Mercury risks from broken CFLs

Compact fluorescent bulbs save energy. Just be careful how you dispose of them.

provided by The Sierra Club

Recently released results of tests conducted by the State of Maine suggest that under certain conditions mercury vapor released from a broken compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) can pose a health risk. A new report prepared for the Mercury Policy Project and coreleased by Sierra Club California concludes that, while sensitive populations should take extra precautions to reduce risks associated with breakage, CFLs can and should still be used in everyone’s homes.

“People should feel perfectly comfortable buying and using compact fluorescent lamps in their homes,” said Bill Magavern, Director of Sierra Club California. “CFLs play an important role in increasing efficiency, cutting home energy costs and curbing global warming. Just as with many other household products, consumers should take some precautions if a bulb happens to break or when it’s time to recycle one,” Magavern added.

“Currently, using CFLs is still the brightest idea out there, both for energy cost savings and to mitigate climate change,” said Michael Bender, director of the Mercury Policy Project. “Yet both government agencies and the manufacturers have a responsibility to inform consumers about what to do - and what not to do - when a CFL breaks.

According to Bender, when a CFL breaks, the most important risk-reducing steps are to ventilate the breakage area by opening a window and then to follow correct, safe cleanup procedures, including not using a vacuum cleaner or a broom. Pregnant women and children should leave the room while the breakage is cleaned up, as scientific evidence shows that the very young and the fetus are much more sensitive than older groups.

Experts also caution parents to avoid using CFLs in fixtures that can easily be knocked over, especially in homes with energetic children and pets.

The report, “Shedding Light on Mercury Risks from CFL Breakage,” also recommends the adoption of more comprehensive environmental and human health guidelines by decision makers that, in addition to energy-efficiency, address other concerns, including: reduced toxicity; improved breakage resistance and longer lamp life; sustainable manufacturing processes; responsible end-of-life management (lamp collection programs); innovative technologies such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that use less- or non-toxic materials, that have significantly longer life, are much more efficient.

CFLs significantly reduce mercury, greenhouse gases and other toxic emissions from power plants, and are three times more efficient than standard incandescent light bulbs.

Yet today, only about 2% of the mercury-containing lamps discarded by residents, and less than 30% of those discarded by government and industry are recycled. Broken mercury-containing lights release an estimated 2 to 4 tons of mercury vapor into the environment each year and that number, as well as the numbers of broken CFLs in homes, is projected to grow as more lamps are used.

See the Mercury Policy Project report at www.mercurypolicy.org/new/documents/Final_Shedding_Light_ALL.pdf, and the Maine Compact Fluorescent Lamp Breakage Study Report at www.maine.gov/dep/rwm/homeowner/cflreport.htm.