Post by thread:[OT]: The attack of the giant PL lights from h@ll

As usual clueless media + semi-scientific news + a written up opinion from someone with a (medical, for a change) degree quoted out of context = idiocy ^ Nth power: http://www.cbs59.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=30131 Afaik, there are only at most a few milligrams of metallic mercury in a PL bulb, and it's not the kind easily absorbed. As opposed to the white fluorescent coating which might very well kill a person before any mercury poisoning signs appear, even after smashing PL lights with a hammer in an unventilated room for half a day. The mercury in a PL lamp is mostly contained in the amalgamated electrodes or other suitable thermally activated adsorber in the bulb (such as the coating on the walls and certain wires) and even after breaking them it stays there. There is no metallic mercury sloshing around in a normal PL bulb within its lifetime. Maybe it would be good if they would print the Hg amount on the lamp (perhaps in code, to prevent greenie shoppers from running away screaming). Something along the lines of 'Active ionizable solid content < 5.1mg'. I have no idea where one would begin with the list of things that go into the powder, not to mention their MSDS sheets. Discussion on Wikipedia (too much democracy is as bad as too little): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:Compact_fluorescent_lamp #Mercury_pollution_claims (I know I should not have posted this, someone will read it and use it in a context I would not like to see it used in - but I am in a bad mood) Just wait until the media gets wise about PICs containing Arsenic. "enjoy" Peter P.

Peter P. wrote: > As usual clueless media + semi-scientific news + a written up opinion from > someone with a (medical, for a change) degree quoted out of context = idiocy ^ > Nth power: > > http://www.cbs59.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=30131 What more can you expect from sensationalist American media organisations? "Do anything to {gain viewers|sell papers}" seems to be the core principle of the media these days, on both sides of the Atlantic... -- Phil. | (\_/) This is Bunny. Copy and paste Bunny spam_OUTpiclistTakeThisOuTphilpem.me.uk | (='.'=) into your signature to help him gain http://www.philpem.me.uk/ | (")_(") world domination.

Peter, On Sat, 13 Oct 2007 20:34:47 +0000 (UTC), Peter P. wrote: > As usual clueless media + semi-scientific news + a written up opinion from > someone with a (medical, for a change) degree quoted out of context = idiocy ^ > Nth power: > > http://www.cbs59.com/story.cfm?func=viewstory&storyid=30131 - and no mention of the fact that "traditional" fluorescent tubes are just the same, but with much more Hg inside (I imagine, from the size - I have no actual data). And they're much easier to break (ask me how I know this! :-) And using words like "neurotoxin" are just mumbo-jumbo scaremongering - it's poisonous, end of story! I wonder when someone will make a Big Thing of the dangerous chemicals used to make soap... Cheers, Howard Winter St.Albans, England

> I wonder when someone will make a Big Thing of the dangerous chemicals used to make soap... You mean dihydrogen monoxide? Dangerous stuff, that. See http://www.dhmo.org/ where startling facts such as its use by athletes for performance enhancement and its prevalence in pre-cancerous tissue biopsies are laid out in chilling detail. Daniel ;)