How much Mercury is contained by a average Fluorescent restrained tube?
I wonder how many Fluorescent feathery tubes were surrounded by 9-11 in the Twin Towers, I believe it makes New York city a toxic dump site, What do you regard as?
Answers:
I think you should ask this contained by the science section. They could probably afford you a better answer.
The average 4' fluorescent light tube contains something like 11.6 mg (1999 average but is dropping)...
Mercury in Fluorescent Lamps
The following introduction is from a publication by the National Electrical Manufacturer's Association (NEMA) entitled "Fluorescent Lamps and the Environment". This publication and closely more valuable information can be found at the NEMA website devoted to proper storm lantern disposal called www.lamprecycle.org. An Adobe Acrobat PDF edition of the publication can be downloaded from www.nema.org/lamprecycle/nemafluorfinal.
If you need more information roughly properly disposing of lighting waste click on the interconnect at the left for "hurricane lantern disposal rules".
Why Do Lamps Need Mercury?
"Mercury is an essential ingredient for most energy reorganized lamps. Fluorescent lamp and high intensity discharge (HID) lamp are the two most common types of lamp that utilize mercury. Fluorescent lamps provide lighting for most school, office buildings, and stores. HID lamp, which include mercury-vapor, metal halide, and high- pressure sodium lamps, are used for street lights, floodlights, and industrial lighting. A typical fluorescent storm lantern is composed of a phosphor coated glass tube next to electrodes located at either expire. The tube contains mercury, of which only a completely small amount is in vapor form. When a voltage is applied, the electrodes see the mercury vapor, causing it to send out ultraviolet (UV) energy. The phosphor coating absorb the UV energy, cause the phosphor to fluoresce and emit apparent light. Without the mercury vapor to produce UV punch, there would be no lantern. A four-foot fluorescent lamp have an average rated life span of at least 20,000 hours. To carry out this long life, lamp must contain a specific quantity of mercury. The amount of mercury required is incredibly small, typically measured in milligrams, and vary by lamp type, date of produce, manufacturing plant, and factory owner."
"If lamp duration is shortened, more lamps must be purchased to complete the same length of service, and the number of lamp that generators must dispose will increase. How Much Mercury Do Lamps Contain? Based on a 1999 NEMA survey, the average four-foot fluorescent kerosene lamp contains about 11.6 milligrams (mg) of mercury. This number have been steadily decreasing as lamp manufacturer work to reduce mercury content to the minimum amount technically realistic without reducing storm lantern life. The average four-foot light today contains over 75% less mercury than impossible to tell apart lamp would own contained in 1985. According to the U.S. EPA, total worldwide natural and manmade emission to the environment are 5,500 tons. 1 Manmade sources in the U.S. released 158 tons of mercury contained by 1995. For comparison, all of the lamp sold in the United States surrounded by 1999 containonly an estimated 13 tons of mercury, of which only a fraction will be released as an nouns emission. Proper hurricane lantern disposal or recycling will result contained by keeping almost all of this mercury out of the environment."
How much mercury is typically found surrounded by fluorescent lamps?
Lamp Amount (mg.)
Pre 1988 T-12 ~45
Post 1988 T-12 ~11.6
Typical T8 ~4 to 5
Low Mercury T8 ~3
CFL ~4 to 5
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