Energy saving light bulbs 'contain cancer causing chemicals'

Fears have been reignited about the safety of energy saving light bulbs after a group of scientists warned that they contain cancer causing chemicals.

Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on.

Peter Braun, who carried out the tests at the Berlin's Alab Laboratory, said: “For such carcinogenic substances it is important they are kept as far away as possible from the human environment.”

The bulbs are already widely used in the UK following EU direction to phase out traditional incandescent lighting by the end of this year.

But the German scientists claimed that several carcinogenic chemicals and toxins were released when the environmentally-friendly compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) were switched on, including phenol, naphthalene and styrene.

Andreas Kirchner, of the Federation of German Engineers, said: “Electrical smog develops around these lamps.

“I, therefore, use them only very economically. They should not be used in unventilated areas and definitely not in the proximity of the head.”

Could someone explain the difference in chemical makeup between an ordinary fluorescent light that has been in wide use for more than 50 years and a compact fluorescent light?

A 50-year-old fluorescent light fixture would have the ballast encased in a metal box; the fixture itself would likely be made of metal. In case of a critical malfunction the ballast might catch fire, but the metal enclosure would most likely prevent it from igniting anything else. The ballasts 50 years ago didn't often didn't contain any fire-retardant chemicals, but the metal enclosure would mitigate fire risk. Note that such fixtures often had a three-prong cord, with the ground terminal tied to the metal case, to prevent a shock hazard in case a failing ballast developed a short between the live wire and the case.

Newly-manufactured fixtures use electronics which are more energy-efficient than the classic ballast, but are also more prone to exothermic failure. Although some full-sized fixtures may still encase the ballast in metal, many instead rely upon fire-retardant plastics. Although flame retardant plastics are often effective at preventing fires, many of them work by outgassing nasty fire-suppressant chemicals when heated. This would be great if the plastics only outgassed the chemicals in situations where they would otherwise burn. Unfortunately, the plastics will outgas the chemicals (albeit more slowly) when they are heated to a point well short of combustion; some CFL electronics get hot enough to cause such behavior. Not only do the released chemicals pose health risks, but the fact that they've been released can render them ineffective in preventing fires. A lamp which develops a fault which causes it to run very hot for a few months but still work apparently normally could burst into flames if a more critical fault occurs.

It might be logical to require CFLs to shut down or switch to an intermittent mode of operation if they get hot enough to cause outgassing. Unfortunately, that would give CFL's an even worse reputation with regard to reliability.

“difference in chemical makeup between an ordinary fluorescent light and CFL”

Thanks for the informative reply, which is delayed because I was on vacation.

Hadn’t thought of the heat-caused emissions from the plastics in the ballasts. I recall that the old metal-encased ballasts get hot and often need replacing. They could have emissions when hot also, huh?

I still don’t see a reason why the new CFLS are any more harmful to the environment than the old fluorescents.

Not really. The issue isn't so much the plastic inside the ballasts, but rather the plastic enclosure itself. Metal is a much better conductor of heat than plastic, and so the old metal-cased ballasts didn't get as hot as the newer ones; metal also doesn't generally give off nasty fumes when heated (unless it gets really, really hot).

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