Do energy saving light bulbs contain toxic gases

Last night the light bulb in my room started flickering then i heard it hissing like it was releasing some sort of gas.which i thought was strange and this morning i woke up and my throat felt really saw and when i gulped i felt like there was a big lump in my throat it has gone now but could i have inhaled some toxic gas from the light bulb?

Those lights are not good for you anyways. I refuse to use them.
But i think they contain mercury, but i am not sure. looking around now.

Note: Yeah, they contain a little bit of mercury, thats just how they work

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Originally posted by TBR47
Last night the light bulb in my room started flickering then i heard it hissing like it was releasing some sort of gas.which i thought was strange and this morning i woke up and my throat felt really saw and when i gulped i felt like there was a big lump in my throat it has gone now but could i have inhaled some toxic gas from the light bulb?

Yes, which is why i refuse to use such bulbs in my home. The official guidelines even states that you should open windows, evacuate the house and hire a professional cleanup crew if such a bulb fractures. These bulbs are highly toxic and release mercury/mercury vapors that will contaminate your entire house.

Those bulbs also lead to mercury leeching into ground water thanks to most people throwing them in trash.
Again greenies hurts the environment in the name of saving it..

And these bulbs have been tested and release severeal chemicals when they are on,
Ones that cause cancer. I believe only at close distances though.

reply to post by TBR47


There have been several threads here regarding that subject. One is this: Energy Saving Light Bulbs 'Contain Cancer Causing Chemicals'

Fears have been reignited about the safety of energy saving light bulbs after a group of scientists warned that they contain cancer causing chemicals. Their report advises that the bulbs should not be left on for extended periods, particularly near someone’s head, as they emit poisonous materials when switched on.

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May I add this post by beezzer? It's great advice, trust me:

Originally posted by beezzer
So, the only way to safely use these is to not turn them on, don't screw them in, don't take them out of the box, and use tallow-candles in case it gets dark.

Got it.

reply to post by juleol


those normal light bulbs are rubbish though they blow after about 3 week this energy saving light bulb that was in my room had lasted for over 5 years.i will look around and see if i can find any that don't contain toxic gasses

Originally posted by TBR47
reply to post by juleol

 

those normal light bulbs are rubbish though they blow after about 3 week this energy saving light bulb that was in my room had lasted for over 5 years.i will look around and see if i can find any that don't contain toxic gasses

You might have been putting a bulb with a lower wattage than your socket was pushing out. Try getting a higher wattage light bulb.

Thats just a guess though.

reply to post by Casandra


I tend not to take all these cancer causing things too seriously according to scientists just about everything gives you cancer including fruit and veg.

reply to post by AzureSky


could be that but those normal light bulbs also have a habit of exploding i have been showered in glass a few times and trust me they go with a big bang,

I use LED bulbs, they are a bit more expensive but last longer than any other, contain no toxic stuff, and the light is great! Philips should be excellent, they also made one that is like a 60watt, it is the only one on the market today, afaik

Originally posted by AzureSky
Those lights are not good for you anyways. I refuse to use them.
But i think they contain mercury, but i am not sure. looking around now.

Note: Yeah, they contain a little bit of mercury, thats just how they work

Source

edit on 7/1/12 by AzureSky because: (no reason given)

Do you also not use fluorescent tubes, cell phones, tablets. lcd computer screens, lighted lcd displays, lcd big screen tv's -- they are all florescent, they are all the same technology - what about the mercury vapor lights. These have been around since 1901 - around 112 years now. All of a sudden you are worried about it.

But then --

www.sciencedaily.com...

You really need to be worried about co2 and fracking - but that is a different thread

In the next decade fluorescent devices will largely be replaced with cheap LEDs

I agree that there are dangers with using mercury-filled light bulbs, but the mercury contaminating everything? We used to use thermometers that contained mercury, and I guarantee 99.9% wound up breaking and spilling mercury everywhere. Some of it would get rinsed down the drain, and some would get thrown away in the trash bin. Are we reeling from that?

I don't know, but I always have a headache.

