Mercury in 'green bulbs' poses toxic threat

The environmentally friendly long life light bulb is a toxic time bomb, according to an environmental group.

Each contains 5mg of mercury, a potent neurotoxin with the potential to build up in the food chain. And even the minute amount of mercury in the bulb is harmful.

Friends of the Irish Environment yesterday raised concerns that the public was not being made aware of the poisonous content of long life light bulbs and the need to dispose of them properly.

While welcoming Environment Minister John Gormley’s commitment to introduce a levy on normal incandescent bulbs, the group said it was vital to highlight the mercury content of the low-energy long life bulbs which was not clear to many.

FIE spokesman Tony Lowes said ‘Mercury is a neurotoxin that has been increasingly identified with adverse health effects on a range of organs, including lungs and heart and impacts on the immune, nervous, and reproductive systems’.

The bulbs are classed as ;’hazardous household waste’ but this was not made clear on the packaging, he claimed.

The group said it was not suggesting that the mecury content of these bulbs was worse than incandescent light bulbs.

Tracey Hogan,

Irish Independent