Energy saving Light Bulbs

robh2002

This has been mentioned some time ago but without the tiny amounts of mercury the bulbs wouldn't work properly, so it's not _just_ institutions not giving a damn about the earth. There are considerably more important problems that institutions ignore that this one! Properly disposal of these bulbs is not a problem - just don't stick them in the bin. Besides, how often do they actually 'blow' such that they leak?

leedswillprevai

Hi rob the environment agency advise you to clear the area if one breaks or leaks, so it becomes a matter of a "small" amount of mercury still being extremely dangerous for human health. My point about corporations not giving a damn about what they are doing to human health and the earth was that although this might not be the biggest issue it is yet another example (to me at least) of how dangers are disregarded. I could launch into dozens and dozens of examples of this from aspartame to melamine but i shall hold back from that diatribe!

robh2002

I wouldn't disagree, although I am no medic. I remember clearly when I was a kid and a mercury thermometer was broken and it spilled its contents over the floor/desk - it was just cleaned up and the lesson continued! I'm not saying mercury isn't a nasty material, but perhaps the 'risks' are over played in our overly safety conscious world! The risks are also over played by those who don't like the bulbs for other reasons or by people who are against any notion of man made global warming.

andykn

I can't find the Environment Agency advice you refer to but surely it shows that the Govt do give a damn; they've just decided that the mercury is less harmful than the climate change.

whatsupdoc

Mercury is not really a problem - which makes the banning of mercury thermometers and the loss of all the jobs associated an absolute disgrace.

Mercury vapour is the really dangerous one - as used in the 'environmentally friendly' energy saving lightbulbs!

robh2002

Is it the case that CFLs contain liquid mercury which is then vaporised at switch on - not sure of this so I thought I would ask? Either way the mercury emitted by burning coal (which we still do an awful lot of) also emits mercury. So the bulbs may not be environmentally friendly as we would all like, but it would appear that they are still better than incandescent bulbs. I'd like to see some proper scientific data on this - any one know of data other than web sites and blogs?

If a bulb is broken - open the window, but again how often does a bulb actually break? One needs to consider both the risk of illness and also the likelihood of being exposed in the first place to make an accurate assessment.

johntheexpat

Energy saving light bulbs, three for a quid at Robert Dias.  Not bad at all.  
(Still a waste of a quid if you don't like the light they give off, however. )

Already Taken

And five for a quid at Sainsburys - good quality Philips bulbs as well.

johntheexpat

i woz robbed!

Already Taken

A while back . Morrisons had them on at 10 for a quid!

Annoyingly I'd already got a full set by then but I did pick up a few more as spares