Megaman, one of the world's largest manufacturers of energy saving light bulbs, is calling for an international ban on unsafe bulbs which contain mercury in liquid form. The entire range of lighting products from Megaman are free of liquid mercury, and consumer safety is being compromised by lax regulations which allow inferior – and potentially hazardous - products to be sold through shops and Internet retailers. Megaman is actively lobbying at the EU in Brussels and in other European countries.
The company has carried out exhaustive research into what happens when different types of low energy bulbs – known as CFLs - get broken in a confined space. While those types which use a safe form of amalgam are safe when broken, those which contain liquid mercury can release mercury vapour in concentrations which far exceed internationally agreed safety limits.While mercury in various solid and liquid forms has to be used to make all fluorescent lights (including low energy bulbs) work properly, it does not have to be used in its most dangerous liquid form, but can be used safely in a solid amalgam form combined with other elements.
Check these links out for more information:
Megaman's full press announcement: http://www.megamanuk.com/the-news-room/product-news/article.php?article_id=1768
Technical white paper (pdf format) on use of amalgam in low energy light bulbs: http://www.megamanuk.com/pdfs/white-paper-zero-mercury.pdf
Megaman and its products in the UK: www.megamanuk.com
Megaman global organisation: http://www.megaman.cc/global/aboutus/environment_and_sustainability.php
