Are Florescent Bulbs Dangerous?

Thursday, May 10th 2007, 5:00 pm

By: News On 6

Florescent bulbs are everywhere, in schools, office building, stores and even homes. The bulbs have been called a blessing for the environment since, according to experts, they use only a quarter of the energy and last 10 times longer than traditional bulbs. But News On 6 anchor Terry Hood reports some people say they could actually be bad for the environment.

"The market has just gone from zero to outrageous in the past nine years," said Dave Broderick with Home Depot.

At Home Depot, Dave Broderick isn't sure which is bigger, the energy savings or demand for the new bulbs.

"Demand is crazy. I mean, it's crazy. Used to be when they first came out, you'd sell 10 or 20 a week. Now I sell anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 a week," Broderick said.

But compact fluorescent bulbs have their drawbacks. They're much more expensive, the light isn't always instant, and some say they're not as good for the environment as many once thought.

"Be careful, because cleanup and disposal is way more difficult than with a regular incandescent bulb," Michael Patton of Metropolitan Environmental Trust said.

Environmentalist Michael Patton says the worry is mercury. There's about 5-milligrams in every bulb. Still, it would take 200 compact bulbs to make the same amount of mercury as in just one regular fluorescent bulb.

"That's a very minute amount, but yet you need to be afraid if you break it, that that 5-milligrams can get into your home," said Patton. "A bulb that's on all the time in a fairly safe place, by all means, CFL is the way to go. But if the bulb has a chance to be broken or barely on, say a bedroom lamp, we're urging people to be cautious."

"They've got the slightest bit of mercury in them. It's not dangerous. It's not going to come out of the fixture. The glass breaks, you're cleaning up glass, that's it," Broderick said.

There are cities in California and Wisconsin that are requiring buildings to switch to compact fluorescents. It's not illegal to throw old CF bulbs in the trash, but environmentalists say it's still not a good idea. The E.P.A. offers some proper disposal options for compact fluorescent light bulbs. Click here to read an E.P.A. fact sheet on the subject.