Re: CFL database

[nobody@xxxxxxxxxxxx (Dave Houston)]

I've supplied tons of facts backed up by URLs. You have responded with
nothing but ill-informed opinion.

AFAIK, there are no mandated limits on the amount of mercury in
fluorescents. It varies a great deal but, at bottom, the amount is directly
related to bulb brightness, size and life. From the first paper cited below,
it would appear that you can buy 4' straight tube fluorescents with about
the same amount of mercury as CFLs are widely reported to contain. Those
with green end-caps are low mercury. The second citation gives estimates of
the mercury contained in various types of lamps.

http://www.state.nj.us/dep/dsr/research/mercury-bulbs.pdf
http://www.newmoa.org/prevention/mercury/imerc/FactSheets/lighting.cfm

That you have 4' fluorescent tubes in your garage while I have 18"
fluorescents in one bath and circline fluorescents in the kitchen (and
they've been there for 60+ years) does not affect the facts that there are
billions more in use in commercial and industrial sites than in residential
sites nor that if you or I or anyone else replaces an incandescent with a
fluorescent, there's a net increase of mercury in our residences. If you
continue to make the idiotic argument that that's not a fact, I won't waste
my time with you.

The federal government classifies fluorescents as hazardous waste and
businesses are required to dispose of them accordingly. Many states and
localities also require special handling to dispose of them even for
residences.

http://epa.gov/region09/toxic/mercury/lighting.html


AZ Woody <reply@here> wrote:

>Oh, come on..  you're back peddling!
>
>I have 4' flor fixtures in my house, and have had them for 20 years!
>Lights over my workbench for example!
>
>Same "hazard" exists in my house, even without CFLs.
>
>"workshop lights" at HD or Lowes..  How many times have these been
>involved with HASMAT type stuff that you've heard of?  Why are they more
>or less dangerous than CFLs in the home?  Provide proof and not just
>spout your own opinion!
>
>I'll content that's there's MUCH more mercury in a 4' tube than a 15
>watt CFL.  Do you not like CFLs as you resell incandescent bulbs?
>That's the only sense I can see in your argument!
>
>Dave Houston wrote:
>> AZ Woody <reply@here> wrote:
>>
>>> Lon wrote:
>>>
>>>> Yes CFLs generate more light per watt, but have mercury issues.
>>>>
>>> Why are only CFLs connected with mercury in this discussion?  The good
>>> old 4' tubes have the same "issues" with mercury, and have been around
>>> for decades!
>>
>> But the bulk of straight tube fluorescents are used in commercial or
>> industrial facilities where hazardous waste disposal or recycling is not
>> quite the same issue that it is for households. And they've been used there
>> for many decades so there's no new mercury aside from normal growth.
>> Switching from incandescents to CFLs means a net increase in mercury.
>>
>> I've taken a cue from the "environmentalists" who claim they buy nebulous
>> carbon offsets to counterbalance all of their trips by plane. I insist that
>> my electric utility only supply me electrons generated from non-coal burning
>> plants so I'm not causing any increase in mercury. ;^)
>>
>>> Back, 20+ years ago, we had a guy (knowledgeable) at work that used to
>>> yell at people for turning off the overhead flor lights  at midday, and
>>> then turning them back on at the end of the day (we got dark at 4pm in
>>> the winter).  "it takes more power to turn these lights on than it takes
>>> to keep them on all day!"
>>
>> I was taught that, too, in Air Force electronics school in the late '50s. I
>> think it was more myth than fact as the inrush current isn't that high and
>> doesn't last very long. There is a significant effect on bulb life but even
>> there the actual time was on the order of don't turn it off if it will be
>> off less than 20 minutes. And things have changed significantly since then.
>> The latest high efficiency electronic ballasts can even be used with
>> occupancy sensors.
>>
>>> Just never get cut from a piece of broken glass from a 4' tube if you
>>> don't want to have a medical issue - yet how many times over the decades
>>> have you heard about this happening to anyone?
>>
>>
>> http://davehouston.net  http://davehouston.org
>> http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/roZetta/
>> roZetta-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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