Energy saving lights behind the truth

2008 Chinese began to vigorously promote energy-saving lamps in the country, a large number of energy-saving lamps containing mercury after the end of life as ordinary garbage disposal of pollution and harm of mercury pollution hazards; energy-saving lamps popular, even in countries of the promotion strategy document also searched for the missing. According to the China estimate the amount of energy saving lamps at around 1 billion 400 million, only in 2006 the domestic scrap mercury containing lighting equivalent to 40 Watt fluorescent lamp standard reached only 1 billion, due to improper disposal and to release the amount of mercury in the atmosphere up to 70-80 tons. Behind the figures on the performance of the energy saving book, hidden little-known pollution risk.

Energy saving lamps containing mercury pollution

Energy-saving lamps called compact fluorescent lamps, because of its high efficiency and is regarded as an alternative to traditional incandescent lamps. The luminous efficiency of the energy saving lamp is 5 times of that of the incandescent lamp, which is more than that of the ordinary incandescent lamp, which is between 60% and 80%, and the service life of the utility model is more than 4 times to the time of the utility model. Promotion of energy-saving lamps can effectively save electricity, reduce carbon dioxide emissions. But the energy saving lamp tube contains heavy metal mercury, once the lamp tube damage, mercury exposure, will cause harm to the environment and the human body. At present, the national hazardous waste list has been included in the recovery of energy-saving lamps.

An energy-saving lamp can pollute 90-180 tons of groundwater and soil

According to lighting industry sources by manufacturing limitations, the current energy-saving lamps products are always a little mercury. Although an ordinary energy-saving lamp contains only 0.5 mg of mercury, but it is a great environmental pollution, it may be contaminated to a premium of up to 1000. The national energy saving lamps in the amount of about 1 billion 400 million, if these energy-saving lamps are finally treated as ordinary garbage, it will become a terrible ecological killer. If the average energy pollution of 1000 liters per lamp to calculate, then every year, China has at least 600 billion liters of mercury pollution. And if mercury gets into the soil, it can pollute plants and crops. When 1 mg of mercury seeps into the ground, it can cause about 360 tons of water to be polluted, thus calculating a waste energy saving lamp, such as improper disposal, which may pollute the water from 90 tons to about 180 tons of water and the surrounding soil.

0.5 mg mercury volatilization can pollute the air of 300 cubic meters

"Either incineration or landfill, energy-saving lamp mercury will cause great pollution to the soil. "Hebei provincial environmental protection department official said, mercury at room temperature can be evaporated, if the discarded waste lamp after breaking, Mercury will enter the atmosphere in the form of vapor, allows instantaneous mercury concentration in ambient air reached 10 mg to 20 mg / m3, and according to the provisions of the mercury in the air of the maximum allowed the concentration of 0.01 mg / cubic meter, an ordinary mercury content of only 0.5 mg of energy-saving lamps can be 300 cubic meters of air pollution.

A single inhalation of 2.5 grams of mercury vapor that cause death

Mercury and mercury compounds can enter the body through the skin, discharged slowly, will cause irreversible kidney function, central nervous system and autonomic nerve function damage. As a global pollutant, mercury can also spread into the atmosphere by evaporation, and because the liquidity is very strong, in the settlement, will be further transformed to "methylmercury in fish" in the form of enrichment, eventually enter the body through the food chain. When the water resources were mercury pollution, human and other animal after drinking will cause chronic poisoning, the medical profession called Minamata disease. Patients with hand foot coordination disorder, or even difficulty walking, dyskinesia, retarded, hearing and speech impairment, limb numbness, sensory disturbance, scope and conditions; the person will be like insanity, psychosis, convulsions, and death. Pregnant women eat methylmercury pollution in fish and shellfish, in the family has 64% families with acute history of Minamata.

Lighting scientific research on energy saving lamp mercury pollution is not enough, college textbooks can not find

China has no mandatory standards for mercury content of fluorescent lamps, resulting in a large difference in the amount of mercury contained in lamps

China's energy-saving lamp recycling difficulties

According to incomplete statistics, the current energy-saving lamp production enterprises in China registered nearly 2000, the annual production of energy-saving lamps 2 billion 400 million, accounted for more than 85% of the global market share. It is understood that by the technology, price and other factors, mercury free energy-saving lamps in China has not yet been popular, the vast majority of domestic production of energy-saving lamps containing mercury. These energy-saving lamps once discarded, can only be thrown into the dustbin facing the fate of pollution.

Production enterprises: recycling costs up to tens of millions of enterprises can not recycle

According to the analysis of the industry, energy-saving lamp recycling line each cost about 10 million yuan, a large number of lighting companies need two or three processing line, due to the recycling waste energy-saving lamps cost is very high, and no government subsidies, so the general production enterprises are not recycling. What companies can do is to reduce the mercury content and convert the liquid mercury into solid mercury, so as to reduce the pollution. Relevant experts pointed out that China's recycling system for waste energy saving lamp is still in the blank, and now only three domestic energy-saving lamp manufacturers with a recovery device. It can be said that there is currently no specialized agencies to recycle energy-saving lamps.

Community supermarket: no recycling point of the community, supermarket sales no warning reminder

For processing scrap energy-saving lamps, there have been media reports bins many city residents without energy-saving lamps or special recycling, and specialized sales of energy-saving lamp stores also said they have never been sold no matter. Many areas are not set up such as waste batteries, waste lamp recycling bins, waste acquisition station