The dark side of fluorescent bulbs

[Guest guest]

The dark side of fluorescent bulbs

_http://blog.nj.com/njv_robert_sommer/2008/02/no_good_deed_goes_unpunished.htm

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(http://blog.nj.com/njv_robert_sommer/2008/02/no_good_deed_goes_unpunished.html)

With Americans becoming more aware of their responsibility to protect

against further global warming, there has been a rush to purchase fluorescent

light

bulbs. A far cheaper feel-good decision than buying a hybrid car, what's the

problem with paying a little extra for a bulb that uses 25 percent less

energy and lasts years longer than an incandescent one?

As it turns out, there is a real downside. Unlike traditional light bulbs,

each of the spiral ones contains a bit of mercury. An insignificant amount

really, until you realize that over 300 million fluorescent bulbs were sold in

the United States last year and perhaps as many as 1 billion bulbs will be

sold this year. Suddenly, that's a lot of mercury.

And where does the mercury go? It's a huge problem. In Ridgewood, for

instance, Village officials have warned residents not the throw out fluorescent

bulbs the way they routinely do with the old kind of light bulbs. Instead, the

only means to properly dispose of the bulbs is to bring them to a household

hazardous waste disposal day sponsored by the Bergen County Utilities

Authority. There are seven such days a year, scattered throughout the county.

Realistically, how many people are going to toss out these bulbs in the

proper way? That means an awful lot of mercury is going to end up in garbage

cans

and then landfills and incinerators where it can do serious harm to the

environment and, if inhaled, to children and pregnant women.

The solution isn't to go back to incandescent bulbs and run away from

something that will meaningfully limit energy use over time. Instead, consumers

are

going to have get rid of the bulbs in the right way. It isn't going to be as

easy as simply buying the bulbs to feel like you are helping to reduce

global warming. It will be a little harder than that.

Business and government must help to prevent mercury disposal from becoming

a major health issue, especially since Congress wants to end the use of

incandescent bulbs by 2014. Manufacturers and retailers should offer to take

them

back, even if it means adding to the cost of the bulbs. It's much easier to

imagine most consumers willingly bringing the used bulbs back to the Home

Depots, Wal-Marts and Whole Foods where they were originally purchased than

figuring out what to do for a household hazardous waste day.

Someone needs to take charge of this pending debacle. At the very least, the

Department of Environmental Protection and the U.S. Environmental Protection

Agency must start to seriously work with manufacturers and retailers to come

up with smart disposal plans and make consumers aware of the risks of just

tossing fluorescent bulbs into the garbage.

Americans shouldn't give up on fluorescent bulbs. Instead, users should get

rid of them the right way. It's an important message for consumers and

businesses. And, it is an issue the government leaders who say they want to

reduce

global warming must deliver on.