"Facts about Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs"
By Obiora Embry
Mentioned in April 2010 Peaceways Newsletter

"Knowledge is power and at the end of the day, our health, the health of our children, the health of our community, and the health of Mother Earth is our responsibility. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the human and environmental affects of the products that we buy."
‐ Obiora Embry

Compact Fluorescent Light (CFL) bulbs were invented in 1976 by a General Electric engineer and since the late 1990’s there has been an increase in their sales. In 2007, more than 300 million CFLs were sold in the United States. With this popularity and the hazardous materials they contain, the packaging should include information on the handling, disposal, and the actions to be taken if CFLs are broken, but this not the case. In order to receive this vital information, we have to call an 800 number or go to a Web site.

Knowledge is power and at the end of the day, our health, the health of our children, the health of our community, and the health of Mother Earth is our responsibility. Therefore, it is imperative that we understand the human and environmental effects of the products that we buy. This knowledge should be given via our local news, local health department, safety and regulatory government agencies, elected officials, etc., so that we can become an informed citizenry and keep the power in the hands of the people. However, this information is not disseminated to US, so we have to do the research on our own.

Four or more years ago, I researched Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs and decided this year to shed some light on this complex subject.

Material Composition

Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs contain Mercury; Phosphors (some known materials in the Phosphate mix include Manganese, Lanthanum, Yttrium, and Barium/Aluminum Oxide); petroleum—plastic is a petroleum derivative; Aluminum, Tin, Lead, Copper, Zinc, and Nickel (these elemental metals make up the metallic parts of the filament and endcap); and other materials.

Heavy Metals

The Mercury, Lead, Aluminum, Copper, Nickel, and Barium are heavy metals. Heavy metals pose the greatest health threat to humans when we absorb them through the skin, inhale the vapors, and/or eat organisms in which they have bioaccumulated. Bioaccumalation happens when the concentration of a substance is higher in an organism than the concentration found in the natural environment. In humans, heavy metals tend to accumulate in the soft tissues and may take months or years to be fully removed from the body. Since it takes so long for heavy metals to "pass through" the body, after repeated exposure a human may begin to suffer from heavy metal poisoning.

The heavy metal poisoning caused by the six heavy metals above can result in the following acute and chronic health effects:

Mercury

If warnings are given on a CFL package, they pertain to Mercury so this article will focus on it. Mercury cannot be created nor destroyed so it is mined from the earth. It is added to Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs as a solid, liquid, or via pellet amalgam dosing technology—the amalgams vary and may include combinations of Iron, Bismuth, Indium, Tin, and/or Lead. Elemental Mercury and Mercuric Oxide are always added to CFLs. Elemental Mercury is a silvery and mobile odorless liquid. Mercuric Oxide is a yellow to orange-yellow odorless powder.

The total amount of Mercury added to CFLs varies by brand, wattage, and manufacturer. In 2008, the Energy Star1 program stated that CFLs contained an average of 4 mg (milligrams) Hg, while the Northeast Waste Management Officials Association reported that each bulb had 5‐50 mg Hg. [Note: If Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs do not contain enough Mercury for the life of the bulb, then it will fail prematurely. In 2005, the United Nations Environment Programme reported that CFLs with higher Mercury amounts were cheaper than ones with less Mercury.]

Handling

The spiral top is made from glass (unless stated otherwise) and should be handled with care when taking out of the package, installing, or removing from a fixture. When installing, you should screw Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs from the base (never the spiral) while using a minimal amount of force. After touching CFLs, you should thoroughly wash your hands.

CFLs should NOT be installed in a track, recessed, inverted, or dimmer fixture because doing so can start a fire. In addition to the fire hazard, if a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb is not kept on for a minimum of 15 minutes, then its life span can be reduced by as much as 85%. The life span of a CFL can also be decreased if installed in a bathroom because of the humidity. Lastly, if a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb is installed in a night lamp, floor lamp, or a table lamp, it should be placed 12 in. (30 cm) or more away from your body.

