Shedding light on fluorescents
Compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFL's, come in many different sizes and shapes, not just the squiggly one. But are they dangerous because they have mercury in them? Joellen Easton finds out.
Box of recyclables, including CFLs (Joellen Easton)
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TEXT OF STORY
Bob Moon: We're hearing a lot about energy policy this election season. But until Washington can figure out what it wants to do about foreign oil or the man-made causes of climate change, we're largely on our own. To cut back on energy use, a lot of us are driving less or lighting our homes with those squiggly fluorescent bulbs. But as Joellen Easton reports, not every one is sold.
Joellen Easton: Carie Lape has a few CFL bulbs in her Long Beach California home. She wants more, but first she wants some facts about dimmability and the mercury content. But ...
Carie Lape: I don't think there's one place to go and get all the information I need.
What's keeping Carie Lape from looking?
Lape: I guess inertia. I mean this is something I want to do, but it just seems like it takes so much time.
Jessica Jensen: And the fact of the matter is if they spent five minutes online doing some research, it would be pretty apparent.
Jessica Jensen runs the Web site LowImpactLiving.com. She says she encounters people with questions like Carie's all the time. She says if people took the five minutes, they'd find out there are lots of different kinds of CFLs, both dimmable and not. But the next question is the big one.
Jensen: I shouldn't use compact fluorescents, right? They're dangerous, they have mercury, I shouldn't have them in my home.
Well, no. The amount of mercury in a CFL totals the size of the tip of a ballpoint pen and increasingly a lot less than that. A mercury thermometer has more than a hundred times that amount.
Jensen: So, I do think people have to learn about the product and we're going through a cycle and eventually we'll get to a point of comfort.
As for Carie Lape, she didn't know that in California CFLs have to be recycled as hazardous waste. So I jumped in the car with her and we drove to the local collection center.
Collection center worker: [sound of boxes being lifted] What are you dropping off for us today?
Lape: A compact fluorescent bulb, couple of them; some regular light bulbs; some batteries, lots of batteries ...
Some might find this a hassle. But it just got a lot easier: Home Depot now has free in-store CFL recycling at its stores nation-wide, no matter where you bought the bulbs.
In Los Angeles, I'm Joellen Easton for Marketplace.
Comments
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From Midlothian, VA, 09/20/2008
Why all the hype about the mercury in CFL's? What about the mercury in the fluorescent tubes that we have been using in our homes and offices for decades? Yes, there is mercury in EVERY fluorescent light bulb. The concern about disposal has never been adequately addressed. In some areas, you can get rid of fluorescent bulbs when special hazardous waste recycling days are held, but most consumers don't know they shouldn't be throwing the fluorescent tubes in the trash. Let's throw some "light" on the whole topic.
From San Francisco, CA, 09/18/2008
SF residents can bring used CFL bulbs, batteries, electronics, paint, motor oil and other toxic products to convenient retail drop-off sites in the city, including many hardware stores and all SF Walgreens.
From San Francisco, CA, 09/18/2008
www.Earth911.org makes it easy to find out how to safely dispose of used CFL bulbs and other toxic products, like batteries, paint, motor oil, etc. anywhere in the country.
In San Francisco, use the EcoFinder at www.SFEnvironment.org. Just enter your zipcode and the item you'd like to get rid of, and the answer pops right up.
From granada hills, CA, 09/13/2008
If the CFL gets hot, then the energy savings of that particular CFL should be questioned.
Another negative is that CFLs are more complex than incandescants, so the reliability of low quality CFLs could be appreciably lower, as I found out.
From North Hollywood, CA, 09/12/2008
I was all for switching out my Incandescent bulbs for CFL's and my husband ran right out to do so. I was a little worried about the Mercury, but knew we could find a place to recycle them. However, I ended up taking all of them out two weeks later!! They are HOT! I mean suffocating hot! I could not stay in a room with the light on for more than one minute without feeling completely overwhelmed with heat and feel almost sick. And these were low wattage, no more than 15 watt! Since I have to keep this short, I won't go on. But once I took them out, I can live in my rooms again comfortably.
From Richmond, VA, 09/12/2008
According to the EPA: " ... compact fluorescent bulbs are responsible for less mercury contamination than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, even though incandescents don't contain any mercury. The highest source of mercury in America�s air and water results from the burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, at utilities that supply electricity. Since a compact fluorescent bulb uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb, and lasts at least six times longer, it is responsible for far less mercury pollution in the long run. A coal-burning power plant will emit four times more mercury to produce the electricity for an incandescent bulb than for a compact fluorescent." ------------ Why didn't Marketplace mention this? When evaluating an option, you have to look at what is called the "Externalities" and/or a LifeCycle impact of the option or solution.
From Winston-Salem, NC, 09/12/2008
OK, so CFLs have a tiny amount of mercury. But, the story implied that this small amount is also proof that CFLs are safe. This is pretty awful logic. Since Home Depot offers recycling and CA requires it, that supports the contention that CFLs are not safe. Perhaps Marketplace can do more on this.
From spainsh fort, AL, 09/11/2008
I would like to hear about LED lighting: I have seen some 40 or 60 watt equivalent lights for sale recently in retailers; reportedly using 1.5 watts engery for same out put- this does CFL's one better in my book.
From NY, 09/11/2008
It would be great to save energy so easily, but I don't think that we should assume that CFLs are safe unless there are mandatory recycling requirements, and even then, people don't comply. Just add up all the tiny amounts of mercury in our landfills and you come up with one huge environmental disaster. Mercury is one of the most toxic known substances, Haven't we already learned about the dangers of mercury?? Kudos to Home Depot!
From ME, 09/11/2008
Would it kill the media to just come out and say CFL are safe and the amount of mercury in one is far less then the mercury that is belched out of coal fired electricity generating plants.
It is OK to embrace this older technology people.
At this pace I wonder will the world ever be ready for LED lights?
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