A coworker of mine recently posted an article warning of the eminent dangers posed by CFLs or Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs. (those power sipping twisty-twirly replacements for regular light bulbs) Having recently purchased a number of them in my never ending quest to reduce my energy consumption, I was initially quite alarmed. Were these supposedly environment saving devices actually ticking time-bombs waiting to go off? I knew that just like regular fluorescent lights, CFLs contain mercury, and I’d read about the problems of mercury and fish in the news. It seemed pretty clear that this was a problem until I read a page on the U.S. EPA’s website about mercury exposure. As it turns out, it’s not the pure elemental mercury (ie: the mercury you see in thermostats and don’t see in fluorescent bulbs) that’s really dangerous to humans, but rather another form of mercury called methylmercury that is very harmful to us. So, that’s great right? Unfortunately it’s not that simple. The way we humans generally come into contact with methylmercury is that we release elemental mercury into the environment. (mostly from the emissions of coal-fired power plants) The heavy metal element, with the help of rainwater gets deposited into soil and sediments where it gets converted by bacteria into methylmercury. Those bacteria get eaten by larger and larger organisms and eventually end up on our dinner table. So, back to the bulbs. They aren’t a direct threat, but we need to make sure we treat them properly. The problem is, for the most part, we probably aren’t doing that. So, if you’re using CFLs or regular fluorescent bulbs (and most of you probably at least use the latter) please make sure you aren’t just throwing the bulbs in the trash. Check with your local authorities to find out about recycling options and proper disposal practices. Maybe, just maybe we can save energy and the environment at the same time.
