Contain toxic levels of mercury… So now what? I was just thinking about converting several lights in my house to CFL to "do my part" and now I read this.
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=aa7796aa-e4a5-4c06-be84-b62dee548fda
It is a worthy argument, to be sure. Mercury is a dangerous pollutant, and is not to be taken lightly in the home.
I have these bulbs throughout my home. I am as careful with them as I am with any bulb. Broken light bulb = bad.
The article neglects to mention that these light bulbs are recyclable. Many places will take your bulbs, and I am certain that many more will take them as they become more popular.
A much better gauge would be a total impact study from manufacture to electrical consumption to disposal per light bulb. I have read that although incandescent light bulbs are much cheaper, they take a much larger environmental toll to manufacture.
Also, one cannot ignore the mercury released into the air by good old fashioned coal burning power plants. The EPA did a study that claims that less total mercury will get into the environment by using CFLs, because of the decreased energy use.
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/id/merc-emi/merc-pgs/emmrpt.pdf
It’s a hard question to answer, but I still believe CFLs to be a much better route.
My .02c
http://www.snopes.com/medical/toxins/cfl.asp
Bought my CFL bulbs yesterday. Not bad but they take a few seconds to turn on which is annoying.