Sustainable Belmont Energy Efficient Lighting

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Sustainable Belmont Energy Efficient Lighting

• Jeri Weiss
• February 1, 2006

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Why Is Mercury in Bulbs?

• Contributes to efficiency
• More energy is converted into useable light, less
  is converted into heat
• Increases life of bulb
• Unfortunately, theres no substitute for mercury,
  although amount of mercury in each bulb has
  decreased in the past 10 years
• There are no mercury-free fluorescent bulbs

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Does the Mercury Matter?

• Mercury is persistent and toxic in the
  environment
• Release of mercury in the air, results in
  deposition of mercury, eventually ending up in
  water bodies, bio-accumulating in fish
• MA has fish consumption advisories for women of
  childbearing age, pregnant and nursing women and
  young children

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Mercury Health Effects

• Effects of exposure during development or to
  adults range from mortality at very high levels
  through subtle effects on ability to learn at
  lower levels
• Effects on adults at high (poisoning) doses
  included death, paresthesia, tremors, ataxia,
  hearing and vision impairment, balance and speech
  disturbances, motor difficulties
• Children born to mothers exposed during pregnancy
  at high doses exhibited cerebral palsy-like
  symptoms, delayed walking/talking at lower
  doses, delayed startle responses, subtle
  neurological effects, effects on tests related to
  ability to learn and process information
• Not likely to be a human carcinogen (Tumors are
  seen in animals only at extremely toxic doses
  neurological effects are observed at orders of
  magnitude lower exposures)
• Developing nervous system is a sensitive target
  for low dose MeHg exposure
• Human and animal evidence of cardiovascular
  effects from adult and in utero exposure
• Animal evidence of immune and reproductive effects

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Does the Mercury Matter

• Exposure in utero and during childhood can affect
  ability of children to think and learn
• New information on damage to heart and blood
  regulation

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How Fluorescent Lamps Work

• Produces light when electrical current passes
  between two electrodes (cathodes) in a tube
  filled with low pressure mercury vapor and other
  gases
• Electrical current excites the mercury vapor,
  generating radiant energy
• Radiant energy causes the phosphor coating to
  fluoresce converting to visible light

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Fluorescent Lamps
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Other Lamps with Mercury

• Mercury Vapor Lamps

• Metal Halide Lamp

• Neon lamps

• Ultra Violet Lamp
• Tanning lamps

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What Are Disposal Requirements?

• Universal Waste Rules
• Simplifies management and disposal
• Special requirements
• Less complex than hazardous waste
• Massachusetts requires commercial, industrial,
  and institutional facilities to manage all
  mercury-added lamps that fail the toxicity
  characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) as
  universal or hazardous wastes.
• All mercury-added lamps failing the TCLP must be
  treated, disposed, or recycled at an authorized
  destination facility.
• No requirements for homeowners

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What advice does MA DEP have?

• Management Options
• Take to a municipal recycling center
• Save for the next household hazardous waste
  collection in your community, if accepted in your
  program.
• Do not dispose of in the trash, especially if
  your community's solid waste goes to a combustion
  facility.
• Individual broken lamps should be placed in a
  sealed container and disposed of in the trash.
• www.mass.gov/dep/recycle/hazardous/fluores.htm

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Whats the Sustainable Thing To Do?

• Encourage use of mercury bulbs but recycle
• MA DEP has a state contract to reduce cost of
  recycling
• NESWC provides funding for recycling
• Belmont Highway Department and Bureau of Health
  developed a recycling program for municipal owned
  buildings

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What Should Belmontians Do?

• Use fluorescent and compact fluorescent bulbs to
  save energy
• Recycle!
• But How?
• Household Hazardous Waste?
• Not practical
• Expensive
• Alternative Ideas
• Collection points in town
• Fire Station?
• DPW?
• Health Department?
• Retail Stores?

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Program in Vermont

• True Value Hardware has teamed up with the state
  of Vermont to offer free recycling for Vermont
  residents of up to six fluorescent and other
  mercury-containing bulbs per visit.
• What kinds of bulbs contain mercury?
• 8' or 4' linear fluorescent bulbs
• Compact fluorescent bulbs
• Linear fluorescent bulbs such as - tanning bulbs,
  grow bulbs, black lights and smaller (12", 18",
  24" etc.) bulbs
• U-tubes
• Circular fluorescent bulbs
• HID car headlights (appear blue when lit)
• High Intensity Discharge (HID) bulbs (such as
  mercury vapor, metal halide, etc.)

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Next Steps

• General Discussions
• Health Department Donna Moultrup
• Department of Public Works Peter Castanino
• Scanlon Associates Pat Scanlon
• Consultant for NESWC
• Identify model programs
• Meeting
• Discuss alternatives
• Pilot a program
• Report Back

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Questions?

• Jeri Weiss
• 617.489.4119