Is it true that energy saving bulbs are dangerous and impossible to dispose of due to mercury content?

Question

my husband refuses to have them in the house for that reason but i think hes wrong

Answer 1

No.  They are only as potentially dangerous as any other old-fashioned florescent light bulb you have been around for the last 50 years. Same exact technology. Only these ones are alot smaller, so they have less mercury.  They've been putting much larger ones in elementary school classrooms, cafeterias, public kitchens, daycare centers for decades, and mercury is very stable (despite it's toxicity), and there is no way it can go through solid glass unless it cracks, then the bulb won't work, no matter how small the crack is, so you if your husband is worried about mercury, tell him to stop eating seafood.

Answer 2

I read that a while ago in the paper. They are bad for some people with excema

Answer 3

Yes, compact fluorescent bulbs do contain mercury. throwing one away won't do much damage to the environment, but if everyone switches to compact fluorescent bulbs, there will be a problem once they start throwing them in the trash.

Some companies, like IKEA, recycle old CF bulbs.

Answer 4

no that s totally not true

i ahve no idea what kid o person would make a rumour like that

Answer 5

no he's right.... i read about it in the news this week,,,, if u ever break one mercury escapes too .... so be careful ! ! !

Answer 6

they do contain mercury, but they are not dangerous to have in the house if they break you need to be care full with them just as with a normal bulb. disposing of unbrOKen ones is ok but if you are going to be extra green is best done by giving them to one of the loads of places that do it properly ikea is one :)

Answer 7

Not impossible to dispose of different in each community.  Check with your local sanitation department for the rules in your area.  The Mercury in each bulb is what makes it dangerous and hazardous.

Answer 8

there are recycling centers that take care of compact fluorescent light bulbs. just find one and take them there, they do the rest of the work.

as to not using them because they contain mercury, thats a little silly just dont break it and u should be good.

Answer 9

yes  they are  ,  if you  need to  know  more look  on  the  news on  the  net  about  it

Answer 10

I don't know about that but they do not last five years, I have changed mine as much as i would have changed a normal one and they are 4 times the price

Answer 11

i wouldn't have them in my house either...

Answer 12

it is very true

Answer 13

Yes mercury is a big problem with CF lighting. We must be careful. but the energy saving and ability to recycle them make me feel better. CalPers was offered a proposal to help build a recycler in California and turned them down. Government must do their part.

Today here is what we know:  many of mankind’s advancements cause earth surface to warm, destroy the ozone layer, kill off endanger species, heat cities, and in some way cause more destruction.  Blacktop (roads and parking lots), buildings, air pollution (causes lung and other diseases), deforestation, duststorms (which increase hurricanes and cyclones and cause lung diseases), fires (cause pollution, mud slides, and deforestation), refrigerants (like CFC's), solvents (including benzene destroy the ozone layer raising skin cancer rates) and plastics; cars, airplanes, ships and most electricity production (causes pollution including raised CO2 levels) are human problems we need to fix to keep life on earth sustainable! That is why I founded CoolingEarth.org, a geoengineering web sight. The federal government needs to adopt a pollution surcharge to balance the field and advance new technologies. We must pay the real price of oil (petrochemicals) including global warming, cleanup and for health effects. But with that we must understand we have never seen what is now happening before. CO2 has never lead to temperature change, but temperature change has led to increases in CO2. The models have to be made as we go along with little evidence! The result is:  change is on the way, we just do not know what changes. But again adding a small amount of CO2 to the atmosphere enlarges the earths sun collection causing warming; increase water in the atmosphere and they form clouds cooling earth but causing flooding. Even natural events are warming earth and causing destruction. The sun has an increased magnetic field causing increases in earthquakes (more destruction), volcanoes (wow, great destruction), and sun spots. Lighting produces ozone near the surface (raising air pollution levels). But humans have destroyed half of the wetlands, cut down nearly half of the rain forest, and advance on the earths grasslands while advancing desertification which increases duststorms. The USA Mayor's have taken a stand and I believe are on the right track, we can have control and can have economic growth. With the peak of oil in the 1970’s, the peak of ocean fishing in the 1980’s, humans must stop procrastinating and make real changes to keep earth sustainable including in the energy debate, finance and regulation. The sun is available to produce energy, bring light to buildings and makes most of human’s fresh water. Composting is the answer to desertification. New dams are the answer to fresh water storage, energy and cooling earth by evaporation, we need many small one all over (California needs 100 by 2012 and has not even started).

President Bush has made a choice of energy (ethanol) over food and feeding the starving people around the world; this is a choice China has rejected.

Answer 14

Per se they are not dangerous.  The very small amount of mercury in them is dangerous.  If the Government is now phasing out conventional bulbs would they really do so, if energy saving bulbs were inherently dangerous. I don't think so.

There are hazardous substances in your computer - will that stop you from using it?

Stick to them - the energy saving bulbs that is.  Although more expensive they save a lot of energy and will save you money.

I've had mine now for 4 years and I have not replaced one.  When their lives are over I will contact the council to seek advice on safe disposal - they have a scheme anyway.

Explain the positive advantages to your husband.  Don't know what you will do for lighting when the conventional ones are phased out.  Best start to stockpile now I suppose if your husband refuses to use the alternatives.

Answer 15

Yes they have Mercury. So does a thermometer you put in your mouth under your tongue or up you f***y to check for fever when you're sick. They have so little amount of Mercury they are as safe as the thermometer and just as easy to dispose of. I use them in all my over head lights throughout my house, and my sensor lights at my front and back door. I have noticed a big change since using them. A good change! My electric bill has dropped by $20.00 a month.

BTW, I have been using the same bulbs now for 2 years. I have no actual proof they will last 5 years. But, never the less, they do last a lot longer than the regular light bulbs.

Answer 16

Trish is right. They also affect people with Lupus

Answer 17

All fluorescent lights have mercury in them. The large 4 foot long tube fluorescent lights found in many kitchens contain more mercury than those little spiral compact fluorescent bulbs do. Large institutional and commercial users of the standard 4 foot fluorescent tube lights are required to dispose of them in special ways to reduce the release of mercury, but the amount in CFLs is so small that the EPA has no requirement to handle them in any special way. Just toss them in the household trash when they burn out.

Answer 18

You have to dispose of these types of bulbs carefully because they contain mercury vapour.

What your husband is objecting for is the fact that mercury is a heavy metal and in its vapour form it is a dangerous gas.

HOWEVER! The fact that these bulbs have this one non-green issue, it is outweighed by the fact that they use 80% LESS energy than a conventional bulb.

The output of these bulbs are so low in wattage for the amount of light that is produced, the ratio is 1watt to 5watt, a typical 11watt GLS will output about 55 to 60Watts of light.

You can get bigger wattage lights that of the same design that output more light and now you can get bulbs that are rated at 6500Kelvin or to the ley man, a Day Light bulb that outputs light at the level of normal day light. Good if you suffer from S.A.D.

These bulbs also last longer, depending on the make, this can be anything in the region of 6 to 10 times longer.

Also you have LED types that are beginning to come in higher light output values.

Answer 19

There is some truth in what you husband has said. Although he is possibly over exaggerating the risks. However, in saying that, as energy saving bulbs beome more common, and more end up on landfill I suppose you could argue there may possibly be a risk due the accumulative effects of the small amount of leaked mercury from each bulb. That's why I think more should be done to start educating people about disposing of these bulbs safely.

Remember though, energy saving lightbulbs, as long as they are intact, do not pose any risk whilst in your home.

Read the following for furhter info about energy saving lightbulbs.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7172662.st...