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Mercury and CFL Bulbs

by Peter Geiger | Thursday, September 4th, 2008 | From: Farmers' Almanac Blog

In the 2008 Farmers’ Almanac we have an article about ways to save electricity including the use of CFL light bulbs.We argue that the life of these bulbs is 8 years and if all homes used them we’d eliminate a  trillion pounds of greenhouse emissions. I received a call from someone who was shocked that we ( the Farmers’ Almanac) would make such a suggestion given the mercury contained in these bulbs.

I have concerns about mercury and would not want to exchange one problem for another. Since the introduction of the CFL bulb, the amount of mercury in each bulb has been reduced substantially. But, there is still mercury and what will millions of these bulbs do to our landfill? In Phillips bulbs the amount of mercury is 3.8 mg per bulb. That is small but still there.

In many states, CFL bulbs can be disposed of in trash but should not be incinerated. Burning will send mercury into the air. Bulbs can be returned to Home Depot stores or put out with household community hazardous waste collection, which will send it to a facility that can recycle safely. So, yes there is concern with mercury and CFL bulbs. Will the benefit of reducing emissions by a trillion pounds, outweigh other hazards?  Does the hazards of a CFL bulb containing mercury impact your desire to use them? is a great question and I’d love your input.  

Technorati Tags:
CFL Bulbs, Mercury, Gas Emissions

2 comments

1 Teresa { 11.03.08 at 10:04 pm }

Transitioning from incandescents to CFLs will reduce the net amount of mercury released into the environment because it reduces the amount of electricity used. Coal-fired plants supply more than half of the nation’s electricity and are the largest source of mercury emissions into the air, accounting for approximately 50 tons annually. By requiring more energy to operate, using incandescent bulbs are actually responsible for releasing more mercury into the environment than using CFL bulbs.

2 Eileen Barnes { 10.06.08 at 6:13 pm }

I switched over to the new CFL bulbs in the past year to cut back thinking to save money on hydro and bulbs. In the last 4 months i have had 4 CFL bulbs burn out in different sockets. One bulb not only burnt out it melted the base (black and bubbled from the heat) and sent black soot up my wall. i tried calling around and even called my local hydro office. no one seemed to care. i could see maybe the socket being a problem if they kept burning out in the same spot but they are all in different spots. warrenty is no good without packaging , which no i don’t have, packaging for 15 bulbs when they only come two in a box at time i purchased mine, its too bulky no place to keep it.
and knowing about the mercury, how safe is it when a bulb burns and melts like that? are these really helpfull?

If you notice a hole in the upper left-hand corner of your Farmers' Almanac, don't return it to the store! That hole isn't a defect; it's a part of history. Starting with the first edition of the Farmers' Almanac in 1818, readers used to nail holes into the corners to hang it up in their homes, barns, and outhouses (to provide both reading material and toilet paper). In 1910, the Almanac's publishers began pre-drilling holes in the corners to make it even easier for readers to keep all of that invaluable information (and paper) handy.

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