WARNING! Arsenic in LEDs and Mercury in CFLs--Stock up on Incandescents. Soon Obsolete.

Recently I visited my friend in Denver, Colorado.  Her electrician had nicknamed their house the 'incandescent'.  She and her husband refuse to use CFL bulbs and had to have the closet light fixture replaced on inspection (incandescent bulbs burn hotter and can cause problems if the fixture is too close to an adjacent wall or ceiling). 

Why don't you want to use fluorescent?  I asked.  "Bulbs break all the time, and CFLs contain enough mercury to be a problem."  She replied. 

Really?  I did some digging and she was spot on.  CFLs contain what many say is a 'small amount' of mercury.  However, on the packaging for these light bulbs it is not apparent that one should NEVER throw them in the trash and dispose of them as hazardous waste.  See this Scientific American article "Are Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs Dangerous?"

Mercury is VERY DANGEROUS. Check out this website "Mercury Health Hazards" for details. In short even small amounts can be devestasting to young children and developing fetuses. Pregnant women and kids should stay FAR AWAY from mercury.

But the problem is that hazardous waste is not picked up weekly with your recycling. And even now well into the 21st century most American homes do not have curbside recycling.  This means that over 98% of these bulbs will end up in local landfills and their broken pieces and dust will end up in our HOMES.
Then to top it off I recently read in the Seattle City Light newsletter, "Light Reading":

"In 2007, the Energy Independence and Security Act (EISA) set new efficiency standards for some light bulbs, including incandescent bulbs, compact fluorescent bulbs, and light-emitting diode (LED) bulbs. Incandescent bulbs will be phased out, eliminating 40-watt, 60-watt, 75-watt, and 100watt medium incandescent bulbs.  Starting with 75/100 watt in January 1, 2012 and ending in 2014 with 60 and 40 watt bulbs."

However, according to Wikipedia "2012 United States Federal Budget: legislation contained a ban on using federal funds to enforce the phase-out of incandescent light bulbs that had been mandated in the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, but requires recipients of more than $1 million in Department of Energy grants to comply with the energy efficiency standards.^"

The other choice, the very popular LED light is ALSO DANGEROUS.


Researchers at the University of California, Irvine and UC-Davis found that LED light bulbs contain lead, arsenic, nickel and 12 other possibly dangerous chemicals.

"When bulbs break at home, residents should sweep them up with a special broom while wearing gloves and a mask. . . Crews dispatched to clean up car crashes or broken traffic fixtures should don protective gear and handle the material as hazardous waste."