Their news post, in turn links to the Edmund Contoski authored document
(pdf, from the Science & Public Policy Institute, alternative source link here).

 
Edited blog post copy:

Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFLs) Are Costly and Dangerous Can Cause Fires – Even Explosions!

Table of Contents

pg 03 Fires and Explosions from CFLs
pg 04 The PROVEN Dangers of Mercury in CFLs
pg 06 Other Hazardous Chemicals in CFLs
pg 07 False Information on CFL Costs and Bulb Life
pg 09 Recycling Costs, Health and Environmental Dangers
pg 10 What About LEDs?
pg 11 Other Problems
pg 12 Is Government Really Smarter Than the Consumers?

 

Mercury—The danger is far greater than admitted.
CFLs Save Money? — The numbers are false!
CFL Bulb Life — Wildly exaggerated
CFLs = Environmental Hazard
 

The latest recall:
The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission on May 12, 2011 issued a recall order for sixteen models of Telstar and Electra brand CFLs in twelve different wattages: “Hazard: The light bulbs can overheat, posing a fire hazard to consumers.” The recall order involved 317,000 light bulbs.

More about Ed Contoski’s work can be seen on Ceolas.net, 
CFL life warranty  and  CFL fire risk  sections.
 

Light Bulb Phaseout Worse Than Reported

 

Environmentalism: As the light bulb phaseout goes into effect, you may be surprised to know the law also requires their already-costly replacements to be phased out too.

That’s right, new light bulb efficiency standards set by Washington also mandate light bulbs become 70% more efficient than classic bulbs by 2020. The only bulbs that meet that higher standard are light-emitting diodes, or LEDs. And they are even more expensive than compact fluorescent lamps.

CFLs will replace incandescent bulbs to meet the first level of efficiency that’s been widely reported in the media. By 2014, household bulbs using between 40 and 100 watts will need to consume at least 28% less energy under a stupid law passed by Congress in 2007.

But a little-noticed provision of the law, known as the Energy Independence and Security Act, also sets a second efficiency goal of 70% that must be met nationwide by 2020.

LEDs already exceed that goal. But an LED replacement for a 50-cent, 60-watt incandescent bulb costs as much as $60. No doubt costs will drop by 2020.

But it’s yet another unnecessary federal mandate looming on the horizon for consumers — many of whom are perfectly happy with their old bulbs.

The federal regulation effectively bans those bulbs by halting their manufacture. Major bulb makers have already made the plant investments to follow the law.

As of Jan. 1, traditional 100-watt bulbs no longer meet standards, and are no longer stocked in stores. Starting next January, the 75-watt incandescent bulb also will be phased out, followed by the 60-watt version in 2014.

The Energy Dept. claims each household can save $50 a year in electricity by replacing 15 traditional bulbs. But the costs of the new CFLs exceed those savings. And they’ll only get worse with LEDs.

Here’s what’s really crazy: Two years before it banned classic bulbs in favor of mercury vapor CFLs, Congress passed a law banning mercury vapor streetlights. Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, manufacturers cannot make or import ballasts for mercury vapor lights after Jan. 1, 2008.

According to the act, mercury vapor security lights are being phased out to “protect the environment” and to “promote energy efficiency” in lighting.

Utility companies across the country have been replacing mercury street lamps with high-pressure sodium fixtures or metal halide fixtures, which are twice as efficient as mercury vapor and possibly safer.

The government warns that the amount of mercury in one CFL bulb is enough to contaminate up to 6,000 gallons of water beyond safe drinking levels. The same agency that’s pitching them as a green alternative requires households perform a small hazmat operation to dispose of them upon breakage.

The Energy Dept. recommends numerous steps to “reduce exposure to mercury vapor from a broken bulb,” including shutting off the air conditioning for “several hours” and even removing pets from the contaminated room. It advises picking up debris with duct tape, enclosing it in a glass jar and taking it to a special recycling center for proper disposal.

So the geniuses in Washington are removing mercury from outside the home, while adding it inside. And making us all pay for it. Yet another bright idea from Congress.

 

Meet Mr Stinkypants!

 

Always interesting when support against light bulb regulations comes from unlikely sources…

Green and sustainability practicing Montana software engineer turned farmer, Paul Wheaton, has interesting Permaculture based forums that also happen to have good coverage of light bulb issues.

