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Is there a risk for health and the environment?
Mercury in energy saving light bulbsBrussels, 6 September 2011. Does the mercury they contain pose a risk to consumers? Overall, in terms of mercury emissions, are compact fluorescent lamps beneficial to the environment compared to other lamps? These questions are answered by the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) of the European Commission which examined newly available scientific information and issued an opinion on “Mercury in Certain Energy-saving Light Bulbs”. At the request of the European Commission DG Health and Consumer Protection, GreenFacts faithfully summarised this recent scientific opinion. The plain-language summary is now available from the EU Directorate General of Health and Consumers in four languages: English, French, Spanish and German. It is also available from the GreenFacts website. Highlights of the SCHER Opinion It is very unlikely that such a breakage would pose any health risks to adults and the risk to a fetus exposed through its mother is negligible. No conclusions can be drawn on potential risks to children, namely because there is a lack of data about the amounts they could swallow when putting fingers and objects with contaminated dust in their mouth. Compared to conventional bulbs, during their entire useful life, compact fluorescent lamps save not only energy but also mercury emissions linked to power generation. This saving in mercury emissions exceeds the amount of mercury they contain and that they could release if broken or inadequately discarded with unsorted waste. Indeed, producing electricity in coal-fired power plants leads to the release of mercury to the environment. Since close to a third of Europe’s electricity is produced from coal, using any type of light bulb contributes to mercury emissions, even if the lamp itself contains no mercury. It is very unlikely that the use and disposal of compact fluorescent lamps poses any risk to the environment. However, facilities that collect and recycle them could pose a local, environmental risk if they do not deal appropriately with potential mercury releases. The EC Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) is therefore of the opinion that compact fluorescent lamps offer a net environmental benefit compared to the other light bulbs considered, even when mercury content is taken into account. About GreenFacts The GreenFacts initiative was initiated in 2001 by individuals from scientific institutions, environmental and health organizations, and businesses, who called for wider access to unbiased information on health and the environment. The objective is to bring complex scientific reports on health and the environment to the reach of non-experts. The GreenFacts website which publishes faithful summaries of authoritative international scientific reports is currently managed by Cogeneris sprl. The summaries are written in a language for non-specialists and presented in a reader-friendly Three-Level Structure of increasing detail. GreenFacts’ publications are freely available in several languages on www.greenfacts.org. About the Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks (SCHER) The SCHER (Scientific Committee on Health and Environmental Risks) is one of three independent non-food scientific committees set up in 2004 and renewed in 2009 by the European Commission to advise the Commission on matters of consumer safety, public health and the environment. The SCHER provides the Commission with scientific advice on health and environmental risks related to pollutants in the environmental media and other biological and physical factors or changing physical conditions which may have a negative impact on health and the environment, for example in relation to air quality, water, waste and soils, as well as on life cycle environmental assessment. It shall also address health and safety issues related to the toxicity and eco-toxicity of biocides. About DG Health and Consumers The role of Health and Consumers Directorate General of the European Commission is to make Europe’s citizens healthier, safer and more confident. Over the years the European Union has established EU laws on the safety of food and other products, on consumers' rights and on the protection of people's health. The DG Health and Consumers has the task of keeping these laws up to date. It also ensures that the national, regional or even local governments in EU countries apply the EU's health and consumer protection laws and make sure traders, manufacturers and food producers in their country observe the rules.
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