Dr. Magda Havas’ comments on CFLs
Dr. Magda Havas, Associate Professor,
Environmental & Resource Studies, Trent University
Peterborough, ON, Canada, K9J 7B8
(email rec’d 21 Aug 2010)
The word about CFLs is finally getting out.
There should be an enquiry about how governments around the world allowed the lighting industry to get them to insist their citizens use only CFL (since LEDs are still too expensive) light bulbs.
Governments didn’t do their homework on these lights. They should be banned rather than promoted.
Safe Places to Dine
Please check the list of Safe Places to Dine. If you have a place or two to add to the list, please send us your comments.
This is critical for the well-being of anyone impacted by the multiple deleterious effects of CFLs.
Thank you for sending in names. Let’s keep it growing!
Please thank the management of these establishments for keeping them safe.
OHIO
Bowling Green:
Fricker’s, E. Wooster
Frisch’s Big Boy, Poe & N. Main
Pagliai’s Pizza, S. Main
Burger King, Newton & Main
MICHIGAN
Adrian:
McDonald’s, N. Main only
Sunnyside Café, E. Maumee
Pizza Hut, S. Main
Applebee’s, S. Main (just 2 in entry; call ahead)
Red Lobster, S. Main
Ann Arbor:
Applebee’s, Carpenter Rd. (just 2 in entry; call ahead)
Burger King on Washtenaw at Golfside
Dundee:
Taco Bell
Jackson:
Daryl’s Downtown, 151 W. Michigan (Fine dining. Excellent service.)
Saline:
Burger King, on Michigan Ave. just west Platt Road
Tim Horton’s
Tecumseh:
Burger King
Taco Bell
EPA Instructions on CFL Cleanup
The same EPA which tells us how great CFLs are is now telling us how horrible the cleanup is when you break one.
Owners of places of public accommodation, may want to read this very carefully.
This is an excerpt from the EPA document: “If clothing or bedding materials come in direct contact with broken glass or mercury containing powder from inside the bulb that may stick to the fabric, the clothing or bedding should be thrown away. Do not wash such clothing or bedding because mercury fragments in the clothing may contaminate the machine and/or pollute sewage.”
What liability can you incur if your place, your patrons, or your food supply becomes contaminated?
From an insurance standpoint, this sounds like a potential nightmare for a restaurant, motel, hospital, extended care facility, retail establishment, and other places of public accommodation.
Here’s the EPA web site on CFL cleanup:
http://www.epa.gov/cfl/cflcleanup.html
The document to which they refer is in the post, above “EPA Instructions on CFL Cleanup”
Based upon the data in that document, the very first step is to “Have people and pets leave the room, and don’t let anyone walk through the breakage area on the way out”.
Then it goes on “Open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes or more”.
The third step is “Shut off the central forced-air heating/air conditioning system, if you have one.”
The food supply of a restaurant would likely be contaminated and the clothing of any patrons could be the subject of a claim, based upon the procedure set forth in the bottom section of the first page.
Perhaps insurance underwriters may wish to review their policies to determine the extent to which they want to cover such liability as it applies to business interruption as well as the consequential damages.
With the local hardware stores, Wal-Mart, Lowe’s, and Home Depot selling them like popcorn and the State and Federal government subsidizing the sale of them, this risk exposure is going to get significantly worse before it gets better.
And it won’t get better until the manufacturers offer LED bulbs instead of the CFLs.
Perhaps you may wish to take a look at the “EPA Instructions on Cleanup” post to understand the magnitude of the implications in that procedure.
Who is going to reimburse your clients for the new clothing which they might need to replace that which is discarded in compliance with the EPA instructions?
Who is going to pay to decontaminate (replace) your food and office supplies?
Are these acceptable risks for your business to take?
These all add into the true cost of using CFLs, plus you still have to deal with the multiplicity of deleterious effects to one’s health and well-being.
What is the government doing now?
The idiots in Washington are spending more of our money promoting CFLs, which take away my ability to function. They started a web site fatherhood.gov, which tells you to take your kids on a “green” shopping trip and buy CFLs. And another, loseyourexcuse.gov, also promoting CFLs, without the facts of the serious medical consequences which so many people face.
This Letter to the Editor of the Adrian (MI) Daily Telegram was published on June 9, 2010:
As you read this, it not only thanks the Tecumseh Public Schools for their awareness of this issue, but it also cautions merchants about the risk of having a Hazardous Waste cleanup problem should a CFL be broken as well as the potential for further injury to folks who have had Acquired Brain Injury.