Also see his comprehensive CFL article, well linked with videos etc.

And don’t miss his just completed (December 2011) Mr Stinkypants Cartoon on how manufacturers profit from the ban!

 

 

The cooperation between light bulb manufacturers is no fairy tale, reflected in the Phoebus cartel: GE, Philips, Osram and others cooperating for several decades to keep lifespans down.
That is why even today the standard incandescent lifespan is 1000 hrs. Recent German research shows how a special “1000 hr lifespan committee” punished those who manufactured any longer lasting bulb. Communist long lasting bulbs were blocked for Western markets….

 

Unsurprising then, to see renewed manufacturer cooperation in later years, regarding both subsidised CFL programs and indeed regulations that more forcibly ensures that more profitable “energy saving” bulbs are sold in place of the old cheap incandescents.

 

This kind of manufacturer cooperation with public authorities has gone way beyond the USA or the EU:
Note how the world’s 2 biggest light bulb manufacturers, Philips and Osram/Sylvania, are involved in the UN sponsored worldwide switchover program, en.lighten. As part of that, a recently announced “Efficient Lighting Toolkit” will be available in 2012, which will “provide comprehensive guidance to countries on how to transform their markets to energy efficient lighting”.
 
More in a later blog post.

Given our emphasis on CFL safe disposal and recycling:
How does one find out more about it?

As they say themselves on their website, lighting manufacturers, through their trade association, National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) developed lamprecycle.org to provide a one-stop source of information about recycling lamps (the term used in the lighting industry to refer to all types of light bulbs).
This follows their earlier extensive study (pdf) on the subject.

Also see the extensive EPA information on recycling, linking to waste collection agencies, participating retailers, and much else of interest.

This Earth911 search may (or may not!) automatically show the collection center nearest your computer IP address.
Their CFL recycling page is here

 
[ However, the useful information on these sites should also be taken with a pinch of salt as regards their defence of "ballpoint pen tip" mercury amounts, toxicity of course is not just connected to quantity but also proximity, as again when they compare CFL mercury to coal mercury emissions etc, the latter being under 90% EPA reduction mandates anyway.
See Ceolas.net, the CFL mercury issue:  Breakage -- Recycling -- Dumping -- Mining -- Manufacturing -- Transport -- Power Plants ]

This post will probably be updated and in part copied to the information section, also with the related Facebook page.

Fred: Thank you Jim for landing the CFL United ad account. Let’s work out the ad campaign.

Mike: I didn’t get the memo. What does CFL United do?

Techno: They make Compact Fluorescent Lights. They are like those four foot tubes you see in warehouses, but these are about 1 foot long, really thin, and twisted around so they can fit in a the space of a light bulb. They have a different coating so the light isn’t so blue, but more yellow. Sometimes they put a glass bulb around them so they look more regular.

Jim: These CFL’s are great. Should be a lot easier to sell than bottled water. They actually save money, use less electricity, and are cooler. Let’s just sell them as a win win win.

Fred: Here are the talking points:
Costs less
Uses 1/4 of the electricity for the same light as from a Regular 100 watt bulb
Lasts 10,000 hours compared to 1,000 hours for a regular bulb.

Techno: Uh, they don’t cost less. A CFL is $5.00, a Regular is $.50 .

Mike: OK, there is big hit up front, but they save money on electricity, right?

Techno: Over its lifetime of 10,000 hours, a 25 watt CFL uses 250 KWH (kilowatt hours), compared to the same light from 10 Regular 100 watt bulbs, each lasting 1000 hours, and using 1000 KWH total.
Here is the summary for 10,000 hours of use, with electricity costing $.10 per KWH.
100 watt Reg 10 bulbs $5.00   1,000 KWH $100.00
25 watt CFL 1 bulb         $5.00       250 KWH    $25.00       Saves $75.00

Mike: OK, no problem. Buy 10 CFL’s and save $750. Get rich!

Techno: Yeah, if you don’t turn them off.

Fred: Is that supposed to be a joke?

Techno: Not really a joke. CFL’s are complicated. First, they need a high voltage to operate, which they get from some miniaturized electronics in the base.
Second, they have a coating on the inside metal contacts which helps the electricity start flowing. They are hard to get going. When you turn one on, the electronics take some stress and that metal coating evaporates a bit.

