Here are the June 2010 EPA suggestions for cleanup of a broken CFL. These are on the website cflimpact.com
Then, there’s the January 2011 much revised version from the EPA. We hope to get this on the website in the next few hours, under a new tab “EPA”. In this document, they removed the warnings about disposal of contaminated clothing used in CFL cleanup, thereby making them sound much more “user friendly”.
The last document is the December 2010 EPA statement on the dangers of mercury. Interesting to note that they put the dangers on CFL-borne mercury way down the line, below the possible mercury in fish and other sources.
They have avoided any weighting of the dangers based upon the proliferation of the source of the mercury.
As one can see, below, many hundreds of millions of CFLs have been sold.
It is apparent that the folks at the EPA are well aware of the changing political climate in Washington and of our (cflimpact.com) website.
Suddenly, in December and January (after the elections), they now find that CFLs are just harmless little fuzz balls when compared to dental fillings, vaccines, consuming Great Lakes fish, etc.
It is obvious that they choose to ignore the fact that Lowes, Home Depot, and Walmart claim to have sold an aggregate of 400,000,000 CFLs in 2009.
They also have chosen to ignore Dr. Havas’ research which shows that one CFL contaminates 190,000 litres of water beyond the level considered safe for drinking.
They also have chosen to ignore of the other deleterious effects of CFLs, as outlined in the cflimpact.com website, as well as the more recent Swiss research, documented by Allison Vuchnich. Those researchers found that the RFI, EMI, and UV levels emitted from CFLs are more damaging than believed by the EU, as well as the U.S. and Canadian governments, since they have not set limits which adequately protect the populace.
They have also chosen to ignore the statement, on the cflimpact.com website, by Owen Z Perlman, M.D. a prominent Physiatrist in Ann Arbor. He is confident that there are more people impacted by exposure to CFLs than are in wheelchairs. His statement is substantiated by the research being conducted in Geneva.
It is well past time that Congress investigates an agency which can find one thing and then change with the political “wind”.