Most of you are now very familiar with these energy saving bulbs. most of you have no choice but to buy them.
How many of you feel slightly better when using them , knowing that they are better for the environment, and your power bills?
How many of you know that each of these light bulbs contain Mercury? your old bulbs didn't.
That's right, the highly toxic metal mercury is dangling above your head. and in every room.. the room your kids play in. the rooms you live in. there is no escaping them . everybody has them.
"Surly not enough to do Any harm though right?
Vacate the room and ventilate it for at least 15 minutes. Do not use a vacuum cleaner, but clean up using rubber gloves and aim to avoid creating and inhaling airborne dust. Sweep up all particles and glass fragments and place in a plastic bag. Wipe the area with a damp cloth, then add that to the bag and seal it. Mercury is hazardous waste and the bag should not be disposed of in the bin.
But even if you scrub and hoover the carpet, you dropped it onto, it is unlikely you will remove all the Mercury. most of it will stick into your carpet for years. leading to long term exposure to the toxic metal.
"Exposure over long periods of time or heavy exposure to mercury vapor can result in brain damage and ultimately death"- refer wikipedia
Exactly how much mercury is in these things?
Most modern energy saving bulbs contain around 5 milligrams, which may not sound a lot at first. BUT it is going to drastically effect the Environment, and our way of life. it is inevitable. Many people will die. many animals will. die. vast areas will become no go zones without the proper PPE ( Personal Protective Equipment )
think about this, how many of these bulbs have you got in your home? 6? 7? 10?
How many houses are on your road? 30? now how many roads are in your village/town/city? lets say 150.
Now that's about 31,500 Light bulbs for an average, size town. THATS allot of bulbs. how much mercury is that?
well 31,500 bulbs times 5 milligrams =157.5 g of Mercury...
now when all, these bulbs are thrown out, they are going straight to the dump.
and 157.5g of mercury being thrown out say every 5 years, is not so good.
when it rains, this is creating a mix of mercury and other crap, at your local dump. many times this toxic mix, will run off into local rivers/sea/fields/ even drains.
Which is A disaster for aquatic life. and will likely eventually find its way into your drinking water. and crops...
And that is Just one Average town/cities. Think how much your county/state is throwing away each week, month, year.
Think how much your country is throwing away. it may be in its tons.
ECO FRIENDLY LIGHT BULBS --- NONSENSE .
Courtesy: AboveTopSecret, Wikipedia, Google :)
