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While compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are more efficient than incandescents, it’s important to remember that they also contain mercury. Safely recycling used fluorescent lamps and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is important for the environment, but also for the health of consumers and handlers who come into contact with them. Exposure to mercury vapors can lead to significant risks including neurological damage. Despite the potential health issues, fluorescent lamps and CFLs are growing steadily in the industrial, commercial and residential markets. They are four to six times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, offer energy cost savings and deliver a longer working life. In order to safely dispose of and recycle used fluorescent lamps and CFLs, they must be properly packaged in an effective mercury-safe storage or shipping container that includes an adsorbent technology.
A study by Nucon International, Inc., a world-wide leader in providing gas, vapor and liquid phase adsorption solutions for mercury and other contaminants to the nuclear and other industries, found that within mercury-specific packaging with broken lamps inside, vapor levels can reach over 150 to 300 times OSHA’s 8-hour permissible exposure limit. A new, patent-pending adsorbent technology, recently announced at the Air & Waste Management Association’s Conference & Exhibition, can significantly reduce the mercury vapor levels in these storage and recycling packages. Levels were reduced by nearly 60 percent in only 15 minutes and over 95 percent after 12 hours, according to the study. The adsorbent pad is impregnated with powdered, activated carbon and reacted with proprietary inert chemicals, allowing it to effectively capture and reduce the mercury vapor from shattered lamps to a safe level within the shipping and storage package. In addition, the adsorbent can accommodate the high volume of mercury vapor that is released when several or all bulbs in a full package are broken. This provides an added layer of protection against incidental mercury exposure, offering consumers and other handlers a safer way to recycle their used fluorescent lamps and CFLs. A small consumer-size recycling bag, now available, also features this technology and allows people to safely store three to four used CFLs at home before taking them to a retailer or municipality that accepts CFLs for recycling. This bag can also be used to help clean up broken CFLs following EPA instructions printed on the bag.
View a short animated depiction of the adsorption process at http://www.vaporlokproducts.
Download a detailed White Paper on this technology at http://www.vaporlokproducts.
Purchase consumer CFL recycling bags at http://vaporlokproducts.
As fluorescent lamps and CFLs increasingly become businesses and
consumers’ primary lighting choice, more states are taking action to
address the health and safety issues associated with their use. While
fluorescent lamps are considered as a more energy-efficient bulb than
traditional incandescent bulbs, these lamps are fragile and, upon
breaking, release mercury vapor that can be detrimental to handlers'
health—from those involved with handling new bulbs to people involved
with storing, packaging and shipping used lamps.
To address the potential dangers of unsafe packaging and transportation of used fluorescent lamps and mercury containing devices, many states are taking a stand to increase awareness by enforcing their own legislation. In March 2010, Washington took the first step in creating a law that requires lights and other mercury-containing devices to be packaged and shipped in material that will minimize the release of mercury into the environment. The law also states that packages should include mercury vapor barrier materials if lamps are transported by the United States postal service or a common carrier or collected via curbside programs and mail-back businesses.
Additional states have addressed this health issue with their own, more specific regulations regarding lamp disposal, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Massachusetts, California, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Florida and Rhode Island. To read about these laws and find out more information regarding state regulations, read our "Additional State Regulations" post.
Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC
Posted by Brad Buscher to EHSQ (Environment,Health,Safety and Quality) at 14 December 2012 10:42
While compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are more efficient than incandescents, it’s important to remember that they also contain mercury. Safely recycling used fluorescent lamps and compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) is important for the environment, but also for the health of consumers and handlers who come into contact with them. Exposure to mercury vapors can lead to significant risks including neurological damage. Despite the potential health issues, fluorescent lamps and CFLs are growing steadily in the industrial, commercial and residential markets. They are four to six times more efficient than incandescent bulbs, offer energy cost savings and deliver a longer working life. In order to safely dispose of and recycle used fluorescent lamps and CFLs, they must be properly packaged in an effective mercury-safe storage or shipping container that includes an adsorbent technology.
A study by Nucon International, Inc., a world-wide leader in providing gas, vapor and liquid phase adsorption solutions for mercury and other contaminants to the nuclear and other industries, found that within mercury-specific packaging with broken lamps inside, vapor levels can reach over 150 to 300 times OSHA’s 8-hour permissible exposure limit. A new, patent-pending adsorbent technology, recently announced at the Air & Waste Management Association’s Conference & Exhibition, can significantly reduce the mercury vapor levels in these storage and recycling packages. Levels were reduced by nearly 60 percent in only 15 minutes and over 95 percent after 12 hours, according to the study. The adsorbent pad is impregnated with powdered, activated carbon and reacted with proprietary inert chemicals, allowing it to effectively capture and reduce the mercury vapor from shattered lamps to a safe level within the shipping and storage package. In addition, the adsorbent can accommodate the high volume of mercury vapor that is released when several or all bulbs in a full package are broken. This provides an added layer of protection against incidental mercury exposure, offering consumers and other handlers a safer way to recycle their used fluorescent lamps and CFLs. A small consumer-size recycling bag, now available, also features this technology and allows people to safely store three to four used CFLs at home before taking them to a retailer or municipality that accepts CFLs for recycling. This bag can also be used to help clean up broken CFLs following EPA instructions printed on the bag.
View a short animated depiction of the adsorption process at http://www.vaporlokproducts.
Download a detailed White Paper on this technology at http://www.vaporlokproducts.
Purchase consumer CFL recycling bags at http://vaporlokproducts.
Which States Are Raising Awareness of the Dangers of Mercury Vapor?
To address the potential dangers of unsafe packaging and transportation of used fluorescent lamps and mercury containing devices, many states are taking a stand to increase awareness by enforcing their own legislation. In March 2010, Washington took the first step in creating a law that requires lights and other mercury-containing devices to be packaged and shipped in material that will minimize the release of mercury into the environment. The law also states that packages should include mercury vapor barrier materials if lamps are transported by the United States postal service or a common carrier or collected via curbside programs and mail-back businesses.
Additional states have addressed this health issue with their own, more specific regulations regarding lamp disposal, including Wisconsin, Minnesota, Massachusetts, California, Vermont, New York, Connecticut, Maine, New Hampshire, Florida and Rhode Island. To read about these laws and find out more information regarding state regulations, read our "Additional State Regulations" post.
Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC
Posted by Brad Buscher to EHSQ (Environment,Health,Safety and Quality) at 14 December 2012 10:42
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