Might be from those,
Might be from school,
Might be from studying, Math is aggravating.
Might be from work,
Might be from me hitting my head on the car steering wheel in my side collision, years back.
Might be from my sister,
Might be from my niece everyday,
Might be from the aggravation of officers coming over practically everyday, Heck, might as well just make them dinner at this rate.

Pick one...

You name it...

Got to be from something. Half the time I fell so worn out and dazed. I'm like uh huh. OK.

I have replaced a few of the key things i look at with LEDs. My monitor and my TV for instance.

But i know what you mean,

Also, i've only been 'looking and learning' about this kind of thing for a little over a year now.. i think, I lost track. Has it really been that long? Wow.

Nothing is good for you these days, Even the sun gives you cancer.

Why the hell didn't they promote LED (light emitting diode) technology instead of this mercury based garbage?

Originally posted by satron
I agree that there are dangers with using mercury-filled light bulbs, but the mercury contaminating everything? We used to use thermometers that contained mercury, and I guarantee 99.9% wound up breaking and spilling mercury everywhere. Some of it would get rinsed down the drain, and some would get thrown away in the trash bin. Are we reeling from that?

When I was a kid everybody had a mercury maze -- a glob of mercury in a plastic maze -- eventually everyone I knew collected the mercury from those and the globs of mercury in the contemporary thermostats. We were the sciencey guys so we all had a mercury stash in a pill bottle -- enough mercury to determine that mercury is pretty heavy -- when you put a penny in it the mercury coats the penny and makes it silver colored. When we got bored we would spend the penny on candy at the drugstore. We made homemade tilt switches with mercury. We would of course accidentally spill it at home and at school.

Not saying that kids should have a little mercury stash - but just putting the thing in perspective.

Google mercury toys -- prepare to be surprised - you young whippersnappers.

Originally posted by Fitch303
Why the hell didn't they promote LED (light emitting diode) technology instead of this mercury based garbage?

Because LEDs aren't "there" yet and we really need to start lowering co2 now. You apparently are one of the legion that this "mercury base crap" has been used for over a 100 years.

Originally posted by TBR47
reply to post by juleol

 

those normal light bulbs are rubbish though they blow after about 3 week this energy saving light bulb that was in my room had lasted for over 5 years.i will look around and see if i can find any that don't contain toxic gasses

try LED's
just google leds for home lighting



look into Chelation, as well, mercury causes brain damage and i'm afraid you seem to have huffed some while sleeping

Originally posted by spyder550

Originally posted by Fitch303
Why the hell didn't they promote LED (light emitting diode) technology instead of this mercury based garbage?

Because LEDs aren't "there" yet and we really need to start lowering co2 now. You apparently are one of the legion that this "mercury base crap" has been used for over a 100 years.

You cannot dim cfl's except for the very expensive models. They have a relatively high failure rate and even higher rate of lumen output loss over the life of the bulb. And obviously they contain mercury. LED bulbs are just a few years out (less than 5) to be competitive. They last 5 times longer than cfls (LEDs can last up to 50,000), LED delivers 112 lumens per watt compared to a CFL's 50 to 70 lumens per watt. Can be used in all type of lighting. All of them can be dimmed. CFL's are only good for the transition from incandescent to LED. It just seems ironic that we have created a bulb that will reduce co2 levels with a bulb that will increase mercury levels. co2 can be used by every plant out there and turned into oxygen, what happens to all the leftover mercury?

Originally posted by satron
I agree that there are dangers with using mercury-filled light bulbs, but the mercury contaminating everything? We used to use thermometers that contained mercury, and I guarantee 99.9% wound up breaking and spilling mercury everywhere. Some of it would get rinsed down the drain, and some would get thrown away in the trash bin. Are we reeling from that?

i broke a mercury thermometer into my lap when i was early on in my first pregnancy. my midwife told me not to worry. she said i'd have to eat a mercury sandwich for it to harm my baby.

i do hope LED lights become more widely used. even though the other bulbs don't freak me out it would be better if we all used LED.