Energy Saver Lamps & MERCURY?

Question

I'm back again. The woman I spoke to in the customer service dept of the manufacturer of the lamp had NEVER heard of these things exploding. I expressed my anger at the fact there is no cleanup advice on the boxes or that they contain mercury. Also I bet the general public doesnt know you just cant throw one of these things in the bin. They have to be safely disposed of. HOW??? Whats safe?? Now I know someone said in an answer that the levels are so low you dont need to worry about them, BUT I found the following (while I should be working). "In other words there is NO safe level of mercury vapour!" - from http://www.bcd.com.au/AmalgamDocs/LittleBitMerc.htm. AND "Safe' mercury levels may harm adults" - from the Sydney Morning Herald. The more I read the more anxious I get.

Answer 1

Energy saver bulbs are a major problem not because of the amount of mercury but the type of mercury. It has gone through a chemical process creating powdered mercury. This is a major problem because under normal conditions mercury is a liquid and would not be breathable, but powdered mercury is easily inhaled and very difficult to clean up. If a bulb breaks you should not attempt to clean it up, but seal off the room and contact a hazardous waste disposal company. When a bulb breaks it can cost $2000 to have a team clean the area. Obviously manufacturers don't want people to know this, because it will kill the market, but because of several recent problems they will probably have to put warning labels on the packages in the near future.
Regarding disposal of used bulbs, there is no way to safely dispose of them yet. Several groups are working on a safe recycling system, but these are at least two or three years away from becoming successful.
The bulbs are great, but they are not perfect. If you do install them be very careful and position lamps to prevent accidental breakage.

Answer 2

There IS a safe level of Mercury because there is ALWAYS some mercury in the environment naturally. People who say we need to keep every last atom of Mercury out of the environment are forgetting that Mercury is a natural mineral that comes FROM the environment. While most of it is locked up under ground, some has always leaked into the air and water and it always will. The question should be what is worse, burning more coal to make more electricity or use these bulbs. Coal contains traces of Mercury and burning it releases it into the air. The extra electricity you would have to use would require burning enough coal to release more Mercury into the air than the bulb contains. And Australia uses more coal fired power plants (per capita) than almost any country in the world.

Answer 3

Why do you keep asking Yahoo Answers if this is such a serious problem for you? Call your local government environmental and trash disposal people to get answers from people who are professionals and know what to do in your specific location about disposal. But, since you asked.....

The site you list as saying "NO safe level of mercury" is trying to sell people dental work that doesn't use mercury. Hardly an unbiased source.

Disposal:

"# Like paint, batteries, thermostats, and other hazardous household items, CFLs should be disposed of properly. Do not throw CFLs away in your household garbage if better disposal options exist. To find out what to do first check www.earth911.org (where you can find disposal options by using your zip code) or call 1-877-EARTH911 for local disposal options. Another option is to check directly with your local waste management agency for recycling options and disposal guidelines in your community. Additional information is available at www.lamprecycle.org. Finally, IKEA stores take back used CFLs, and other retailers are currently exploring take back programs.
# If your local waste management agency offers no other disposal options except your household garbage, place the CFL in a plastic bag and seal it before putting it in the trash. If your waste agency incinerates its garbage, you should search a wider geographic area for proper disposal options. Never send a CFL or other mercury containing product to an incinerator."

Most municipalities have recycling centers for fluorescent bulbs. The old long fluorescents are the real problem, they contain 2-10 times as much mercury as a compact fluorescent.

Answer 4

I had one ruin in my residing house, and did no longer even comprehend it till I became on the sunshine, and it did no longer illuminate. i'm nonetheless interior the comparable un-healthful state i became in the past it befell. not extra un-healthful, no-much less the two. interior the small volume this is contained in those bulbs, it is only approximately innocuous. the variation between those bulbs and thermometers is we stick the thermometer into the youngster's mouth. the youngster can then chew the thermometer and there you flow. all of us comprehend it is poisonous, and choose to dodge it as much as conceivable, so we ought to continuously flow away the room if all of us understand one has broken, yet we ought to continuously no longer exchange into overly in touch approximately it. i'm going to upload to that by using asserting I grew up with mercury thermometers, and that i can't think of of a single case the place somebody have been given ill because of the fact of them. i'm no longer asserting it did no longer ensue, only it became very uncommon. on account that there is far less mercury in a CFL, it truly is going to be even much less user-friendly. BTW those mercury thermometers have been in each residing house on a similar time as i became growing to be up, and each youngster had one caught in his/her mouth better than as quickly as. so they have been tremendously user-friendly at one time.