Broken energy-saving lamps harmful to infants and pregnant women

Today, energy-saving lamps increasingly replace traditional incandescent lamps and become the most environmentally friendly lighting option. The EU is gradually phase out traditional incandescent lamps that have been used for more than 120 years, and has forced people to replace energy-saving lamps in order to achieve their energy-saving emission reduction targets. In the UK, compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are the most common energy-saving lamps. However, a new study in Germany has issued a warning: once the energy-saving lamp is broken, it releases enough mercury to endanger the health, especially infants and pregnant women. Traditional incandescent, diode, and halogen lamp bulbs do not cause mercury contamination when broken.

A new study by researchers from the German Federal Environment Agency stated that the level of "gum mist" produced by crushing energy-saving lamps would exceed 20 times the safety guideline indoor mercury safety standard. The director of the company, Jochen Frasbat, said that the presence of mercury is a major drawback of CFL energy-saving lamps. Therefore, it is necessary to adopt a new technology to prevent mercury pollution as soon as possible. The advantage that CFL energy-saving lamps can save energy by 80% should be synchronized with their safety and non-crisis health. A spokesman for the Bureau said that children and pregnant women should stay away from broken CFL energy-saving lamps. For children and pregnant women often activities, it is recommended to install protective covers on the energy-saving lamps to prevent indoor pollution of mercury caused by lamp rupture.

However, the British government insists that the concern about the safety of CFL energy-saving lamps is purely worrying. Occasionally, the mercury hazard caused by a broken CFL bulb is insignificant, and it should not be surprising. A spokesman for the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs of the United Kingdom stated that the mercury contained in CFL energy-saving light bulbs is not enough to endanger the health of the surrounding population.