also hazardous.

although fluorescent lighting is energy efficient, many people report irritability, eyestrain, headaches, allergies, and hyperactivity when working by fluorescent lighting. flicker, hum, glare, and UV all causes problems. fluorescent lights also emit higher electromagnetic fields than other light sources, and these may affect some people adversely.

Answer 6

The real truth is yes CFL bulbs do contain mercury, this is an essential element of the bulb and without this it would not operate. Whilst the amount of mercury used in production a CFL lamp is at most 6mg, the average mercury content is 4mg.

Taking the above totals into consideration, mercury emissions by a CFL lamp from electricity consumption over its lifetime is about 2.4mg of mercury. Emissions from an incandescent light bulb is about 10mg for the same period through electricity consumption. Therefore a CFL bulb emits 76% less mercury over the same time period. However, mercury stored in CFL bulbs is perfectly safe unless the glass is in someway damaged, in which case the bulbs can then emit mercury vapour. If the mercury from a CFL was to escape it would total 6.4mg, a 36% reduction on emissions from an incandescent.

The mercury in a CFL can however be reclaimed and reused through the process of recycling. Collected bulbs are crushed in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury absorbing filter. Therefore if you use a CFL with renewable energy and recycle it, the mercury emmission level is actually negated completely.

For full details of mercury in CFLs, where to recycle and how to clean up a broken bulb;

http://howtosaveenergy.blogspot.com/2007...

Energy Saver

http://howtosaveenergy.blogspot.com

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