CFL Mercury Concerns Exaggerated Compared to Dangers from Incandescents

According to the National Electrical Manufacturers Association, the average compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) contains 4 milligrams (mg) of mercury. 5 mg is just enough to cover the tip of a ballpoint pen. Some products have reached as low as 1.5 mg. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) advises that in the event of bulb breakage, most of the mercury will remain bound to the lamp with the amount escaping estimated from 1.2 to 6.8 percent. This means if a CFL containing 4 mg of mercury is not recycled and breaks, 0.05–0.27 mg may be emitted.

As scary as that may sound, Craig DiLouie of Electrical Contractor Magazine reports that incandescent bulbs are actually substantially worse than CFLs when it comes to mercury emissions. DiLouie explains that coal-fired power plants produce about one-half of all electricity in the United States and are the largest source of human-caused mercury emissions in the country—more than 50 tons in 2006. A portion of these emissions are airborne, oxidized and water-soluble; some mercury ends up deposited in the United States, while the rest enters the global cycle (more than half the mercury deposited in the United States, for example, originates at Asian factories). Mercury released into the air is the main way it gets into water; eating contaminated fish is subsequently the main way humans become exposed.

And, incandescent lamps consume three to four times more energy than a CFL. Therefore incandescent bulbs cause more atmospheric mercury emissions at power plants that burn coal. DiLouie reports that a 75W incandescent operating over a period of 10,000 hours—the rated life of a competitive 18W CFL—will, therefore, generate an average 9.2 mg of atmospheric mercury emissions nationally, while the 18W CFL will generate 2.2 mg (plus possibly up to another 0.27 mg if the lamp is broken).

Accordingly, CFLs produce less mercury nationally. They also slash carbon emissions and provide substantial energy cost savings. DiLouie also reported that Yale University has demonstrated the same finding for states that don’t burn coal for power and mercury emitted during lamp production.

Additionally, manufacturers continuing to reduce the amount of mercury in their products, attention to lamp recycling is increasing and the EPA’s Clean Air Mercury Rule goes into final implementation in 2018 will contribute to substantial reductions in mercury emissions from coal-fired plant.

The Aelux team continuously monitors findings related to environmental safety and cost efficiency. Many are posted on the Aelux Energy Savings blog. Also feel free to contact us with any questions on these topics or any others.

Source: Electrical Contractor Magazine

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 28th, 2010 at 7:13 am and is filed under Newsletter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.