Turning one on takes away some of the CFL’s life.
Once on, no problem. Turn one on and it can last 10,000 hours.
If you turn it off, you have to turn it on later, which costs some of its life. So, don’t turn it off!.

Jim: Whoa! We can’t tell people to just leave them on. How long do they last if you turn them off?

Techno: That’s hard to say. CFL United isn’t too clear about the matter. They don’t say, really. And the aftermarket studies don’t dwell on this either. But, reasoning backward from some statements here and there, I estimate that the consumer grade CFL loses 5 hours of life each time it is turned on.

Mike: So you get 10,000 hours or 2,000 on/off cycles, whichever comes first. What if I put one in the bathroom? I bet my family turns that light on and off about 10 times a day, for about 5 minutes each time.

Techno: That CFL is going to last about 6 months (200 days). A Regular bulb in that use would last about 39 months. Regular bulbs don’t care if they are turned on and off. In that use, the CFL costs $9.89/yr compared to the Regular at $3.04/yr, counting cost of bulbs and electricity. This is mostly the cost of bulbs for the CFL, and the cost of electricity for the Regular.

Mike: (shaking his head slowly) Not good. Not good. Is there anywhere these CFL’s can actually be used cost effectively?

Jim: How about the kitchen or family room?

Techno: Yes, if you need to leave them on for a while, CFL’s are cost effective. Fluorescent bulbs are always used in warehouses and offices, where they are on for 8-16 hours per day.

Jim: Cut the suspense. How long for our CFL?

Techno: I figure that the break-even is about 20 minutes. If you need the light on for at least 20 minutes, the CFL saves enough on electricity to offset the cost of turning it on, compared to a Regular 100 watt bulb. After that, you actually save money, about $.0075 per hour (3/4 cents).

In the winter, the break-even is 38 minutes, because you benefit from the expensive heat that the Regular bulb puts out.
In the summer, the break-even is 15 minutes, because the greater heat of the Regular bulb requires more air-conditioning.

Mike: We’re saved. They are actually good for something after all.

Fred: OK people, calm down. We’ve been through this sort of thing before. We have our campaign.

Saves 75% of the electricity of a regular bulb.
Lasts 10,000 hours* compared to 1,000 hours for regular bulbs.
Saves $50 per bulb over its lifetime, compared to using regular 100 watt bulbs.
Environmentally friendly
* As measured in bulb-life studies. For maximum bulb life, leave the bulb on for 15 minutes or more for each use.

Jim: I like the part about maximum bulb life. It slyly suggests that even if the bulb might be injured by short uses, you can heal it by leaving it on a bit longer.

Mike: Why do we claim only $50 per bulb in savings?

Fred: Clearly these bulbs aren’t going to last 10,000 hours, so we’ll claim more reasonable savings, but still big. Since they can use less energy, in the right situations, they are environmentally friendly. Right?

Jim: You have a strange look on your face Techno.

Techno: What about the other facts? Do you guys have my memo?

Mike: I didn’t quite read that memo. What’s in it?

Techno: There are a few other things.

•   Most CFL’s contain about 5 mg of mercury.
They are supposed to be disposed of as hazardous waste, but there is no program to take them. They need a careful cleanup if you break one.

•   The twisty ones, with no outer glass bulb, can emit enough UV radiation at 1 foot away to produce a sunburn.

•   If you use them in an enclosed fixture, or base up in the ceiling, the electronics get hot, and its life is reduced. I couldn’t find out by how much.

•   There are many manufacturers, and you can’t tell how long a brand is going to last, or how it reacts to heat or on/off cycles. You need to trust, or you can always pay more for a higher quality CFL. They are somewhat longer and wider than a regular bulb, so they don’t fit everywhere.

•   Many CFL’s, especially the $5 ones, have a slow start-up. It takes them 30 seconds to 3 minutes to fully light up.

•   If you use them outdoors in the cold, some of them never fully light up, or they don’t start at all.

•   You can’t use the cheap CFL’s with a dimmer, but there are some that will work.

•   CFL’s are fluorescent. Some people get headaches from the light, or they see the 60 cycle flicker and can’t read by them, or they hate the color of the light, or they hear a faint buzz.

•   CFL’s get 20% dimmer as they age toward failure.

•   A house has many bulbs that are almost never used. It makes no sense to place $5 bulbs in those locations, rather than a $.50 bulb that will last for 5 years anyway.

