New Zealanders will be forced to say good-bye to the traditional tear-shaped incandescent light bulb by October 2009. They will be replaced by 'greener' compact fluorescent lights (CFL's). The average CFL should last 8000 hours (approximately eight years) and use a fifth of the energy of a normal light bulb. They also contain the neurotoxin mercury.
The old bulbs are already flying off the supermarket shelves as they are bought up by people who cannot afford the new eco bulbs, those whose light fittings are not compatible, or those who do not want mercury in their house.
Te Anau housewife, Bea Souter says that if she didn't have to have eco-bulbs she would go back to using incandescent bulbs.
"I am not happy that they have mercury in them. It is extremely dangerous to people's health—kills your brain cells.
"We actually had one that exploded," she said, "But fortunately we were not in the room at the time...I didn't know that it had mercury in it. I will have to think about how I am going to dispose of them."
She said local regulations have seen a real push to have the energy-saving devices in homes.
"It is getting harder and harder to buy the other bulbs so that way you are forced to have them."
Head of the Energy Efficiency Conservation Authority's (EECA) Products Programme, Terry Collins, said they are not banning incandescent lights.
"What we are doing is introducing a performance standard. If a light uses more than 15 lumens—if it can't produce at least 15 lumens of light for every watt of energy then you can't sell it."
The traditional incandescent light bulb operates at around 13 lumens per watt. Halogen light bulbs, another form of incandescent light, last twice as long and offer about thirty per cent savings.
People who suffer from light sensitivity, or the chronic auto-immune disease, lupus, may experience side-effects from using CFLs and should use incandescent halogen light bulbs instead, Mr Collins said.
No Warnings on Packets
Concern over the mercury contained in CFLs and the fact that most are made in China, is causing doubt over the safety of the bulbs, if broken, and when discarded. The CFL bulbs contain approximately 5 milligrams of mercury, which is used to increase their efficiency.
Manufacturers and government agency websites carry stringent handling procedures for the cleaning up and recycling of bulbs to avoid contact with the toxic gases or environmental pollution. At present, there are no warnings on bulb packets that the bulbs contain mercury, nor instructions on how to safely dispose of a broken bulb.
Labelling is important, said Dr Joe Rozencqajg, MD and ecological medicine practitioner. Packets should state "this contains mercury, it is toxic, dont break it, dispose safely at this address and so on. There should be something on the packet because you should not assume that everyone connects to the internet and that everybody checks everything."
Despite the rigorous clean-up instructions, Energywise, the product arm of EECA, says the energy efficient bulbs do not pose health risks.
- have people leave the room
- open windows and doors to ventilate area
- wear gloves when cleaning up broken lamp
- DO NOT vacuum the area as this could further disperse the particles
- clothing that comes in direct contact with bulb material should be thrown away
- carefully pick up glass pieces, wrap them in newspaper and put in a plastic bag
- use a damp bloth or paper towels to clean up any liquid and smaller shards of glass
- an eye dropper or syringe could be used to collect up any liquid
- put all the cloths/paper towels, wrapped glass and gloves in a plastic bag with the normal household rubbish.
SOURCES: www.energywise.org.nz, www.epa.govt www.energystar.govt
The safe level for mercury is zero, Dr Rozencqajg said, and an accident during the transporting of light bulbs could result in the release of toxic mercury gas into the atmosphere.
"We are preparing a future where everything—the water, the soil, the animals, everything is going to be polluted by mercury—which is worse than oil, or even radioactivity—mercury never disappears."
Disposal
Fluorescent lights from businesses are already being recycled.
"They go in tubes, they get crushed and they go over to Australia," Mr Collins said.
There are smaller schemes being piloted for CFLs, he added. As part of a one year trial, the Hamilton City Council has provided two drop-off points for householders to leave their fluorescent lamps and bulbs.
"To dispose of a broken bulb properly, I need to travel to waste management," Dr Rozencwajg said. "What is the point of making savings in electricity if I have to travel five or ten kilometres just to deposit it?
"They have to provide safe deposit boxes wherever you can buy it, which means in every shop. [And] on top of that be sure that they are disposing of it safely."
Currently, the energy website advises that broken CFL bulbs should not be put in the trash, and notes that "if you can't find anyone to dispose of the broken bulb, take it to your local council."
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