[GreenYes] Re: EPA mercury model

["Joy Kingsborough" <joyking@no.address>]

Here is a breakdown on Mercury emmissions vs. Mercury contained within the
CFL that may be of interest:


Incandescent:

-The production/manufacture of 1 traditional incandescent light bulb emits
10 mg. of Mercury emissions into the air

-1 traditional incandescent contains 0 mgs of mercury within the bulb itself

 

CFL:

-CFLs produce 6.4 total mgs of combined Mercury (airborne emissions and
solid mercury inside the CFL)

-The production/manufacture of 1 CFL emits 2.4 mg. of Mercury emissions into
the air (far less than a traditional light bulb)

-1 CFL contains 4.0 mg of Mercury (mixed with other chemicals) within the
glass tubing. This is about the size of the head of a ball point pen spread
across the inside of the bulb. 

 

Airborne mercury is a far greater concern than powder or liquid mercury
contained in the bulb itself with the caveat that they are recycled
properly. I have seen dozens of pictures of fluorescents in the landfills
and it is disturbing.

 

Joy

Arizona

  _____  

From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address] On Behalf
Of Reindl, John
Sent: Friday, May 11, 2007 6:20 AM
To: Matthew Cotton
Cc: GreenYes@no.address
Subject: [GreenYes] RE: EPA mercury model

 

Hi Matt ~

 

Yes, the EPA numbers do include all fluorescents. The model does show a
break down of fluorescents and non-fluorescents (some of which also contain
mercury).

 

BTW, some CFLs have more mercury in them than the linear bulbs. All should
be recycled.

 

Again, I would be glad to send the model to anyone. There are a lot of
mercury products that should be diverted from landfills and incinerators and
I would encourage all recycling programs to help out in this effort. 

 

John 

-----Original Message-----
From: Matthew Cotton [mailto:mattcotton@no.address]
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 9:54 PM
To: Reindl, John
Cc: GreenYes@no.address
Subject: Re: [GreenYes] mercury from fluorescents

John -  

 

I'm way out of my league here, but wouldn't the EPA number (for mercury)
include all fluorescent lights (like the long white tube kind, that are
fairly ubiquitous) versus the smaller, individual fixture Compact
Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) which are not quite as mainstream, but are seen as
one quick thing an individual can do to reduce individual energy
consumption?

 

Does EPA break out the source of the Hg (i.e., type of light, etc)?

 

Matthew Cotton

Integrated Waste Management Consulting, LLC

19375 Lake City Road

Nevada City, CA  95959

(530) 265-4560

Fax (530) 265-4547

mattcotton@no.address

 

Join us at the US Composting Council's 16th Annual Conference & Trade Show,
February 8 - 12th, 2008 at the Oakland Marriott City Center, Oakland,
California.  Check it out at www.compostingcouncil.org

 

On May 10, 2007, at 12:08 PM, Reindl, John wrote:





According to the mercury flow model done for EPA, the release of mercury
from fluorescents to the environment in 2005 in the US is estimated at about
8.2 metric tons, down from 13.7 metric tons in 2000. 

 

All the coal burning power plants in the US emit about 45 metric tons of
mercury to the air.

 

So, fluorescents are not an insignificant source of mercury emissions to the
environment.

 

Please let me know if you would like a copy of the model, which is an Excel
spreadsheet. 

 

John Reindl

Dane County, WI 

-----Original Message-----
From: GreenYes@no.address [mailto:GreenYes@no.address]On Behalf
Of daklute@no.address
Sent: Thursday, May 10, 2007 1:51 PM
To: Doug Koplow
Cc: bill@no.address; GreenYes@no.address
Subject: [GreenYes] Re: Ban the Bulb -- But don't create a new toxic
problem, say local governments

The ENERGY STAR program has pretty rigorous QA/QC in terms of lumen
maintenance and hours of use. If they don't perform, they don't get
certified. IF they don't get certified, Wal-Mart won't sell them. Also, the
EPACT set up certain hours of use requirmenets for CFL's - I think it is
6000. 

Don't forget, as a source of anthropogenic Hg, this is a very small one. 



 

<BR


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