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Weighing Carbon Footprint Against Mercury Contamination

http://blog.drdavidwilliams.com/blog/dr-david-williams/0/0/weighing-carbon-footprint-against-mercury-contamination

The state of California, as well as the country of Australia, are considering banning the use of incandescent lighting and encouraging people to start using fluorescent lighting. While this move, no doubt, would save an enormous amount of energy and could substantially reduce toxic emissions, there is one concern involving fluorescent lighting that seems to have been overlooked—the issue of mercury.

Fluorescent lights are filled with argon gas and mercury vapor. It’s the photons given off when the mercury vapor is energized that produces the light. The average fluorescent light contains 20 mg of mercury. (Some of the newer CFLs contain only about 4 mg of mercury, an amount that would just cover the tip of a ball-point pen.) This may not sound like much mercury, but consider the fact that it takes only a single gram to contaminate a 2-acre pond of water. Currently, about 800 million fluorescent lamps are being produced yearly to replace those that burn out. That’s enough mercury to contaminate nearly 20 million acres of water.

And mercury contamination isn’t something new; it’s just the awareness that’s recent. I can remember that, as a child, my brother and I played with the mercury (often referred to as “quicksilver”) from broken thermometers. Those old thermometers contained 500 mg of mercury! I have no idea where that mercury eventually ended up.

The dangers of mercury contamination are well-known and documented. Mercury is the second most toxic naturally occurring substance on earth. (Plutonium is said to be the most toxic.) Mercury is recognized as one of the most hazardous substances in our food and water, and has been linked to everything from mental impairment in our children to heart disease in adults, and is a possible contributor to the growing epidemic of Alzheimer’s. (Neuroreport 1;12(4):733–737)

While a few states (California, Wisconsin, Ohio, Minnesota, Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan) have passed laws making it illegal to throw fluorescent bulbs in the trash, I’m not convinced that it can be enforced. I doubt that most people in these states even know about the law.

There are also companies that specialize in recycling these bulbs, for a charge of anywhere from $2 to $4 per bulb. Through recycling, over 99 percent of the mercury can be reclaimed and kept out of the environment.

All of these recycling efforts are highly commendable, but I still think we’re going to see a very significant increase in mercury pollution for several years to come. And along with that we’re going to see increases in childhood mental deficiencies and cases of Alzheimer’s and other “unexplained” neurological diseases.

Don’t get me wrong—I think widespread use of fluorescent bulbs has a place in solving many of our current problems. Full-spectrum bulbs are a good choice, and even better are LED bulbs—which don’t contain toxic material, but haven’t become inexpensive enough yet for widespread use. I have no problem with the use of fluorescent bulbs. I do, however, have a problem with their potential for contamination.

For more information on how to detoxify the body, eliminating body toxins, or liver detoxification, visit Dr. Williams’ Web site.