Cohousing-L Mailing List: mercury and compact fluorescent

[Philip S Proefrock (psp]

Concern over mercury in the environment is actually another reason to
choose to use compact fluorescent bulbs rather than incandescent bulbs. 
One of the largest sources for mercury in the environment is from trace
amounts in coal that become airborne when that coal is burned for
generating electricity.

>From TreeHugger.com:
"Ironically, compact fluorescent bulbs are responsible for less mercury
contamination than the incandescent bulbs they replaced, even though
incandescents don't contain any mercury. The highest source of mercury in
America?s air and water results from the burning of fossil fuels, such as
coal, at utilities that supply electricity. Since a compact fluorescent
bulb uses 75 percent less energy than an incandescent bulb, and lasts at
least six times longer, it is responsible for far less mercury pollution
in the long run. A coal-burning power plant will emit four times more
mercury to produce the electricity for an incandescent bulb than for a
compact fluorescent."
http://www.treehugger.com/files/2005/06/what_about_merc.php

See also:
http://www.nema.org/lamprecycle/epafactsheet-cfl.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compact_fluorescent_lamp#Environmental_issues

Philip Proefrock


quoting "LK Dingeldein" <lkdingeldein1 [at] msn.com>:
> ...  Among the major points I want to stress
> here are: Mercury from CFLs (compact flourescent lights could be
> released into the natural environment unless these bulbs are
> properly disposed of...