Jim: That is a lot to handle.
How is CFL United going to sell these things?

Fred: Need I remind you that CFL United has hired us?
We are helping them sell these things. Also, we are informed that CFL United has done a good job in the US Congress pushing the idea of saving energy. So, everyone is going to buy CFL’s, because the Regular bulb is going to be prohibited. Green technology and all of that.

Guys, we have our campaign.
Techno, you are always unhappy. CFL’s have a few flaws, but there is no need to go into the small details.
Let’s get the art work in production and sell, sell, sell.

Meanwhile, the lack of recycling has emerged as a main reason for the delay…

 
(From CBC Canada  Dec 30 2011 slightly edited)

Bulb ban delayed by lack of recycling options

 

A lack of recycling options for the mercury-containing compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), touted by government as the environmentally friendly lighting alternative, has in part led to a delay in new federal energy efficiency regulations.

The regulations, which ban 75- and 100-watt incandescent bulbs, were supposed take effect Jan. 1, 2012.
But last month, the federal government quietly delayed that ban by two years, citing recycling issues and “perceived health effects.”

 

The bulbs contain mercury, a dangerous toxin, and need to be disposed of correctly.
According to Environment Canada, less than 10 per cent of CFLs are recycled. And tens of millions are sold each year.

“[Mercury] can affect our neurological development, especially in children. And for pregnant women, it’s a danger,” said Josh Brandon of the Winnipeg-based Green Action Centre.

“We often think of landfills as a permanent solution — that what we put in the landfills stays in the landfills.
“But landfills eventually do break down. And when they do, the toxic materials like mercury can leach into the environment, polluting our groundwater and our soil.”

Brandon says the mercury from one CFL can contaminate thousands of litres of water.

 

And if you break a CFL, Health Canada has extensive cleanup instructions that include leaving the room for 15 minutes to avoid mercury vapours.

 

Few provinces have programs in place to deal with CFLs, and most programs are voluntary.

British Columbia, which passed its own set of energy efficiency regulations on Jan. 1, 2011, requires manufacturers and retailers to develop an end of life plan for CFLs.

But other provinces have minimal, if any, programs in place.

Some big box stores like Home Depot will take them back.
For smaller retailers like Pollock’s Hardware Co-op in Winnipeg, there are few options. General manager Mike Wolchock said he had no luck when he tried to organize a recycling program two years ago.

Environment Canada says it’s working on regulations to make manufacturers recycle the bulbs, but these won’t be in place until 2013.

Some companies are also making CFLs with less mercury.

 

For the time being, Curran Faris is keeping CFLs out of his daughter’s bedroom, in case a bulb breaks.

“It’s one of those things — as a consumer we should be told that information, not that these are the new miracle bulbs that can stop global warming.”

The light bulb ban is particularly wrong for Canada and several similar American states, as covered on http://ceolas.net/#li11x and relating to energy use, emissions, Canadian household size and lamp variety, cold switch-on conditions, heat replacement effect, existing CFL programs etc with references

In a continued “save for posterity” effort of the German blog Otitis Media di Monaco (see earlier post), a look at his stamp collection in a GDR or for that matter EUSSR or a Soviet EUnion mode, bearing in mind the way the EU Commissariat sets all kinds of useless, unnecessary rules for European citizens, and noting in passing that the Commissioner behind the EU ban (dubbed “EU’s Mr Lightbulb” by the Daily Mail newspaper), Andris Piebalgs, was himself a former East European Communist director of a Government Department.

 

Original post…

 

GDR CFL stamp series

 
Contrary to popular belief, the state-planned socialist economy of communist Eastern Germany is not dead; instead, the EU in Brussels is issuing electric policies and spreading propaganda lies that are strangely reminiscent of the days of Nicolaie Ceausescu and Enver Hodscha [Hoxha].

No wonder that the old East German stamps just got an upgrade!

 
 

Beautiful european mercury poison mushroom of the novel compact fluorescent kind.
Experts may recognize the bulb design, it’s “made in Eastern Germany”.

 
 

Here, ever optimistic East German youths are shown celebrating 55 years of Socialist East Germany just a few years ago – and the proud new sign of centralist European planning and energy micromanagement bureaucracy: the compact fluorescent bulb!

