Daily Mail Tw@t$

After a long gluttonous and unfortunately carbon intensive Christmas break I am back, and what did I see before me in the Daily Mail this week. None other than a beautiful front cover on the banning on the conventional inefficient light bulb. The government must have done something right to ensure that a "voluntary ban" with the catchy headline "Robbed of their right to buy traditional light bulbs" could out strip column inches from seriously newsworthy stories, like bloodshed in Gaza.

The editors at the the Daily Mail really pushed the boat out to desperate bulb hoarders who had been frantically searching stores for the bulbs to no avail with a 25 000 bulb giveaway, rationing this national supply to just five per reader.

But what is ridiculous is that people are hoarding bulbs in their hundreds or thousands, other than the potential ebayablity in the next few years, to other bulb hoarders wanting to boost their collection of bulbs into the tens of thousands this also shows the lack of real reasoning, that an average light bulb lasts 600hrs.

We have had a few comments on the actual price of the energy saving bulbs, which are "too expensive". I picked some energy saving bulbs up at Tesco for only 8p each, to be truthful, I picked up a few hundred, to give out to friends, family and whoever else wanted them. Not to mention the fact that they last 10 to 12 times longer than incandescent bulbs. Look and you shall find them for cheap or free. Plus you won't have to run to the shops in your car as often to buy them, saving time and fuel, and of course risking life to change the one on the landing.

People are concerned that they require more resources than conventional bulbs, and that must be more carbon intensive. However, a carbon footprint analysis by the Carbon Trust for Tesco own brand CFL bulbs showed that per hour of usage, the energy saving bulb was less carbon intensive in it's production.

Medical charities say they can trigger epileptic fits, migraines and skin rashes. To which I don't doubt that this is an extremely small minority, or as we all went to Tesco to pick up incandescent bulbs we would simply fall to the ground in a fit and burst out into a rash, not to mention the inability to function in life at all, as almost all publicly accessible buildings have CFLs.

New Apple Range a Little Bit Greener

Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the latest Apple products available now, and focused on the environmental side of the new iPod nano and iPod touch he said;

Keynote Speech iPod Nano (Time Stamp 24m 20s to 25m 30s)

"We want to be, just really environmental sensitive with these products we ship alot of them. We are constantly worried about reducing the size of the packaging, and the transportation carbon that we spend to move these around the world. But, the biggest thing we worry about are the toxics, and we have an enviornmmental checklist we use internally on everything, and I have to say the new iPods are looking great from this point of view, they are arsenic free glass, they're BFR free, completely mercury free and PVC free. And, they are highly recyclable materials, the aluminium and the glass, high recyclable. So, we are really trying our best and there is more we are going to do in the future, but so far, we think these new nanos are the cleanest toxic free iPods we have ever built."

Keynote Speech iPod Touch (Time Stamp 45m 27s to 45m 47s)

"And, environmentally, the checklist looks a lot like the Nano, arsenic free glass, BFR free, mercury free, PVC free, and again with the stainless steel and the glass, highly recyclable enclosure. So we are really pleased with that."



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Mercury in CFLs in Context

CFLs have once again received a battering in the press this week with the BBC headlining three articles over three days over claims of their impact on their health.

The three articles were;

Low-energy bulbs 'cause migraine'
Low-energy bulbs 'worsen rashes', and today;
Low-energy bulb disposal warning

As I watched rolling news this morning on BBC Breakfast at 6am, they offered a three minute report, which whilst balanced (and needed to be entered into the public domain) bordered on alarmist, played back every thirty minutes with discussions with Dr David Grey, a toxicoligist from the University of Nottingham, and Louise Molloy of Greenpeace, on two seperate hours in the morning.

Having written an article on mercury in CFL bulbs, which is also available on the BBC Action Network, I was more than aware of the fact mercury was contained within, and not only that I have on several occasions called for adequate information regarding mercury content, recycling information and clear up information to be added to packaging and the dissemination of information of information to the public, which is seriously lacking, as 99% of us never read the packet anyway. People probably think I am getting sidelines from CFL manufactures to fight the mercury issue, however unfortunately I am not, I wish I was. CFLs are old technology, and if you can get you hands on LEDs at an affordable price, this makes a better choice over CFLs.

With Energy Star Canada citing the average CFL contains 3mg of mercury, placed in context with other household appliances CFLs are the least of our worries with the following containing mercury in far greater weights, some several hundred or times more than a CFL;

LCD Monitors
Thermometers
Thermostats
Mobile Phones, and
Dental Fillings

For a list of items in your home that could contain mercury the EPA has provided a short but not extensive list.

Whilst I am not saying mercury is safe, it is a deadly neurotoxin after all, I am trying to put your mind at rest that the amount contained in these bulbs is in relative terms only a small proportion of the mercury found in the home. CFL bulbs do not often break unless subjected to abuse, for example I have seen bulbs dropped from a reasonable height on to a solid surface, the bulb and its glass remained intact.

