CFL BULBS – AS THE BULB BREAKS THE FABLE WILL FALL
by admin on Sep.21, 2009, under ENVIRONMENT
This winter, I realized I had a received one big snow job. However, this time it was not at the hands of my older brother but from all those “do-gooder” environmentalists.
See, I bought into the whole compact fluorescent light bulb (CFL) sell job. Our new house had a bunch of these energy efficient bulbs when we moved in and I naively went out and bought some more.
I had felt good about putting these new CFL bulbs up around the house and replacing the old, inefficient incandescent light bulbs. Annoyances like the fact that the light wasn’t as bright as the old ones or that they take a half second longer to turn on were sacrifices I was willing to make for the environment.
Doing so gave me that enviro-conscious, self-righteous swagger you get when you feel you are ahead of the unenlightened masses. You know, those non-believers, who have yet to fully appreciate how changing a light bulb can save the planet.
That is why I had resistance to ditching my CFL bulbs when my fear-mongering mother-in-law called. She explained to my wife these new light bulbs emit radiation and contain mercury.
I was able to convince my wife that her mom was overreacting about the radiation risk and I reassured her that it was important that we did our part in being green.
Later that night, I watched a story on the radiation risk from CFL bulbs on CBC’s The National.
The story confirmed the radiation risk, but only if you were in close proximity — 30 centimetres — to the fluorescent bulb.
What I found most surprising was the woman profiled in the story, who when told of the potential danger of CFL bulbs, decided to keep them anyway. According to her, the new bulb’s environmental benefit was of greater importance than a British study’s public health warning.
I must admit, my view was similar to hers, but to cover my bets and have peace with my mother-in-law, I decided to replace a couple of the CFL bulbs in reading lamps.
Sure enough, while replacing the green-conscious bulbs, one fell from my hand and broke onto the floor.
After sweeping it up and throwing it in the garbage, my wife said I should check the Internet for cleanup procedures.
Now I knew these bulbs contained a small amount of mercury, so I thought I might have to wipe the floor, too — but I had no idea that I just opened up a Pandora’s Box.
The cleaning procedures for these “toxic spills” vary greatly, from using a cloth to just short of having environmental cleanup crews come to your home.
On the one end is our provincial government’s Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, which gives us these simple, no worry instructions: “Sweep up all of the glass fragments and phosphor powder — don’t vacuum and place in a plastic bag. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up stray shards of glass or fine particles, and place the used towel in the plastic bag as well.”
The Environmental Protection Agency in the U.S., however, suggests a much more rigorous cleanup.
According to its website — and I’m paraphrasing — after I broke the CFL bulb, I should have had everyone vacate the area, ventilated the room for a minimum of 15 minutes, shut off the ventilation system, scooped contents with cardboard and placed them in a glass jar, used sticky tape to pick up remaining fragments and powder, and wipe the area clean with a damp cloth that is disposed in the glass jar.
I wasn’t supposed to use a vacuum — or a broom for that matter — and any fabric such as clothing or bedding that came in contact with the broken glass or powder should not be washed, but thrown out.
Wow, what a great product. I’m so glad I brought these ticking time bombs into my family’s home.
Maybe I should see if I can run my vacuum cleaner on plutonium so I can save any strain on the energy grid.
Sarcasm aside, I know this was just one bulb that broke, but I think growing up my brother and I must have broken at least a couple of dozen old incandescent bulbs inside our parents’ house.
Now I have two little active boys in my house and there is no way I am leaving these toxic-cleanup-sites-in-waiting around for them to discover.
So I am off to the hardware store to buy a bunch of incandescent bulbs before our misguided government bans them.
First though, I will have to make sure that I dispose of the made-in-China “mercury bulbs” properly, too. Wouldn’t want to do any further damage to the environment outside my home.
If you want to reduce the problem of toxic mercury in the air then you should look to eliminate it at its source without bringing the problem into people’s homes.
Dropping that CFL bulb hopefully won’t cause any ill effects to my family, but it sure has got the snow out of my eyes.
I realized I had let my desire to be green and noble get in the way of seeing this snow job for what it is and not using my common sense.
Gregory Cawsey is a member of the Mercury’s Community Editorial Board. He can be reached at justcaws.com.
November 30th, 2010 on 5:04 PM
Joy MacKiddie
Dear Editor – In mid-January one of these energy-saving “curly lights” exploded in my kitchen. It shattered the light globe into long spearlike fragments. What shocked me was the fact that a lot of these were all around where I had been sitting a few minutes before.
It scared the daylights out of me to the point where I called the police. Not a rational step, but at that moment, I was terrified.
The woman who answered the phone told me this was not a police matter, but to complain to the place where the bulbs were purchased.
From this point on I was referred from one place to another. Personnel at Canadian Tire told me these bulbs have to always be inserted in an upright position and Guelph Hydro referred me to my electrician.
My electrician came and examined both the light fixture and bulbs. He noted that on each bulb one leg was severed and that there was ballast on the outside of the bulbs and the sockets.
He also noticed that both the fixture and the wiring was new. He told me that these bulbs were similar in construction to a neon light.
He could not find the cause as to why these bulbs would explode, but he wasn’t surprised at the damage. He explained that when a neon light explodes, there is a lot of power released. The next day he contacted a spokesperson of a company that makes these lights. As a result, he learned that these “curly bulbs” should not be put in an enclosed glass fixture. He also stated that the upright position was nonsense.
Later a friend took apart the light and poked up into the insulation of the ceiling where he discovered moisture. He instantly wanted to know if a toilet had overflowed or anything else that could have caused moisture to be present there.
I knew that moisture could not have come from those places. Since the light was close to a window I knew there was an eavestrough right above the window. We observed that the eavestrough had a large build up of ice and snow resulting in moisture seeping into the insulation and as a result a “short” was caused.
Moisture caused the short, not the bulb.
When I read Community Editorial Board columnist Gregory Cawsey’s recent column (“As the bulb breaks, the fable will fall,” Guelph Mercury, Feb. 2), I started to think about the mercury and radiation equation.
Mercury is a highly toxic gas at room temperature and radiation is already present in our homes. Parents are warned to keep children two metres back from the television and doctors advise their pregnant patients to not use microwaves.
We also have computers and cellphones that emit radiation. Do we also need radiation coming from our lights in our homes? We’d have it coming to us in all directions.
Here are questions I believe we all should have answers to:
A moisture buildup after a shower, a toilet overflowing and causing some water damage, how much can these bulbs handle before exploding?
Could lightning wreak havoc on a home if it followed the electrical wires of that home and what could happen if many bulbs were affected?
Would you have peace of mind leaving your children at home as they entertained friends knowing how rough they can be at times and that accidents happen? For example, knocking over lamps with mercury-filled bulbs that contain a toxic gas that is invisible and odourless.
As the voltage and wattage increases, does the radiation also increase?
Does the number of bulbs in a fixture increase the distance that you have to stay away from it in order to be safe from radiation?
There is one contradictory factor: The company spokesperson stated these bulbs cannot be placed in an enclosed glass fixture. What about the new energy-saving bulbs that resemble an incandescent bulb? These are curly bulbs disguised by a glass cover.
Frankly, when they say these bulbs will save us $50 in energy costs, my health and the health of my children is more important to me. To save money, train yourself to turn off unused lights. Use natural light from the sun as much as you can.
I have heard that the incandescent bulb will be cancelled in Ontario by the year 2012. Personally, I think that they should put the brakes on that idea until they have a proven safe product.
– Joy MacKiddie, Guelph
September 15th, 2010 on 8:30 AM
great blog thank you