On 08 Apr 2008 22:46:49 GMT, Jay Ts
wrote:

I've been adverse to fluorescent lamps for a long time,
not just because of the mercury. But last year, I read
that CFL bulbs have only about 20 mg of mercury each,
and due to the power savings, even if the mercury from
the new CFL bulbs were released into the environment,
it be less than that of a coal-fired power plant while
generating the difference in power between a CFL and
its incandescent equivalent.

The State of Maine did some research on the handling of broken CFL
lamps to avoid mercury poisoning. Basically, let the mercury vapor
dissipate before cleaning up the mess. See:
http://maine.gov/dep/rwm/homeowner/cflreport.htm

I did some Googling for how much mercury is found in CFL lamps. The
numbers vary from 2.5mg to 10.0mg depending on size. Several
manufacturers advertise low or reduced mercury content in their CFL
bulbs. Methinks 20mg is far too high, unless it's a very large bulb.

You might find this analysis of interest:
http://eartheasy.com/live_energyeff_lighting.htm
"Mercury is a toxic metal associated with contamination of water,
fish, and food supplies, and can lead to adverse health affects. A CFL
bulb generally contains an average of 5 mg of mercury (about one-fifth
of that found in the average watch battery, and less than 1/100th of
the mercury found in an amalgam dental filling). A power plant will
emit 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent
bulb compared to only 2.4mg of mercury to run a CFL for the same time.
The net benefit of using the more energy efficient lamp is positive,
and this is especially true if the mercury in the fluorescent lamp is
kept out of the waste stream when the lamp expires."


--
Jeff Liebermann
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558