Hazardous Fluorescent Lamp Ballasts

Most fluorescent lighting fixtures contain a ballast – an electronic device inside the fixture that regulates the flow of electricity to the bulbs. Some fluorescent light ballasts are considered hazardous waste and should never be thrown in the trash. Other ballasts aren’t considered hazardous and can be recycled. Most fluorescent light fixtures will have either a “wet” or a “dry” ballast.

Wet ballasts

Wet ballasts contain some sort of lubricating oil, or dielectric fluid, for conducting electricity. The oil in older ballasts may contain PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyl. PCBs are mixtures of individual chemicals. The manufacturing of PCBs was banned in the U.S. in the 1970s because of the dangers they present: PCBs are known to cause adverse health effects as well as environmental problems.

PCB-containing wet ballasts must be handled as hazardous waste. PCBs were banned from use in fluorescent light ballasts in 1978, but many of these older units may still exist and be in use today since their useful life span is typically 10 to 30 years. Ballasts manufactured after 1978 will be labeled “non-PCB” or “contains no PCBs.” If it doesn’t have either of these labels, it should be assumed to contain PCBs and be handled as hazardous waste.

Other types of wet ballasts that don’t contain PCBs but are also considered hazardous are those containing DEHP, and they should be recycled. DEHP, or di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate, is a clear, odorless, synthetic chemical in the phthalate family, which has a similar consistency to vegetable oil at normal temperatures. This product took the place of PCBs after 1978 and was widely in use between 1980 and 1991. The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that as many as 25 percent of all ballasts in use today contain DEHP – as many as 250 million ballasts exist in the U.S. alone! Major concerns regarding DEHP are the negative health effects it can have on reproductive organs and the negative effects it can have on the environment.

Ballasts will not be marked in any distinguishing manner to indicate the presence of DEHP, so it is safe to assume that any wet ballast, which has not been determined to contain PCBs, could contain DEHP. To avoid liability and for safety’s sake, the disposal of DEHP ballasts should be handled with the same precaution as the disposal of PCB-containing ballasts. Landfills should not be a consideration; DEHP does not evaporate easily, and it dissolves readily in materials such as gasoline, paint removers and oils – all of which are frequently found in landfills.

Dry Ballasts

Since 1991, dry ballasts, which rely on electronics instead of dielectric fluid, have been in use. Because these dry electronic ballasts contain no fluid, they may be sent for electronics recycling. Check with your local recycling centers and waste disposal sites to see if they will accept dry ballasts. Scrap metal dealers may accept electronic ballasts, as well, and might even pay for them.

What’s the difference?

How do you tell the difference between a wet ballast and a dry one? Other than a “non-PCB” label, which not all dry ballasts have, there is no significant marking to indicate whether a ballast is wet or dry. Wet ballasts usually are significantly heavier than dry ballasts, though.

Confused?

Basically, PCB- and DEHP-containing ballasts are considered wet ballasts. PCBs are federally regulated hazardous waste and, as such, these ballasts can not be taken off to a landfill. They should be recycled.

DEHP is known to be a cancer-causing agent and hazardous to the environment, and while DEHP-containing ballasts can be disposed of in a landfill, they should not be. It is recommended to manage ALL wet ballasts as hazardous waste. Dry ballasts can be recycled as electronic waste or, possibly, as scrap metal.

Bottom line: Recycle ballasts. Do not throw them in the trash.

For more information on recycling ballasts, visit:

Eastern Environmental Technologies

Northeast Lamp Recycling, Inc.

Air Cycle Corporation

AERC