From SSSF. A bit scary if it’s true.

Subject: Energy-saving light bulbs are dangerous post id: 3429885

Danger: The new eco-friendly bulbs contain toxic mercury
Energy-saving light bulbs are so dangerous that everyone must leave the room for at least 15 minutes if one falls to the floor and breaks, a Government department warned yesterday.
The startling alert came as health experts also warned that toxic mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems including migraines and dizziness.
And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause conditions such as eczema to flare up.
The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb’s mercury content.
In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump – not a normal household bin.
None of this advice, however, is printed on the packaging the new-style bulbs are sold in. There are also worries over how the bulbs will be disposed of.

Wow that’s a worry. Maybe true – maybe not.

bubba louie said:

From SSSF. A bit scary if it’s true.

Subject: Energy-saving light bulbs are dangerous post id: 3429885

Danger: The new eco-friendly bulbs contain toxic mercury
Energy-saving light bulbs are so dangerous that everyone must leave the room for at least 15 minutes if one falls to the floor and breaks, a Government department warned yesterday.
The startling alert came as health experts also warned that toxic mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems including migraines and dizziness.
And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause conditions such as eczema to flare up.
The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb’s mercury content.
In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump – not a normal household bin.
None of this advice, however, is printed on the packaging the new-style bulbs are sold in. There are also worries over how the bulbs will be disposed of.

It’s true…I didn’t even have eczema before got a house full of those light’s. I was putting on cortizone ointment’s daily…arms lower legs and shoulders covered in eczema. Now I have a spot or 2 of it left still treating it, and I’ll never get those light’s again.

I have heard that they shouldn’t be put in the garbage because of the toxic content. And I can verify that they can be a problem with migraine sufferers. Our work area was revamped recently and all the bulbs replaced with the new ones. My colleague had to get the ones over his desk replaced again with the old type as they were making his migraines more frequent. They are brighter than regular ones and the glare was too much. The difference in light colour is quite significant. I would say that much of what is said there is true, although I don’t know about the stuff about what happens when one breaks.

We had a report about these in SA, can’t remember if it was on Today Tonight or on the radio…late last year.

In waste mag we get at work there was an article say they they should not be going into lanfill ??

The Estate said:

In waste mag we get at work there was an article say they they should not be going into lanfill ??

I think they recycle them – maybe they reclaim the mercury and reuse it.

bluegreen said:

The Estate said:

In waste mag we get at work there was an article say they they should not be going into lanfill ??

I think they recycle them – maybe they reclaim the mercury and reuse it.

I didn’t know about the mercury part of it and what to do if one break’s.. only that they irritated my skin.
Isn’t there a date in the future when incandecent bulb’s will be banned ? I,m sure I read that somewhere.

Happy Potter said:

Isn’t there a date in the future when incandecent bulb’s will be banned ? I,m sure I read that somewhere.

I heard that too, unless you have a good reason not to, like migraines etc.

.
Isn’t there a date in the future when incandecent bulb’s will be banned ? I,m sure I read that somewhere.

Yes I have read that too. I think they’d better rethink that one. I wonder if that’s what’s caused my skin problem? I’ve got Rosacea on my chin, i’ve never had skin probs before.

bluegreen said:

The Estate said:

In waste mag we get at work there was an article say they they should not be going into lanfill ??

I think they recycle them – maybe they reclaim the mercury and reuse it.

Over here there is a place business can take them..but not the household folks:(

There’s mercury in just about every adult’s fillings…

We can only hope it mixed thoroughly and is stable over our lifetimes…

Gotta die of something..

bubba louie said:

From SSSF. A bit scary if it’s true.

Subject: Energy-saving light bulbs are dangerous post id: 3429885

Danger: The new eco-friendly bulbs contain toxic mercury
Energy-saving light bulbs are so dangerous that everyone must leave the room for at least 15 minutes if one falls to the floor and breaks, a Government department warned yesterday.
The startling alert came as health experts also warned that toxic mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems including migraines and dizziness.
And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause conditions such as eczema to flare up.
The Department for Environment warned shards of glass from broken bulbs should not be vacuumed up but instead swept away by someone wearing rubber gloves to protect them from the bulb’s mercury content.
In addition, it said care should be taken not to inhale any dust and the broken pieces should be put in a sealed plastic bag for disposal at a council dump – not a normal household bin.
None of this advice, however, is printed on the packaging the new-style bulbs are sold in. There are also worries over how the bulbs will be disposed of.

