Mercury: Cleanup for Broken CFLs

Mercury: Cleanup for Broken CFLs

Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are about 75% more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs and last 10 times longer, and thus have quickly become a modern-day environmental icon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 290 million CFLs were sold in 2007. But CFLs do have one dim spot on their otherwise bright green image: the mercury that makes the bulbs’ inn...

Ultraviolet Leaks from CFLs

With growing concern over energy use, much of the developed world has adopted compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs), which use 25–80% less energy and can last 3 –25 times longer than regular incandescent bulbs. A new study suggests that certain elements of these bulbs might be improved for safer use. Investigators measured ultraviolet (UV) radiation emissions from nine commercially available CFLs an...

Exposure analysis of accidental release of mercury from compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs).

Mercury release after breakage of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) has recently become an issue of public health concern, especially in the case of early life infants. Preliminary, screening type calculations have indicated that there is potential for increased intake of mercury vapor by inhalation after breakage of a CFL. Several experimental and computational studies have shown that, when mod...

Mercury Vapor Release from Broken Compact Fluorescent Lamps and In Situ Capture by New Nanomaterial Sorbents

The projected increase in the use of compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) motivates the development of methods to manage consumer exposure to mercury and its environmental release at the end of lamp life. This work characterizes the time-resolved release of mercury vapor from broken CFLs and from underlying substrates after removal of glass fragments to simulate cleanup. In new lamps, mercury vapor...

Remediation of Indoor Airborne Mercury Released from Broken Fluorescent Lamps