Not Really Catching On
Last year SafeMinds published a series of articles on the hazards and mercury
pollution created by the use of fluorescent bulbs and, in particular, compact fluorescent bulbs because of their use in home environments. The entire series can be accessed here, but here are the “take home” messages from those articles:
- The amount of mercury from a broken bulb, even in a “low-mercury” bulb, is enough to create a health risk in an enclosed room, particularly if a pregnant woman or young child is using the space.
- The limited science available indicates that it is difficult to clean-up a broken fluorescent adequately to prevent ongoing health risks. Our currently recommended clean-up protocol is also available on our website (link here). It includes several steps that may be counter-intuitive, so we highly recommend that you read it before you find yourself in a breakage situation (these include closing off and ventilating the space before attempting clean-up and not using a vacuum cleaner).
- All fluorescent bulbs should be recycled; they should never be put in regular trash. Information regarding fluorescent recycling is grossly lacking in many parts of the country and recycling programs that are available are often inconvenient.
In part due to these concerns, sales of compact fluorescents bulbs have stagnated. Richard Karney, Energy Star product manager reported in September that sales of the bulbs have declined 25% from their peak in 2007. Even in parts of the country where there have been promotional campaigns, including giveaways, 75% of screw-based sockets still contain incandescent bulbs. Nationally, 89% of residential sockets still contain incandescent bulbs as of March 2009. The same report shows that 30% of households have no CFLs and 2/3 of the households that do have them have less than five installed. To put that in perspective, a California survey from 2005 shows an average of 37.5 sockets per household. Industry experts believe that concerns regarding light quality, problems with CFLs not meeting their claimed usable life and higher pricing for quality CFLs are holding back the market, but they ignore the possibility that consumers are concerned about having mercury in their homes and that they don’t want the hassle of recycling the bulbs properly.
When confronted with concerns about environmental mercury, the standard industry argument in favor of compact fluorescents is that by reducing the use of coal-fired electricity (which generates mercury emissions), CFLs reduce total environmental mercury load even if they are not recycled. The reality is considerably more complicated. A study published by researchers at Yale in 2008 (Zimmerman et al.) showed that the net impact of CFLs on environmental mercury levels varies around the country and around the world. Areas that burn a lot of coal without scrubbers (like China and West Virginia) will likely see a drop in environmental mercury from the substitution of CFLs for incandescent bulbs. By contrast, areas that rely primarily on hydroelectric or nuclear power or areas that require emissions controls (like Norway, California, Oregon and New England) may actually increase environmental mercury by using CFLs.
The issue is also complicated by three additional variables. First, CFLs require more energy to manufacture which has ostensibly been offset by their longer lifespan, but in some cases, consumers are finding that their lifespans are considerably shorter than claimed. Second, the rate of recycling of CFLs directly impacts the equation by determining how many CFLs end up in landfills or incinerators. Third, a report by the National Resources Defense Council in collaboration with China’s State Environmental Protection Administration indicates that a significant amount (up to half) of mercury used in the manufacturing of CFLs does not end up in the finished product, so demand for inexpensive CFLs may result in mercury pollution and poisoned workers in other countries!
Clearly, there is no easy answer to how best to reduce environmental mercury in the context of CFLs. However, SafeMinds ultimately believes that the potential for direct mercury poisoning from CFL breakage in a home or business is a greater threat to human health than mercury in the form of emissions into the general atmosphere, particularly since there are alternatives available.
New Options
In light of the pending ban on standard incandescent light bulbs set to take effect in 2012 in the United States, it is encouraging to look at the new options that are becoming available. Bans on incandescent sales have already taken effect in Australia and Cuba, and the European Union’s ban just went into effect September 1, 2009. Because these countries took action quickly before inexpensive alternatives were readily available, they have created a situation where people who don’t want to use CFLs are hoarding incandescent bulbs. The situation here should be somewhat rosier by 2012.
The wave of the future appears to be LED bulbs; this technology is rapidly improving in terms of the quality of light and the applications it can be used in. While still pricey, the extremely long life, high energy-efficiency and lower toxicity of LEDs make them reasonably cost-effective even at today’s prices – and prices are continuing to drop. For example, Lemnis Lighting announced on October 2nd that its Pharox60 LED dimmable bulb is now available online in the US. It is a 6 watt replacement for a 60 watt incandescent with a 25 year estimated lifespan. The company projects that the return-on-investment for the bulb in a high-use location is about 3 years. This field is advancing rapidly so check pricing and products often.
The second encouraging trend is improvements in the efficiency of incandescent bulbs. Researchers at the University of Rochester are experimenting with laser-treating the tungsten filament in incandescent bulbs. While not commercially applicable yet, the treatment has produced filaments that shine as brightly as a 100 watt bulb but use less electricity than a 60 watt bulb.
The Department of Energy has also created the L-prize. This is a 10 million dollar award to the company that produces a commercial alternative to a standard 60 watt incandescent light bulb that matches its color and light output but uses only 10 watts of electricity. The bulbs must also last more than 25,000 hours and be at least 75% made in the USA. On September 24th, Phillips announced that it has delivered 2000 of its prototype bulb to the Department of Energy and is confident that it meets the criteria set. Testing of the lamp will take about a year to complete.
Other proprietary new technologies are also being developed and it remains to be seen which alternatives the public will embrace and which will be most commercially viable.
Take action
SafeMinds suggests the following:
- If you already have CFLs in your home, make sure they are only in uncarpeted, well-ventilated places where they will not be broken, handle them with extreme caution and be sure to recycle them properly. If there are pregnant women or young children in the home, consider not using them at all.
- If recycling is not readily available in your area, consider a mail-order option or encourage your local government to provide fluorescent recycling.
- If you work for a company or municipality, ask them to ensure that they are handling their fluorescent bulbs responsibly and encourage them to switch to non-mercury technology as it becomes cost-effective.
- When the time comes to replace them, consider spending the money on new LEDs, Organic LEDs or higher-efficiency incandescent bulbs whose use is not overshadowed by mercury concerns.
- Spread the word to everyone you know that all fluorescent bulbs contain mercury. Give the SafeMinds website address to everyone you know for further information.