Disposal (Recycling)

When Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs burn out or reach their end‐of‐life, caution should be taken because the glass can crack near the lamp base, acrid plastic smoke and carcinogenic fumes can form, and/or the sockets may melt. If the sockets melt or the glass is cracked, then there is the possibility of a fire.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)‐the federal U.S. government agency that makes recommendations on the disposal and cleanup of CFLs‐does not classify CFLs as hazardous waste under the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). The EPA assumes that every CFL contains 5 mg Hg, which means that the amount of Mercury that can leach out is less than 0.2 milligrams per liter (mg/L) Hg. However, some states treat all Mercury‐containing light bulbs as hazardous waste because of the danger posed to humans—especially trash collectors—and Mother Earth.

[Note: The EPA historically has not done the best job that it can nor should to protect the environment and the health of humans as they allow US to be exposed (often times unknowingly) to neurotoxins, carcinogens, and other toxic/hazardous materials/chemicals because an estimated threshold in a lab was not reached. Every human is different, so the "one size fits all" mentality should NOT be used when it comes to our individual or collective health.]

Even though the Environmental Protection Agency does not classify CFLs as hazardous waste, they should never be disposed of in household trash or a landfill, but rather they should be recycled since they contain hazardous materials. In addition, Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs should NOT be burned or incinerated as the smoke is toxic, damages the local environment, and can be carried globally through air currents thereby polluting and causing damage to other communities.

Unbroken CFLs can be taken to a local household hazardous waste collection center, local recycling center, or retail store (i.e., Home Depot and Ace Hardware), and the Environmental Protection Agency does encourage the recycling of all Mercury-containing light bulbs. If these options are unavailable, then go to the EPA’s Web site or Earth911.org to find options in your community.

If a CFL breaks...

Compact Florescent Light bulbs can easily be broken or cracked during manufacturing, transporting, installation, removal, after being accidentally dropped or bumping lamps/fixtures, at the end‐of‐life, recycling, or when throwing away, which means that Mercury can be released. The problem that surfaces with each CFL breakage is that the amount of Mercury in each bulb is not given on the package, and it can be as little as 4 mg or as much as 40 mg.

When a Compact Fluorescent Light bulb breaks, people are exposed to elemental Mercury vapor—the liquid can vaporize at room temperature because of its low vapor pressure—and inorganic Mercury compounds (i.e., Mercuric Oxide). One broken CFL increases the elemental Mercury vapor to between 25, 000 ng/m3 (nanograms/cubic meter) and 100, 000 ng/m3, which is 83 to 333 times more than the safe level for prolonged exposure set by the EPA. The threshold set by the Environmental Protection Agency is 300 ng/m3. Inhalation is the main way that we can be affected because 80‐97% of elemental Mercury vapor is absorbed by our lungs. The vapor can circulate throughout the body and accumulate in the brain causing neurological and behavioral disorders and the kidneys, altering the renal function. Elemental Mercury vapor has a half‐life of 2 months in the body.

Inorganic Mercury compounds can enter the body through ingestion, inhaling the dust, and/or skin absorption. These compounds are caustic and can cause kidney damage.

[Note: The preceding health effects of Mercury are not complete as there are more acute and chronic health effects but the extent to how humans are affected is dependent on the magnitude of the Mercury exposure, duration of the exposure, the person’s age and health status (possibly even ethnicity and gender), and the chemical species of Mercury (i.e., elemental versus inorganic Mercury).]

In 2008, a woman in Maine was charged $2, 000 for the bio—hazard cleanup from a broken Compact Florescent Light bulb, which prompted the Maine Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP) to conduct a thorough study on the dangers posed from a broken CFL. The MDEP released a February 2008 study that made the EPA update their recommendations for the cleanup of broken CFLs.

There are many different versions (some more simplified than others) that list the steps to cleanup broken Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, however, the best resources are the MDEP’s 2008 study (page 171) and the Environmental Protection Agency’s revised guidelines. The full cleanup procedure is lengthy, so it will not be included in this article, however, as opposed to relying on the information below when a CFL breaks, one or both of the above resources SHOULD be used so that the proper steps and precautions are taken.

CFL Breakage Overview:
Additional Resources

1. Back The Environmental Protection Agency requires all CFLs labeled as Energy Star to contain less than 5 mg Mercury.