Further Risks of Energy Saving Bulbs

An excellent expose on the dangers of energy saving bulbs was provided by Conservative Thoughts in "The Risks of Energy Saving Bulbs". There are real environmental issues that are being created in an attempt to chase this ghost of global warming. I really want to emphasize the dangers here. We are spending a lot of time on phony environmental issues and ignoring or creating real ones to satisfy the religion of global warming.

In another report on the environmental concerns surrounding these bulbs, World Net Daily publishes a report on the recommendation by the UK Environment Agency recommending that a room be vacated for 15 minutes whenever a CFL bulb breaks.

Users who break a bulb should vacate the room for at least 15 minutes, the new guidelines say. The debris should not be removed with a vacuum cleaner, which could put toxic dust into the air, but with rubber gloves. The broken glass and all residue is to be placed into a sealed plastic bag and taken to a local official recycling site for proper disposal.

"Because these light bulbs contain small amounts of mercury, they could cause a problem if disposed of in a normal bin," environmental scientist Dr David Spurgeon told the London Daily Mail.

"It is possible that the mercury could be released into the air or from land-fill when they are released into the wider environment. That is a concern, because mercury is a well-known toxic substance."

The Environmental Agency noted that neither warnings about the bulbs' toxicity nor directions for proper disposal is printed on any packaging.

Unfortunately, the UK is also phasing out incandescent light bulbs in a ridiculous attempt to stop CO2 emissions. I do not understand why these bulbs, which contain a known hazardous substance are being distributed to the general public with no warning labels or other instructions. We live in a society that feels it is necessary to point out that peanut butter actually CONTAINS: PEANUTS (source: Label Peter Pan Creamy Peanut Butter). Yet stores will sell mercury containing bulbs to an unsuspecting public with no warnings.

Also, does anyone reading this know where an appropriate recycling center is for these bulbs? I don't, other than the hazardous waste facilities used by the refineries and chemical companies for disposal of their hazardous wastes (at very high costs).

If these bulbs are so safe then why was it necessary in March 2007 for Brandy Bridges (of Prospect, Maine) daughter's room to be sealed off like a hazardous waste site?

So, last month, the Prospect, Maine, resident went out and bought two dozen CFLs and began installing them in her home. One broke. A month later, her daughter's bedroom remains sealed off with plastic like the site of a hazardous materials accident, while Bridges works on a way to pay off a $2,000 estimate by a company specializing in environmentally sound cleanups of the mercury inside the bulb.

There is a real environmental risk with these types of bulbs - albeit small on a single use basis. Low level exposure is not an issue, but repeated exposure can have serious effects. Mercury accumulates in the brain and repeated exposure will result in health issues even in your own home. This says nothing of the disaster that awaits when municipal landfills are closed due to hazardous waste pollution and set aside as a Superfund site.

Environment watch with Outside the Beltway, The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary's Thoughts, 123beta, , Adam's Blog, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Big Dog's Weblog, Cao's Blog, The Amboy Times, Allie is Wired, third world county, The World According to Carl, Pirate's Cove, The Pink Flamingo, Global American Discourse, Stageleft, and Right Voices, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.