Compact Fluorescent Bulbs and Mercury

Compact Fluorescent Bulbs, compared to incandescents:

• Use 75% less energy
• Last up to 10 times longer
• Operate 240 degrees Fahrenheit cooler than an incandescent, saving on air conditioning costs
• It is estimated that replacing ten incandescent bulbs with CFLs will result in a total energy savings of $453.
• Source: Home Depot

Yet for some reason, they’ve been getting a bad rap lately because they contain trace amounts (4mg) of Mercury. A Washington Times article asserts that breaking a CFL will result in a bill of $2,004.28 to clean up the area.

How much money does it take to screw in a compact fluorescent lightbulb? About $4.28 for the bulb and labor — unless you break the bulb. Then you — like Brandy Bridges of Ellsworth, Maine — could be looking at a cost of about $2,004.28, which doesn’t include the costs of frayed nerves and risks to health.

This is bogus. Here’s why:

• According to EPA: mercury emissions from energy required for incandescent lightbulbs in coal fired power plant = 10mg. Compact Fluorescents cause only 2mg of mercury emissions due to lower energy needs. Only 4mg of mercury is contained in a CFL, so even if you smash a CFL on the ground, you’ve released 4mg less mercury than if you ran incandescents (2+4=6 for CFL < 10 for incandescent).
• Official EPA Cleanup Procedure: “If a CFL breaks in your home, open nearby windows to disperse any vapor that may escape, carefully sweep up the fragments (do not use your hands) and wipe the area with a disposable paper towel to remove all glass fragments. Do not use a vacuum. Place all fragments in a sealed plastic bag and follow disposal instructions above.” You don’t need to call the EPA or have your house fumigated. This should not cost $2000. The only reason Brandy Bridges paid $2,004.28 was because she got ripped off by calling some cleanup firm.
• Furthermore, the average mercury intake of a human per day is estimated at 4mg, the same amount in a CFL. So it’s not like we are being exposed to something that’s not an everyday substance. This is no different from antifreeze, household cleaning components, fiberglass insulation, batteries, gasoline, oil, aspartame, etcetera.
• Check out this list of mercury in household products. Did you know mercury exists in toothpaste, shaving cream, deodorant, soap, drain cleaners, and meat/fish?
• Did you know a watch battery contains five times the mercury of a CFL? An old-style mercury thermostat contains 400 times the mercury of a CFL. What happens when you accidentally bump into your thermostat and break it, or smash your watch on accident? These things are unlikely, but so is breaking CFLs on a regular basis.

The mercury contained in CFLs is not some sort of mystical, evil compound that we haven’t seen before. Yes, all else equal, reducing mercury exposure is a good thing. But evidence suggests that compact fluorescent light bulbs reduce total released mercury even if smashed on the ground after use, and in addition, they save a ton of energy.

In conclusion, don’t read too much into the “sob story” about the broken CFL in the little girl’s bedroom. The only thing we should learn from that story is that if you call to get a broken CFL cleaned up, you can get ripped off.