Bluddy ‘ell!

they contain far less mercury than normal fluro lights (hint the cfl stands for compact FLURO light lol) as found in practically every australian house built since the sixties

the old `fat’ fluro tubes (40w) that have been largely replaced by the thin 36w tube of the same length, contain almost 5 times more mercury than the cfl (21w) that gives out the same lightoutput (100w eq incandescent)

the `evacuate the room’ garbage is imho exactly that
garbage

mercury is bad, no doubt, but it isnt `that’ bad

and the cfl’s phosphor is exactly the same as has been used for the last 50 years in many if not most australian houses (in this house alone there are 7 40/36w flros and one 2w ring fluro)

boppa said:

they contain far less mercury than normal fluro lights (hint the cfl stands for compact FLURO light lol) as found in practically every australian house built since the sixties

the old `fat’ fluro tubes (40w) that have been largely replaced by the thin 36w tube of the same length, contain almost 5 times more mercury than the cfl (21w) that gives out the same lightoutput (100w eq incandescent)

the `evacuate the room’ garbage is imho exactly that
garbage

mercury is bad, no doubt, but it isnt `that’ bad

and the cfl’s phosphor is exactly the same as has been used for the last 50 years in many if not most australian houses (in this house alone there are 7 40/36w flros and one 2w ring fluro)

Starting to breathe easier now. All we need is some perspective which a knowledgable person has offered. Thanks Boppa.

I had one blow yesterday—after only 6 months—so I thought they were supposed to be long lasting ???

Isn’t it frustrating trying to do the right thing!!!!!!

If they ban plastic shopping bags lots of people will just have to buy garbage bags instead. The biodegradable rubbish bags sound good but then we’re told they need sun to break down which they don’t get in landfill. I’ve read that recycling glass takes more energy than making it. Do I buy recycled toilet paper or unbleached??? . The list of decisions is endless.

bubba louie said:

Isn’t it frustrating trying to do the right thing!!!!!!

If they ban plastic shopping bags lots of people will just have to buy garbage bags instead. The biodegradable rubbish bags sound good but then we’re told they need sun to break down which they don’t get in landfill. I’ve read that recycling glass takes more energy than making it. Do I buy recycled toilet paper or unbleached??? . The list of decisions is endless.

Ditto to that.

On reading Lucky’s post about green shopping bags I thought now that’s not what I expected. I want a shopping bag that doesn’t deteriorate in the short term. By the short term I mean possibly 5 years. You’ll laugh I guess but they should make something strong and durable and cheap. That’s the only way people will become converted to the things.

When I buy stuff (furniture, white goods, clothes etc) I’m thinking ‘forever.’ I’m not contemplating on having to replace anything for a lot of years. It’s just that I have never caught up with the ‘throw away’ society.

Grasshopper said:

I had one blow yesterday—after only 6 months—so I thought they were supposed to be long lasting ???

the phospors are indeed longlasting (ive seen from 8000hrs to 40000hrs from different manufacturers) but the electronics is a different matter
by `blow’ i assume you mean it ceased to light up at all, as opposed to getting duller and blackeneing on the ends of the tubes- thats an invertor failure, not a bulb failure

semantics i know- but the invertor is actually the least reliable part of the bulb, esp the cheap chinese stuff- ive had 50% failure within weeks with them….

(btw the thread on sissyfus, i quoted the amount of mercury in the various types/sizes of fluro’s)
5 mg (and dropping) for cfl
15-20 mg for `slimline’ fluro tubes
25-30mg for the older `fat’ style tubes
so if you drop (or like me as a kid-smashed) a 40w `fat’ tube- thats the equivilant of breaking 6 cfl lights at once!!

when was the last time you saw advice being given for evacuating a room when a normal fluro was broken?????
so why the sudden hysteria over cfl’s and their dangers’???

thats what i’d like to know….

There is a small amount of mercury in them – but studies have shown that by replacing incandescents with CFLS, you actually reduce the amount of mercury going into the environment, because most lights (in Aus at least) will be powered by coal-fired power plants – which release mercury into the atmosphere. And I think environmentally mercury in the atmosphere is supposed to be worse than mercury which is “contained” within the CFLs. Just don’t break em!!

All Ikea stores will take any CFLs for proper disposal – whether you bought them at Ikea or not. So just keep them in a box until you can get them to an Ikea. (You all have boxes of dead batteries somewhere in the house, waiting for proper disposal, right?? :))

Back to work – too busy to be on the forum at the moment :(

yes reduces mercury
also decreases radioactive emmisions from coal fired power plants

you all knew that coal fired plants emmit radioactive uranium and thorium didnt you
and at levels far higher than any nuclear plant is permitted to as well

;-)

Yes by blow I did mean it ceased to work—

when they talk about the thousands of hours- if you check the fine print they are talking about the phosphors in the tube, not the entire bulb

;-)

the invertors can vary depending on quality- the cheap chinese stuff rarely lasts more than a year if that long, but ive got a phillips i bought back in 96/97 thats still running fine(just getting a bit duller with age- but then its been on basically 24/7 since then)