Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs – Are they Helpful or Harmful?

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs (CFL) are the likely replacement for the traditional incandescent bulbs that have been the standard since the early 20^th century. CFL’s have joined home thermostats and fish as potential contributors to mercury exposure. Since mercury is a neurotoxin, it can cause damage to nerve cells, and can be harmful even in small doses. The effects of mercury exposure can range from brain damage to seizures, and, with enough exposure, possible death. This article will establish a perspective to better assess the degree to which a shift to CFLs could be detrimental to the overall health of the population.

How Much Mercury Is Enough?

According to the U.S. EPA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and the World Health Organization, the limit for safe daily mercury consumption ranges between 0.a and 0.3 micrograms per kilogram. This translates to a daily limit between 7 and 20 micrograms per day for an average 150 pound individual. To provide a context for the hoopla around fish and mercury poisoning, one could eat 4 ounces of flounder every day of the week and remain well under these limits.  Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs, on the other hand, have significantly more mercury (averaging between 2.3 and 5 milligrams), approximately 500 times the limits defined above, but unlike fish, the actual use does not equate to ingesting mercury.

The Role of Mercury in Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs (CFL)

Mercury actually assists in the production of light, thereby contributing to improved efficiency and lower mercury emissions. When one considers the fact that over 40 percent of the mercury released in the environment originates from coal-fired units, which in turn, finds its way to fish via acid rain, it is somewhat ironic that mercury is also a potential remedy to controlling its impact to sources of food, namely fish.

Mitigating the Impact of Mercury

Therefore, the issue, as it pertains to CFLs, is not in the ingesting of mercury when it is running, but rather in the event the bulb breaks. Even then, the risk is limited, particularly if the broken bulb is cleaned up properly and quickly. Common sense dictates the following methods:

• Use a broom as a vacuum might inadvertently send the mercury into the air,
• Seal all debris in a plastic bag, and
• Dispose of the bagged debris at an approved site for handling hazardous waste (Using normal trash collection processes can cause inadvertent exposure to the trash pickup personnel and / or ultimately lead to leakage into the groundwater at regular landfills).

Whether the cause is from improperly handling broken CFLs or from other sources such as fish, mercury poisoning is a real concern. Symptoms to note so that one can seek immediate medical assistance to purge the toxins from your body include:

• Tremors,
• Nervousness,
• Lack of Coordination, and
• Dementia

 Putting Things in Perspective

If one considers that a typical CFL contains 4 milligrams of mercury, and compares it with other commonly used sources:

• Watch batteries (25 milligrams)
• Thermometers (2 grams)
• Thermostats (3 grams)

Exposure hinges on breaking the bulb and using improper methods to clean up the debris, the ingestion of fish poses a more significant risk with respect to mercury poisoning. Even then, by limiting the level of fish consumption (amount or frequency), there is little chance of experiencing the symptoms and debilitating impacts of mercury