How To Minimize Health & Safety Risks of Used Fluorescent Lamps: Handling

Following the proper clean-up and disposal policies is necessary in ensuring the safety of people who handle fluorescent lamps, as well as those in close proximity to them. However, proper disposal of used lamps is not as simple as dropping them in a recycling bin. Lamps must be carefully removed and handled, as well as stored and transported in a package proven to contain mercury vapor. Specific precautions should be taken during each of the following steps: Handling, Storage, Transport, Recycling and Breakage.

Handling:

Mercury vapor—which can get into water, contaminating fish and entering the human food chain—can cause neurological damage to adults, children and fetuses. To avoid these issues, lamps should be carefully installed and uninstalled by maintenance professionals. Anyone handling a fluorescent bulb should take caution, as these lamps are fragile and can shatter easily.

Find out next week how to carefully store fluorescent lamps.

Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC

Where do Fluorescent Lamps Go After They are Recycled?

Recycled lamps are sent to a recycling facility via truck, UPS or FedEx® in bulk or in pre-paid shipping recycling boxes, such as the Waste Management® LampTracker® system, which is specifically designed to accommodate various sized lamps and effectively contain mercury vapor emitted from broken lamps.

Once received, the recycler crushes the lamps, along with other contaminated products, devices and debris, to safely exhaust the mercury vapor and extract and reuse the resultant mercury—ensuring mercury is not released into the environment. The remaining debris is then placed in 55-gallon drums and sent to a retort facility—where the drums are heated to high temperatures to eliminate any remaining mercury. Any remaining glass and aluminum is furthered recycled and reused.

This process reduces the potential dangers of mercury vapor emitted from used fluorescent lamps—effectively reducing environmental liability and protecting both handlers and consumers from potential safety hazards and health risks.

Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC

What Happens When the Bulb Breaks?

When a fluorescent lamp breaks, it emits mercury vapor, which can cause severe health and safety risks. Mercury vapor, which can be absorbed through the skin or inhaled, can cause neurological damage to adults, children and fetuses. It is considered a persistent bioaccumulative toxic chemical, since it doesn't degrade in the environment. When mercury vapor gets into water, it is converted to methyl mercury and can enter the food chain through fish.

To avoid both health and environmental risks associated with mercury vapor emissions from broken fluorescent lamps, they should be packaged, stored and transported to recycling facilities in a configuration that is specifically designed to contain mercury vapor—and proven to be effective. To learn more about this configuration, read our Layers of protection: Packaging used fluorescent lamps post.



Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC

The First Waste Container

Universal waste containers that could be transported by common carrier were first introduced in 1998. The first containers were primarily used to ship fluorescent lighting. Initially, these containers were simple corrugated boxes, with some including a plastic bag inside the box. Since the contents were made of glass, they were designed primarily to contain the contents within the shipping container. However, since mercury begins to vaporize at 70 degrees F, packaging improvements were needed to address the issue of potential mercury vapor release in the event of breakage during accumulation and transport. Read more about packaging designed to contain mercury vapor.

Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC