Posted on 05/30/2007 10:11:32 PM PDT by goldstategop
WASHINGTON – As state and foreign governments enact forced phase-outs of incandescent light bulbs, consumers are being kept in the dark about the many downsides of compact fluorescent lamps replacements being billed as an environmental and energy-savings panacea.
Across the U.S., schoolchildren are being urged to replace incandescent light bulbs in their homes, state legislatures are following the leads of foreign governments in banning the sale of the bulbs in the future and the federal Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency are highly recommending the switch to CFLs. Businesses like Wal-Mart are also pushing CFLs hard, as are environmental groups. But safe disposal plans and recycling centers for the mercury-laden compact fluorescent lamps, seen as the future, lag behind the hype.
So, too, does the truth about what will become mandatory, fine-imposed handling requirements for CFLs by homeowners and businesses.
While CFLs arguably use less energy and last longer than incandescents, there is one serious environmental drawback – the presence of small amounts of highly toxic mercury in each and every bulb. This poses problems for consumers when breakage occurs and for disposal when bulbs eventually do burn out.
Most consumers, even those already using the CFLs, do not realize the long-term dangers the bulbs pose to the environment and the health of human beings.
While the EPA is on the CFL bandwagon as a means of reducing carbon-dioxide in the atmosphere, which it believes contributes to global warming, it also quietly offers advice on cleanup of broken bulbs that might give consumers pause to consider dumping those incandescents any time soon.
When a CFL breaks, the EPA cautions consumers to open a window and leave the room immediately for at least 15 minutes because of the mercury threat. The agency suggests removing all materials by scooping fragments and powder using cardboard or stiff paper. Sticky tape is suggested as a way to get smaller particles. The EPA says vacuum cleaners and bare hands should never be used in such cleanups.
After final cleanup with a damp paper towel, the agency warns consumers to place all materials in a plastic bag.
"Seal and dispose of properly," says the EPA. "Wash hands."
But disposing of properly might be a tough thing to do, because CFLs should never be thrown in the trash like their old-fashioned incandescent predecessors. They need to be turned into recycling centers, which are few and far between.
Incandescent light bulb
When laws banning incandescent bulbs take effect, so do the mandatory fines on consumers and businesses that dispose of the new CFLs improperly.
Though the amount of mercury in each bulb is small – about 4 milligrams – the potential environmental hazard created by the mass introduction of billions of CFLs with few disposal sites and a public unfamiliar with the risks is great.
To address the concern, Wal-Mart announced earlier this month that its suppliers – mainly in China – have agreed to reduce the amount of mercury in the bulbs. Yet the announcement itself came as something of a shock to many consumers who were blindsided about the risks of mercury.
Mercury is probably best-known for its effects on the nervous system. It can also damage the kidneys and liver, and in sufficient quantities can cause death.
With an estimated 150 million CFLs sold in the United States in 2006 and with Wal-Mart alone projecting sales of 100 million this year, some scientists and environmentalists are worried far too many will wind up in garbage dumps.
When sufficient mercury accumulates in a landfill, it can be emitted into the air and water in the form of vaporous methyl-mercury. From there, it can easily get into the food chain.
"Disposal of any mercury-contaminated material in landfills is absolutely alarming to me," says Steve Lindberg, emeritus fellow of the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
The answer, of course, would be recycling and disposal centers. However, it is questionable whether consumers can be counted upon to bring their burned out and broken bulbs to special collection centers voluntarily. That's why most of the laws banning incandescents also include fines for improper disposal of CFLs.
Those provisions in the new laws may be as hard to find for consumers as the fine print on CFL packaging warning them not to breathe the dust from broken bulbs. LampRecycle.org offers a good sampling of existing regulations.
Many waste centers that are set up to accept CFL recycling currently have only one collection day per year.
Consumers are discovering other downsides of CFLs besides convenience and safety issues:
* Most do not work with dimmer switches
* They are available in only a few sizes
* Some emit a bluish light
* Some people say they get headaches while working or reading under them
* They cannot be used in recessed lighting enclosures or enclosed globes
* Because they run hotter, fires are a possibility
When CFLs do burn out, they often create some smoke, which consumers have found alarming. This is a result of the plastic on the bulb's ballast melting and turning black. CFL manufacturers dismiss safety concerns.
Despite the drawbacks, Australia, Canada and the European Union have all moved to ban incandescent bulbs. California, Connecticut, North Carolina and Rhode Island, are all in the process of legislating an end to Edison's greatest invention. Even local towns and cities are getting into the act.
But the craze didn't start in Europe of Australia or Canada. It started in Fidel Castro's Cuba. His action in banning the incandescent bulb was followed up quickly by Hugo Chavez's Venezuela. Only then did the trend continue in the industrialized western nations.
Recycling experts say the solutions are at least five years away. Meanwhile, millions of consumers and green activists are being persuaded to make the switch now.
Governments may indeed be promoting a kind of lighting that is itself nearly obsolete. Fluorescent lights are nothing new. They've been around for a long time. And while they may save money, some say the public hasn't chosen them for good reasons – including, but not limited to, the mercury issue.
Some experts predict the next generation of lighting, though, is LED lights. They are made from semiconductor materials that emit light when an electrical current flows through them. When this form of light takes over, all bulbs will be obsolete. Your wall tiles can light up. Curtains and drapes can light up. Even your dining room table could be made to light up – at exactly the level you want. And the best news is – no toxic waste.
That's what is ahead in the next decade, according to some in the industry.
Nobody promoted CFLs as aggressively as IKEA. Not only does the retailer sell them, it also provides one of the very few recycling centers for the burned out bulbs. But even with a plethora of recycling centers, how will the public view the prospect of saving up dead bulbs and transporting them to recycling centers? And how about the danger of breakage in that process?
"The industry is currently aiming at totally mercury-free CFL lighting, but this is still five to 10 years away," admits IKEA.
Those who really care about this problem right now are those involved in the waste industry.
"Most agree more energy-efficient light bulbs can significantly curb air pollution, but fewer people are talking about how to deal with them at the end of their lives," explained a page 1 story in the April 2 issue of Waste News. It goes on to explain "there is no plan to address air and water pollution concerns that could develop if consumers improperly dispose of the mercury-containing devices."
Show me just what Mohammed brought that was new, and there you will find things only evil and inhuman, such as his command to spread by the sword the faith he preached." -Manuel II Paleologus
I think the super bright LED’s are going to be the future of lighting. Not sure how far off that is though.
Some big airports are already using them in applications like runway marker lights.
Is this the same IKEA that was merged with CANON copiers back in the 80s and 90s? I recall commercials for copiers on Sunday afternoons watching the NFL touting “The best innovative minds come together CANON/IKEA”or something to that effect. At the time, it had about the ame impact on me as WANG computers, nd look at them now.
Strange if it’s he same company. Never knew they were ever trying to be all green like this.
Wherever there is a positive action there is a negative reaction. Too bad the loonies didn’t learn this and now they are out to save the world. Barf.
I love the pop sound that CFLs make when you break them inside the garbage can and in the dumpsters.
Recycling CFLs is for losers.
No, they run much cooler than incandescents, that's why they are more efficient, less of the power is wasted as heat. They work just fine in recessed lighting enclosures. I have over 50 in my home and many are in recessed enclosures. They are the only bulbs that work in my recessed lights on my top floor because they are covered by 22 inches of fiberglass insulation and only CFL's run cool enough so that the thermistor doesn't trip.
Apparently, they are not bright enough yet to use as a primary light-source - and there are reliability problems. Noone wants to spend an exorbitant amount for a bulb that fails after only one year - right after the warranty expires.
These were the cheapies as well. Lots of ways to tinker and improve them.
Last year I mounted solar powered LED spotlights on my flagpole. They work quite nicely as well. The only improvement I'm making on them is better drainage since they point near straight up.
Inside we've been using several LED desk lamps, switchable from 10 to 20 LEDs. One in the bedroom has been a real marriage saver! I work overnights and leave just before midnight. I had two chouces before the LED lamps...get fressed in the dark or turn on the lights and irritate Wife.
Now we have an LED lamp over our headboard ponted up and agaisnt a white wall. I can turn it on and get plenty of light to get around without waking wife. Plus the soft glow is a lot easier on my eyes that are VERY sensitive to light - one of the reasons I like the night shift, hehehe.
