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Feb 14, 2008 11:09 pm US/Central
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Good Question: Why's Mercury In Fluorescent Bulbs?
(WCCO)
Compact fluorescent light bulbs save a tremendous amount of energy and are great for the environment, but they contain mercury, which is toxic to the human body.
"There's not very much mercury, it's completely contained, it does not go out into the atmosphere," said J. Drake Hamilton, Science Policy Director for Fresh Energy, a St. Paul-based non-profit.
"If you imagine the tip of a ballpoint pen, that's how much mercury. Most people probably do have a mercury thermometer which has 100 times more mercury than this light bulb does," she added.
The mercury is critical to the operation of a compact fluorescent bulb. It exists in powder form, inside the glass twists of a CFL bulb. When plugged in, the electricity excites the mercury producing ultraviolet energy. Without that process there would be no glow and no light.
In an intact light bulb, the mercury poses no hazard. However, it is against the law to throw out the bulb, leading to a perception that the CFL bulbs are dangerous.
"I would like to see more complete information. Perhaps there should be a warning on packaging for regular, conventional, old-fashioned bulbs that reads, 'Using this product is inefficient and wasteful and causes global warming that you don't need to cause,'" said Hamilton.
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, 40 percent of the mercury that ends up in lakes and rivers comes from the burning of coal.
"If you use regular, inefficient technology, you're causing more coal to be burned and more pollution into our lakes and streams," said Hamilton.
It is against the law to throw the bulbs in the trash. Certainly, one CFL bulb in a landfill would not pose much of a hazard. However, if every burnt out CFL bulb would end up there, the mercury that would end up in the environment could be hazardous.
At Green Lights Recycling in Blaine, Minn., millions of light bulbs were recycled in 2007.
"All fluorescents have mercury in them," said Rick Seitz, Green Lights Vice President.
The company uses a machine which cleans and separates the metals and glass in the bulbs. Then the mercury is recovered from the powder, and sold on the secondary market for reuse.
If one of your CFL bulbs breaks, there's no need to call out a hazardous materials crew, according to Fresh Energy.
"I would bring out the good old fashioned broom and dust pan. I wouldn't use a vacuum. Vacuums tend to spew some air into the environment, so you don't want the solid mercury to get out into the atmosphere," said Hamilton.
To learn more about where to recycle energy-efficient bulbs in your neighborhood, click on the links below.
Earth 911: Minnesota Programs Where To Recycle Florescent Bulbs In Metro Where To Recycle Florescent Bulbs In Minnesota 
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