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Written by Phil Bailey, Political/Environmental Commentator
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Monday, March 17, 2008
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Sometimes the best of intentions go astray. Apparently, in an effort to correct a bizarro error earlier (where they essentially recommended a hazmat team be called) Maine’s DEP has issued new rules for the handling of broken compact fluorescents (energy saving light bulbs). Altho improved, the guidance still falls short of, well, reality. “The new recommendations include disposing of the broken bulb in a sealed glass jar and potentially removing any affected area of carpet. The report goes on to explain that mercury vapors ‘spike’ in the immediate area following the breakage. The report also emphasizes that CFL’s are still preferable to use.” The news reports (and subsequent radio reports) emphasized how dangerous CFL’s are. Well, here’s my take on what Maine’s DEP should have done.
1) They should have emphasized that if (and it's a mighty big if) a CFL breaks, the simple act of opening a window and vacating the room for 15-20 minutes will disperse the very small amount of mercury vapor. I wonder whether the measurements they took were both short term and in an enclosed room. The amount of mercury in a CFL fits on the tip of a ballpoint pen. Compare that to the old baby or weather thermometers.
2) Possibly removing carpeting?? Since most homes have broadloom and not carpet tile that could prove to be a huge disincentive to installing CFL's. I wonder if they did any tests of dropping CFL's onto carpeted areas as the cushioning effect of the carpet has an effect. CFL's are more durable than incandescents to begin with and when dropped the heavier base tends to hit the floor first. Now if you drop it upside down on a hardwood floor, then more likely to break but the most likely time one will be broken is on installation (because CFL’s last so long).
ALtho not the fault of the DEP, the reporter did not report any figures for the positive difference CFL's make. The mercury not released from coal fired power plants dwarfs (big time) any mercury released by CFL's. DEP should have provided the reporter with those figures. In An article in Popular Mechanics, CFL mercury vs incandescent is a no brainer. CFL’s come out with a 4:1 advantage. In sum, before releasing a report that seeks to undo their earlier very poor advice they should have pre-released the recommendations to other states, some practicing environmentalists (people who use CFL's and have had them break?) and CFL experts in the industry. The problem is the article (and radio news I heard this morning) make CFL's sound dangerous. What they should have reported was the following: (again, from that same Popular Mechanics article) Russ Leslie at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, associate director of the Lighting Research Center. “Though it’s nothing to laugh at, unless you wipe up mercury [without gloves] and then lick your hand, you’re probably going to be okay.” Remember this please. If we all used CFL’s and even replaced half our regular light bulbs, not only would our utility bill go down but we could save enough oil to reduce (not eliminate) our dependence on foreign oil.
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