Change the world
Sustainability @ Mandela
You may have received an e-mail warning you about the fact that the new eco-friendly energy-saving light bulbs are actually very dangerous and contain toxic mercury. Here's the low-down on the bulbs courtesy of our own Peter Peters, Deputy Director: Engineering Services
Energy-saving light bulbs are known as Compact Fluorescent Lights (CFL’s) - they contain 5mg of mercury which is 100 times less than the amount found in a tooth filling.
It is important to dispose of old CFL’s in a safe, responsible manner. To avoid creating any risk to the environment, everyone is encouraged to take special measures to dispose of used CFL’s.
Light manufactures have over the years reduced the amount of mercury in fluorescent lamps from 35mg in 1976 to 5mg in 2000.