Mercury in energy-saving bulbs worries scientists

[jgraz]

I was wondering when somebody would notice that little hitch...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - There's an old joke about the number of people it takes to change a light bulb. But because the newer energy-efficient kinds contain tiny amounts of mercury, the hard part is getting rid of them when they burn out.

Mercury is poisonous, but it's also a necessary part of most compact fluorescent bulbs, the kind that environmentalists and some governments are pushing as a way to cut energy use.

With an estimated 150 million CFLs sold in the United States in 2006 and with Wal-Mart alone hoping to sell 100 million this year, some scientists and environmentalists are worried that most are ending up in garbage dumps.

Mercury is probably best-known for its effects on the nervous system. The Mad Hatter in the classic children's book "Alice in Wonderland" was based on 19th-century hat makers who were continually exposed to the toxin.

Mercury can also damage the kidneys and liver, and in sufficient quantities can cause death.

http://investing.reuters.co.uk/news/articlenews.aspx?type=reutersEdge&storyID=2007-03-29T113727Z_01_NOA941808_RTRUKOC_0_ENVRIRONMENT-LIGHTBULBS.xml

[Gabi Hayes]

1. nothing but scaremongering! Off with your head!

[murielm99]

2. Who is that ridiculous woman

in the blue outfit? Did she roll around in some Easter egg dye?

[Gabi Hayes]

4. you mean next to the Mad Hatter? you don't recognize......

Lynne Cheney?

har!

[Richard Steele]

8. That pic: Didja know W designed the costume himself, and even helped with the "bunny dance" moves?

Worst Veterans Day Address EVER!

[Skidmore]

10. Man, Lynn Cheney has big feet!

[orleans]

3. recycling centers or various stores that take the bulbs back. n/t

[TroglodyteScholar]

5. Yea, but good luck finding those everywhere...

In rural and "red" areas, nobody takes them. I pretty much have to keep my blown-out CFL's in a box until someone around here starts taking them.

[orleans]

15. oh, i'm sorry. what a drag. is there any way you could get the town

council or the local government to start some sort of recycling program where every six months someone takes what has been collected to a center? just an idea.

i remember before my town started doing curbside recycling (plastics, glass, paper & cardboard) i used to save it up and fill up my car and drive it to a center that was out of town. it was a hassle but i figured it was worth it. maybe if the people in your area got together and did a general collection of this you all could find someplace that would accept those lights and find a volunteer to take them there. (road trip!?)

[annabanana]

6. I did not know that. . .

crap

[leftchick]

7. what happens when you break one?

my contracter broke one yesterday and it is still in pieces at the renovation site. How do I dispose of it? :(

[jgraz]

9. I keep thinking of the scene in the 40 Year Old Virgin

The one where they're smashing fluorescent bulbs by the dumpster. I wonder if any of those guys have been tested for mercury,

[Tyler Durden]

11. Not a GOOD THING, but I'd worry more about Mercury in Coal plant emissions.

We can take more care in the disposal of these bulbs, but try not breathing.

Where I used to live near Port Huron Michigan, there were FIVE coal fired generating plants:

Marysville
Belle River
St. Clair 1 and 2
Lambton (across the river in Canada.)

[papau]

12. My thought also - when scare articles do not give amount of mercury in 150 million

bulbs so we can compare to a coal fired plant, the odds are that it is minuscule - and just another way to make us for get all those new coal fired electric plants in Texas.

[ThomWV]

13. You Took The Words Right Out Of My Mouth

Or off my fingertips as the case turns out to be.

Its not hard for the average person to imagine all sorts of nasty crap exists in the smoke from burning coal. What they generally can not imagine is the amount of mercury it carries into our air. Coal is filthy stuff; from the mine to the slag pile, no aspect of its extraction, use, or disposal is without serious environmental problems. There are social problems too - witness the Coalminer. But when it comes to insidious poisoning of the people nothing even comes close to the air pollution caused by the coal-fired power plants that blanket this country.

[earth mom]

14. They really need to get the word out on this.

Oprah did a show on the environment awhile back and really pushed those lightbulbs which is worrisome because she no doubt has had a big influence on people using those bulbs.

Oprah are you listening?! You need to tell your people!