Even if the bulb was to break, one study looking at long tubular fluorescent bulbs found that over a two week period, only 17 to 40 percent of the mercury in the bulb evaporated. The rest remained stuck in the bulb. Roughly one-third of the mercury that evaporated did so in the first eight hours after the breakage; the rest seeped out slowly over the remainder of the study period.

Taking this into consideration that would result in 6% to 13% of the mercury being released in the first 8 hours, or 0.18mg to 0.39mg of mercury. Assuming your in a room with a volume of 25m3 (similar to a medium bedroom), this would average 0.0072mg/m3 to 0.0156mg/m3. This is equivalent to 7.2µg/m3 or 15.6µg/m3 over 8 hours. In comparison a single amalgam filling with an , average surface area of 0.4 cm2 has been estimated to release as much as 15µg mercury/day, primarily , through mechanical wear and evaporation, but also through dissolution into saliva (Lorscheider et al. 1995). For the average individual with eight occlusal , amalgam fillings, 120µg of mercury could be released daily into the mouth, and a portion of that , swallowed or inhaled (Lorscheider et al. 1995). Both Canada and WHO consider dental amalgam to be the single largest source of mercury exposure for the general public.

Something that may astound you is that the levels of mercury in a dentists surgery is up to 69µg/m3. Up to 9 times the mercury from breaking a bulb in your medium sized bedroom. Considering this you are likely to be subjecting yourself to more mercury sitting in the dentists than from breaking a CFL. Not that I am trying to put you off going to the dentist of course. There are mercury free dentists up and down the country.

As a light hearted way to end this I thought I would highlight the 102 year old ex-dentist that has emigrate to New Zealand, a story published on the same day as the Low Energy Bulbs Disposal Warning, by the BBC. Surely he should be as "Mad as a Hatter"!


If you do break a CFL bulb then follow this advice;

1. Do not allow children or pregnant women to enter the affected area
2. Open windows and allow air to circulate to the affected area
3. First sweep up all of the glass fragments and phosphor powder (do not vacuum)
4. Then place in a plastic bag
5. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up stray shards of glass or fine particles
6. Place the used towel in the plastic bag as well, and seal
7. For proper disposal of a broken CFL bulb, contact your local authority for a community household hazardous waste collection

For more information and discussion on CFLs, how to recycle, and the mercury within visit the CFL Mercury Myths

"The Longest WEEE in History"

From today, 01 July 2007, the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Directive is now enforcable in the UK. After many delays the legislation was initially intended to be in force in August 2005. Implementing the scheme into the UK is estimated to have cost £111m - £133m, and by 2017 will have cost £331m - £434m according to figures from the Department of Trade and Industry.

Covered under the legislation is ten types of product each given their own specific category;

• Large household appliances: fridges, freezers, microwave ovens, washing machines
• Small household appliances: vacuum cleaners, toasters, coffee machines, electric toothbrushes
• IT and telecommunications equipment: PCs, laptops, monitors, keyboards, printers, cordless phones
• Consumer equipment: radios, TVs, DVD players, video recorders etc
• Lighting equipment: low-energy Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs) are classified as WEEE
• Electric tools: all tools such as drills, saws, sewing machines. Only large, stationary industrial tools are exempt
• Toys, sport and leisure equipment: electric trains, game consoles, cycle computers etc
• Medical devices: implanted or infected products are exempt
• Monitoring and control devices: smoke alarms, thermostats, etc
• Automated devices: this classification covers all appliances that automatically deliver products, for example, drinks, food, money, etc.

The WEEE directive obligates manufactures and importers of electrical equipment covered under the scheme responsible for the recycling of their products at no cost to the consumer, the intention is that this will increase the amount of electronics being recycled and reduce the amount of ewaste which ends up in our landfill sites, which pose a substaintial environmental threat from the dangerous substances that are contained within. I have previously written about mobile phones and CFL bulbs, each of which contain dangerous chemicals which need to be disposed or reclaimed of in a controlled manner.

Under the directive each of the European Union nations must meet a target of recycling a minimum 4kg of ewaste per resident. Whilst manufactures and importers are obligated, there is not obligation on the consumer to recycle their ewaste, however since August 2005, most electronic devices have been issued with a new logo (pictured above) to try discourage disposal in general household waste.

To guage how big a problem ewaste is in the UK, each year we dispose of 1.2m tonnes of waste electronics, the majority of which makes its way to landfills. Through the implementation of WEEE, it is anticipated that 20% will be diverted from landfill, however industry analysts predict that this figure will be far greater.

Whilst the implementation has taken longer than expected the systems in place to help reduce waste going to landfill are welcomed by all, any reduction in ewaste is a benefit to the environment. With the new legislation in place it will also act as an incentive to companies to ensure that their products are made from materials which can easily and cost effectively be recycled, ultimately the cost of the scheme will be bourne by the consumer, but in the compeitive high demand world of electronics this will be a marginal increase on the price of each product.

