Comments on: CFL Bulbs Made and Sold in China are Defective

By: Happy Earth Day 2009! Let’s Celebrate! | Junk Activism

Happy Earth Day 2009! Let’s Celebrate! | Junk Activism — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 21:26:57 +0000

[...] this Earth Day so we can further integrate the world. Toys, cosmetics, household items, and CFL Light Bulbs should all be purchased from global leading retailers like [...]

By: dontai

dontai — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 22:27:17 +0000

I do like CF bulbs but there are certainly negatives. They do cost 10 times more to purchase, and there is no true guarantee they will last 10,000 hours as advertised. Traditional florescents put out cool white light, which turns our skin a sickly colour. Warm white CFs have more pleasing light. Because of their long life it certainly is more convenient to use in areas where the bulb is inaccessible or difficult to change. There does seem to be a growing electromagnetic (EM) radiation issues that may contribute to migranes and other ailments. British health officials have warned that "the new bulbs could worsen existing skin conditions, like eczema and dermatitis. Skin disorders that are photosensitive could react to the more intense light of fluorescent bulbs, which emit UV rays similar to outdoor exposure levels on a sunny day. Britain’s Health Protection Agency now recommends that people should not be closer than 30 centimetres from the energy-saving variety for more than one hour per day." I think I stay away from my CFs more than 30cms. I've not noticed any issues with increased migranes, em or UV-related ailments. Then again we only use CFs in lights we have on for hours at a time. Both the British and Canadian governments are set to ban incandescent bulbs soon, Canada in 2012. Australia will ban them in 2010. New studies done in colder climates (Manitoba) suggest that the extra heat generated by incandescent bulbs contributes to heating of houses. A switch to the cooler CFs will see an increase in home heating costs. Maybe the solution is to use incandescent in the winter and CFs in the summer. I still believe that using our natural gas furnace to heat our house is more efficient than using lightbulbs. Disposal is still an issue with CF bulbs. Mercury does not break down quickly. While we have hazardous waste disposal here in North America, what does China and other countries have? Is it worse to displose of 10 incandescent bulbs or 1 CF bulb?

By: David Ing

David Ing — Sat, 07 Mar 2009 14:19:08 +0000

We bought compact fluorescent bulbs for our house, but I was finding that (a) I was having problems reading with them, and (b) the changed color spectrum really bothered me. We have gone back to incandescent bulbs in many places in the house, and haven’t changed from the halogen lights that we have elsewhere.

I’m worried that compact florescent lights use mercury as a component, and mercury is a hazard to human health. In theory, dead bulbs should be returned to retailers for recycling, but I’m sure that most people won’t remember to do this. It’s a big enough challenge that people don’t always sort garbage into organics, paper, recyclable plastics and junk for landfills that I’m sure that we’ll be worried about seeping mercury in landfills some years from now.