Dr. Havas’ research has established that the mercury contained in one CFL bulb can contaminate 190,000 litres (>50,000 U.S. gallons) of water beyond the level considered safe for drinking. Imagine what it would do to the food supply of a restaurant. Should the restaurant be evacuated so that the patrons do not get a dose of this toxic material?
Also, since Acquired Brain Injury is associated with medical issues with CFLs, it would be reasonable to expect that returning heroes, with IED injuries, may well experience these problems, but have yet to associate the cause and effect.
The indiscriminate use of CFLs could pose a serious liability issue for merchants who choose to use CFLs, particularly since the alternative is available in the form of LED lights, which do not have the deleterious effects.
Lose Your Excuse and The Ad Council
This advertisement is at best a uninformed statement and at the worst, criminal.
The following is a letter that was written to the Ad Council and loseyourexcuse.gov
To: The Ad Council and loseyourexcuse.org
We commend and share your desire to conserve energy. However, the CFL is a product of the ill-advised
actions of well-intentioned people and legislators who set out to conserve energy but did not research the
unintended consequences of their actions and the cataclysmic results thereof.
Your ad campaign raises these critical questions:
1. Did you do any research as to the data which is represented as “fact” on the “loseyourexcuse.gov”
website which you put together for the U.S. Government?
2. Are you aware that the serious medical problems which CFLs adversely impact include Migraines,
Epilepsy, Multiple Sclerosis, Dizziness/Vestibular Problems, Seizures, Nausea, Cardiac Arrhythmias,
Tremors, Anxiety/Panic Attacks, Fatigue, Autism, Head Pain, Acquired Brain Injury, ADHD, Scotopsia,
Electromagnetic Field Sensitivity, Depression, Difficulty Concentrating, Pain in Teeth, Pain or Pressure
in the Chest, Pressure In/Behind Eyes, Ringing in the Ears, Tingling, Shortness of Breath, Weakness,
Spike in Blood Sugar, Diabetes (type A and B), CFS/Myalgic Encephalopathy, Photosensitivity (Critical
Flicker Frequency), as well as Skin Rash, Lupus, Photosensitivity (medications), Fibromyalgia, Itching,
and Facial Flushing as well as other issues?
3. Are you aware of the latest recommendations of the American Lighting Association regarding
spurious emissions from CFLs and lighting choices including LED bulbs?
4. Have you checked out the more efficient alternatives to CFLs?
5. Do you know how to safely dispose of CFL?
6. Are you aware that the mercury in one CFL can pollute 190,000 litres of water beyond the level
considered safe for drinking?
By putting forth your data as fact, you are promoting serious damage not only to the quality of life of many
people but also to the credibility of the Ad Council.
For the medical facts please refer to the website:
http://www.cflimpact.com/
Please take time to view the videos and peruse the plethora of research. It represents the work of
scientists from multiple disciplines and several countries.
Please also research the links to the medical data presented therein and the array of information from a
multitude of sources all of which contradict the premise that you put forth, namely that CFLs are something
to be used by all and promoted with taxpayer dollars.
As one of the many thousands of people impacted by CFLs, may I suggest that you do a bit more research
on the topic before you promote a harmful product to the detriment of many folks with varying
disabilities/medical conditions?
In the spirit of fairness and equity, it would seem reasonable that you donate advertising space and
billboards to give equal exposure to the medical facts presented in the website cflimpact.com.
I await your response.
Administrator
http://www.cflimpact.com/
Great Lakes Energy Co-Op Newsletter promoting the use of CFLs with five free offer.
See link below
Coming Soon!
In the next few days, the actions of the Michigan Public Service Commission and Great Lakes Energy will be posted for your review.
They are using taxpayer and ratepayer dollars to subsidize CFLs without doing the same for LED bulbs which are not only more efficient, they also do not pollute the landfills with mercury. How many people are even aware of the proper procedure for disposal of CFLs to prevent the contamination of our landfills with toxic levels of mercury?
Meanwhile First Energy (Ohio) is attempting to implement a mandatory (CFL) compliance program for which the ratepayer will be billed regardless of whether they take the CFL bulbs.
(As a side note, Dr. Havas’ research shows that the mercury in one CFL will contaminate 190,000 litres of water beyond the level deemed safe for human consumption.)
If you know of similar mandatory or coercive programs please post a note on it.