You can now get LED string lights that operate on low voltage. They come in colors - some rotate between colors - as well as white and the older blue/white. Look great on Christmas trees as well as in the garden. Right now they're a little pricey but that is changing big time!
I worked in the lighting industry for 20 years and I was never as excited about any development as much as I have the LED lamp. They save power and hence money...personally because of my sesitive eyes I prefer the softer light...and I like the tech point as well.
There's one guy on the net who lights his stairs with LEDS. At the top and bottom he's mounted IR sensors that trip the LEDs to sequence on top to bottom or bottom to top and then sequence off. Later this summer I plan on a similar install in my house with some mods I want to try.
In fact right now I'm planning lighting several rooms with LEDS powered by a battery source and recharged with solar panels from Northern Tool. I don't expect it to make much difference on the electric bill, that's not the point of the project. It's the tinkering, the having a goal and figuring how to achive it thing that makes the project worthwhile.
This nation used to be filled with folks like that...people who used what they had to come up with creative ways around a problem or need. Now it seems we just sit back and whine and wait for someone else to do it.
prisoner6
They are extremely bright and the bulbs last longer than any other bulb. The US militaty uses these:
http://www.surefire.com/maxexp/main/co_disp/displ/pgrfnbr/16/sesent/00
Every time I hear this story, I’m amazed all over again!! And these people call themselves “environmentalists”? I’m just speechless!
LEDS work on 3.5 volts and low amperage so they are not power hogs. You can run 'em on just about any power source. What you DON'T want to do is run them from a transformer from 120v. You're bleeding off the excess in waste heat. That's why I'm designing a battery powered/solar charged system for a couple of rooms.
You are correct - sort of - about the brightness. LEDs can be VERY bright. Some are now used at the tops of towers because of their brightness and reliability. Radio stations LOVE them! Less need for Tower Monkeys.
LEDS are even being used as tail lights in cars...maybe even headlights by now, I haven't been able to keep up because the tech has been changing so fast.
The problem is LEDs emit light in a very narrow band...IIRC around 20 degrees as opposed to the (nearly) 360 degrees of other sources.
But that's not really as big a problem as it sounds. You can always use more LEDS spread in a pattern that coverse a given area.
There was supposed to be a big development in LED tech this summer. Rumor was HUGE price drops one top of the line LEDs as well as better "whiteness". The desk lamps I use - ten bucks apiece at a dollar store a couple of years ago BTW - Are too bluish for most people. The newer LEDs are producing an acceptable white now...I have a few of those.
Really if I put my mind an dresources to it I could operate my house with solar lighting, a battery bank and small generator for TV, radios, computers etcetera. The only thing I would need Electric power for would be a big refigerator - something Wife and I really don't need now, powering the washer and dryer and electric motors in fans, furnace and such, and of course anything that uses resistance for heat like a hair dryer. There ARE ways around that though, they're just expnsive at the moment.
I'd like to do that not because I'm an enviromentalist - which I am DEFINATELY NOT - or some back to simplicity whacko. It's because the tech is there> It just needs a bit more tinkering.
And the most important reason for using the hi tech lighting and power system is because I CAN.
Plus... then I can tell the high priced, utilities and their whacko unions to go Fark off, hehehehe.
prisoner6
It’s funny, the sun is incandescent. Old technology indeed.
I wonder if some of the premature failures reported with LED bulbs could be due to power surges?
Probably...They need 3.5 volts. Some of the better ones are more tolerant but I would think any variance would not be a good thing.
I think most of the failures...I have had a couple of LED camp lanterns that had several LEDs fail. My take on it was htat it was contaimnation in the manufacturing process.
The other thing I failed to mention is that LEDs that use silicon are getting kinda old in the tooth. There are now several alternatives that are cheaper and easier to make.
And then there are OLDs - Organic Light-emitting Diodes - which are are whole new kettle of fish!
prisoenr6
Dear World Nut Daily:
The mercury is not disposed. It is recaptured, recycled and reused.
Urban mythology.
Huh? I've just put my fingers on the plastic shield surrounding the socket holding a 15W CFL which has been running 9 hours now.
Barely above room temperature.
When it was holding a 75W incandescent it was too hot to touch.
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