Report: Low-Energy Bulbs Harmful to Some
UPI reports British research has shown that compact fluorescent lightbulbs (CFLs), while more energy-efficient than incandescents, may cause skin cancer and migraines.
CFLs only use 20 percent of the energy of incandescent bulbs, and governments including the U.S. and Britain have implemented plans to phase out incandescents by 2014.
One of the most affected populations of CFLs is those with lupus, who tend to experience additional pain and tiredness when exposed to the bulbs.
The research does not mention whether traces of mercury in CFLs is linked to these conditions, but the presence of mercury is a reason why CFLs should be recycled. To find out where to recycle CFLs in your area, use the recycling locator search at the top of this page.
As of June 17th 2011 we have upgraded our comment system to use Facebook comments. The below comments are closed and are listed for historical purposes.
Magga
posted on August 8th, 2009 at 8:26 am
My family and I recently traveled to Florida for a vacation. I love walking the beaches looking for shells. I was SHOCKED when I came across a lightbuld that had come up on the shore…one of the new ones with 5% mercury in them. Luckily it had made it to shore unbroken. Why would a light bulb come up on shore? If there is one, there will be more…and more mercury in our fish. Something must be done…