The CFL Mercury Myths

In recent weeks the CFL has been receiving negative press, most of which is unfortunately generated because lack of knowledge surrounding the disposal of a CFL bulb. Most of these stories relate to individuals who have received incorrect information from hardware stores, supermarkets and even public health officials. One such story is from the Canada Post.

The real truth is yes CFL bulbs do contain mercury, this is an essential element of the bulb and without this it would not operate. Whilst the amount of mercury used in production a CFL lamp is at most 6mg, the average mercury content is 4mg.

Taking the above totals into consideration, mercury emissions by a CFL lamp from electricity consumption over its lifetime is about 2.4mg of mercury. Emissions from an incandescent light bulb is about 10mg for the same period through electricity consumption. Therefore a CFL bulb emits 76% less mercury over the same time period. However, mercury stored in CFL bulbs is perfectly safe unless the glass is in someway damaged, in which case the bulbs can then emit mercury vapour. If the mercury from a CFL was to escape it would total 6.4mg, a 36% reduction on emissions from an incandescent.


One study looking at long tubular fluorescent bulbs found that over a two week period, only 17 to 40 percent of the mercury in the bulb evaporated. The rest remained stuck in the bulb. Roughly one-third of the mercury that evaporated did so in the first eight hours after the breakage; the rest seeped out slowly over the remainder of the study period.


The mercury in a CFL can however be reclaimed and reused through the process of recycling. Collected bulbs are crushed in a machine that uses negative pressure ventilation and a mercury absorbing filter. Therefore if you use a CFL with renewable energy and recycle it, the mercury emmission level is actually negated completely.

Mercury emissions from power plants get into rain clouds and come down in lakes and rivers, poisoning fish and the people who eat them, which has been the contributing factor the recent new recommendations from Health Canada for fish consumption. Coal-fired power plants in the US are the largest source of mercury emissions, spewing 50 tons a year into the air, about 40 percent of the total US mercury emissions. By installing CFL bulbs, you should reduce you mercury emissions from electricity by 14%. If the USA as a nation completely installed CFLs, this should lead to a 7 tonne reduction of mercury emissions per year. Each CFL should last 5 years on average. So that would equate to 35 tonnes of mercury emissions avoided, it would take 8.75 billion CFLs being disposed to landfill to equal the US mercury savings over the same time frame or 30 per US citizen, an almost impossible feat to achieve even with serious neglect.

In the European Union, CFL lamps are one of many products subject to the WEEE recycling scheme. The retail price includes an amount to pay for recycling, and manufacturers and importers have an obligation to collect and recycle CFL lamps. You should contact your local authority for information on how to recycle bulbs in your area.

If you need to dispose of a CLF lamp in the UK, contact your local council environmental services department, you can find their details at Directgov.

If you need to dispose of a CFL bulb in the USA, the Environmental Protection Agency advise you to visit Earth911.org. If details for your area are unavailable please contact your local authority for more information.

If you live near an IKEA store, why not give them a call they offer CFL recycling bins in stores across the world. In their fiscal 2006 year, IKEA recycled 156,301 pounds of CFLs. Notably, the IKEA CFL recycling program was recently singled out for recognition at a March 20th press conference held by Connecticut State Attorney General Richard Blumenthal. Blumenthal is trying to persuade other big chain stores to do the same.


If you should break a CFL, please clean up with care following these steps;

1. Do not allow children or pregnant women to enter the affected area
2. Open windows and allow air to circulate to the affected area
3. First sweep up all of the glass fragments and phosphor powder (do not vacuum)
4. Then place in a plastic bag
5. Wipe the area with a damp paper towel to pick up stray shards of glass or fine particles
6. Place the used towel in the plastic bag as well
7. For proper disposal of a broken CFL bulb, contact your local authority for a community household hazardous waste collection

"A CFL containing 5 mg of mercury breaks in your child’s bedroom that has a volume of about 25 m3 (which corresponds to a medium sized bedroom). The entire 5 mg of mercury vaporizes immediately (an unlikely occurrence), resulting in an airborne mercury concentration in this room of 0.2 mg/m3. This concentration will decrease with time, as air in the room leaves and is replaced by air from outside or from a different room. As a result, concentrations of mercury in the room will likely approach zero after about an hour or so. Under these relatively conservative assumptions, this level and duration of mercury exposure is not likely to be dangerous, as it is lower than the US Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard of 0.05 mg/m3 of metallic mercury vapor averaged over eight hours."
Professor Sue MacIntosh, Professor of Environmental Health, Harvard University

So don't be put off by purchasing CFLs because they are good for your pocket and the environment, just be slighty more cautious with handling and enjoy the benefits of a 14% reduction in energy costs.


Sources

Environmental Protection Agency
Energy Saving Trust
Wikipedia: CFLs
Health & Energy Company
Ministry of Energy, Canada