EcoWaste Coalition Pushes for Mercury Content and Hazard Labeling of Fluorescent Lamps
To uphold the consumer’s right to know, a toxics watchdog
group is asking the lighting industry to provide mercury content information on
fluorescent lamps and their packaging.
In anticipation of the global phase-out in 2020 of
specific mercury-added products, including certain types of fluorescent lamps,
the EcoWaste Coalition pressed for essential labeling information to assist
consumers in picking fluorescent bulbs with the lowest mercury content.
“Specifying the mercury content on the lamp and its
packaging will help consumers in selecting the bulb with the least amount of
mercury, and avoiding those scheduled for phase-out by 2020 as per the Minamata Convention on
Mercury,” said Thony Dizon, Chemical Safety Campaigner, EcoWaste
Coalition.
“Without the mercury content information, it would be
difficult for consumers, as well as for government regulators, to identify
fluorescent lamps that should no longer be sold in the market starting next
year,” he pointed out.
The said mercury treaty, which the Philippines has signed
but not yet ratified, provides for the phase-out by 2020 of compact fluorescent
lamps (CFLs) equal to or less than 30 watts with mercury content above 5 mg
mercury per lamp, as well as linear fluorescent lamps (LFLs) such as triband
phosphor less than 60 watts with mercury content exceeding 5 mg per lamp and
halophosphate phosphor equal to or less than 40 watts with mercury content
greater than 10 mg per lamp.
The phase-out also covers high pressure mercury vapor
lamps (HPMV) for general lighting purposes, and a variety of cold cathode
fluorescent lamps (CCFLs) and external electrode fluorescent lamps (EEFLs) for
electronic displays.
The EcoWaste Coalition also urged the lighting industry
to provide for mercury hazard warning as specified in Philippine National
Standards (PNS) IEC 60968:2012 for self-ballasted lamps.
Among other things, the said PNS requires the following labeling
information: “WARNING: Contains Mercury,
Handle with Care and Dispose Properly.”
“The inclusion of such basic cautionary statement will
promote the safe handling of fluorescent lamps to avoid breakage and to reduce
the risk of mercury exposure from broken lamps through inhalation of the
mercury vapor or dermal contact with the mercury-laden phosphor powder. Proper disposal will help in limiting the
amount of mercury entering disposal sites and polluting communities,” Dizon
said.
According to the “Guidebook on the Management of
Mercury-Containing Lamp Wastes” published by the government, “mercury and its
compounds are highly toxic, especially to the developing nervous system, which
is very sensitive to all forms of mercury.”
“Exposure to high levels of mercury can cause permanent
brain damage, central nervous system disorders, memory loss, heart disease,
kidney failure, liver damage, vision loss, sensation loss, and tremors,” it
said.
It warned that “even at low-level exposure to mercury has
caused serious health effects, including neurological damage, reproductive
system damage, behavioral problems and learning disabilities.”
“Mercury is also a suspected endocrine disruptor, which
means it can damage the reproductive and hormonal development and growth of
fetuses and infants,” the guidebook said
-end-
Reference:
http://www.mercuryconvention.org/Portals/11/documents/Booklets/COP1%20version/Minamata-Convention-booklet-eng-full.pdf
“Guidebook on the Management of Mercury-Containing Lamp
Wastes,” DOE/DENR
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