 
 

Last, but not least, catch a glimpse of the beauty of Communist single party rule that inspired the well known con(servation) artist Andris Piebalgs, better known as the EU’s Energy Commissioner, to paint such a heroic eurocratic light bulb change brigadier…

 
 

]]> http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/04/who-says-germans-dont-have-a-sense-of-humor/feed/ 0 peterdub http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/recent-extensive-podcast-on-cfls/ http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/recent-extensive-podcast-on-cfls/#comments Tue, 03 Jan 2012 18:58:38 +0000 lighthouse http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/?p=278 Continue reading →]]> In this nearly 2 hour long December 2011 Podcast software engineer turned organic Montana farmer Paul Wheaton goes over most issues relating to compact fluorescent light bulbs, from radiation sensitivity and mercury issues to their questionably big energy savings.

(Direct link to podcast here)

Also see his article covering several of these issues.

 

]]> http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/03/recent-extensive-podcast-on-cfls/feed/ 0 peterdub http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/dumped-cfls-declared-an-acute-crisis-by-minister-in-europe/ http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/dumped-cfls-declared-an-acute-crisis-by-minister-in-europe/#comments Mon, 02 Jan 2012 20:51:03 +0000 lighthouse http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/?p=259 Continue reading →]]> As earlier reported in December 2011 on the Freedom Light Bulb blog,
and no doubt predictable for readers of this blog,
it seems some politicians are actually waking up to the issues of dumped CFLs and mercury release… rather belatedly.

In America, how long after a ban takes effect before a similar outcry is heard?
 

“Acute Crisis” of Dumped CFLs: Swedish Environment Minister
 

In a series of articles over the past week,
the Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet has uncovered the large scale ongoing dumping of fluorescent bulbs (CFLs), and the dangers of released mercury that goes with it.

One article reports on the “acute crisis” commenting by the environment minister Lena Ek,
another article on how Mina Gillberg, former advisor to EU environment commmisioner Margot Wallström at the time of the EU launching a CFL switchover policy, is now regretting the consequences of the decision.

A good more detailed review by Kevan at SaveTheBulb.org

Also covering this news, in English:
Greenwashing Lamps, including linked past statistics

Question:
If environmentally conscious, environmentally lauded Sweden is having “a crisis”,
a country with dutiful citizens who normally with great diligence
recycle all kinds of products in well organized community and government programs
(I have lived there)
– then what is happening in more populous less organized countries?

]]> http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2012/01/02/dumped-cfls-declared-an-acute-crisis-by-minister-in-europe/feed/ 0 peterdub http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/new-blog-author-if-cfls-are-so-great-then-no-purchase-pushing-is-needed/ http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/new-blog-author-if-cfls-are-so-great-then-no-purchase-pushing-is-needed/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2011 18:53:36 +0000 lighthouse http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/?p=245 Continue reading →]]> Helping previous authors keep this good effort going!

The main theme will continue being issues around CFLs, the compact fluorescent “energy saving” bulbs,
but also widenened as regards to why people should be pushed to use CFLs or other lighting – whatever their advantages – through regulations or tax payer subsidies, rather than through voluntary purchases on the market place.

 
If CFLs (or LEDs, or Halogens) are so great – why aren’t enough people buying them?
 
Price is no excuse:
You don’t keep buying cheap products that don’t satisfy your requirements.
Conversely,  plenty of  “Expensive to buy but Cheap in the Long Run” products out there.
Woollen suits,  certain Scandinavian cars,   batteries, washing up liquids etc
The makers don’t run to regulators looking for bans on the alternatives!
Instead they focus on what they should be focusing:
Marketing their products properly.
After all:  Energy and Cost saving is an advantage.
Energizer/Duracell battery bunnies, washing up liquids etc  in imaginative commercials.

Can light bulb makers do the same?
Of course they can.
And if people still don’t buy the squigglies – Don’t blame the people.

 
Still,  let’s not blame the light bulb manufacturers too much.
If  Washington hands them the profits they want – why should they say no.
What to do about Washington?
Tell them what you think.
Especially when that CFL did not last as long as claimed: 
Claimed, that is, without a warranty/guarantee to that effect.
That’s when you send them the message that you can send them.
You send your light bulbs to Washington.

]]> http://sendyourlightbulbstowashington.wordpress.com/2011/12/28/new-blog-author-if-cfls-are-so-great-then-no-purchase-pushing-is-needed/feed/ 0 peterdub