NUCON International Inc., Columbus, OH, a worldwide leader in providing gas, vapor and liquid phase adsorption solutions to the Nuclear Power and other industries, has announced the results of recent tests to determine the levels of mercury vapor that accumulate in mercury lamp storage and shipping containers when lamps inside the containers are broken. The study concluded that mercury vapor levels within containers containing broken fluorescent lamps exceed health and safety exposure limits and guidelines. NUCON also ran parallel tests using a new adsorbent technology and achieved more than 95 percent mercury vapor reduction within the same containers.
Tests were conducted by breaking fluorescent lamps inside a sealed vapor-containing bag and box in a specially designed test chamber and continuously measuring vapor levels inside the bag. The results indicated that opening a package containing broken fluorescent lamps and/or CFLs presents a significant risk of mercury vapor exposure, potentially rising well above both the OSHA 8-hour permissible exposure limit of 100 ug/m3 and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) level of 10,000 ug/m3.
NUCON ran multiple parallel tests using a new, patent-pending adsorbent
substrate they developed in conjunction with VaporLok Products, LLC,
Mankato, MN, www.vaporlokproducts.com.
The new substrate was impregnated with carbon and treated with a
variety of inert chemicals, effectively adsorbing and capturing the
mercury vapor. This new, carbon-based adsorbent technology, called
VaporLokCapture™, is designed to adsorb mercury vapor from any
device or product containing mercury. You can view a short animated
depiction of this process at www.vaporlokproducts.com/capturedemo.
Read the full release here.
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
Breakthrough Technology Captures More Than 95% of Mercury Vapor From Broken Fluorescent Lamps and CFLs
VaporLok Products, LLC has announced VaporLokCapture™, a breakthrough adsorbent technology used in fluorescent lamp and compact fluorescent lamp (CFL) storage and shipping containers for capturing mercury vapor from broken lamps and CFLs. VaporLokCapture is a new feature to be incorporated into the company’s patented Mercury VaporLok® fluorescent lamp shipping and recycling system.
VaporLokCapture effectively adsorbs mercury vapors from broken lamps found within lamp storage, shipping or recycling containers. A recent study conducted by NUCON International Inc., a world-wide leader in providing gas, vapor and liquid phase adsorption solutions to the Nuclear Power and other industries, found that mercury vapor levels within packages containing broken fluorescent lamps exceed health and safety exposure limits and guidelines.
Opening a package containing broken fluorescent lamps and/or CFLs presents a significant risk of mercury vapor exposure, potentially rising well above both the OSHA 8-hour permissible exposure limit of 100 ug/m3 and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) level of 10,000 ug/m3. Patent-pending, new VaporLokCapture technology significantly minimizes this risk, effectively adsorbing and capturing the mercury vapor, achieving more than 95 percent mercury vapor reduction within the container. With this design, approximately 60 percent vapor reduction is achieved in as little as 15 minutes after lamp breakage, keeping vapor levels below the NIOSH IDLH guideline.
Using a proprietary process, the patent-pending adsorbent is manufactured with powdered activated carbon and inert chemicals. When lamps or CFLs break, the adsorbent immediately begins to capture the mercury vapor. In addition to broken lamps, VaporLokCapture is designed to adsorb mercury vapor from any device or product containing mercury. You can view a short animated depiction of this process at www.vaporlokproducts.com/capturedemo or read the full release here.
VaporLokCapture effectively adsorbs mercury vapors from broken lamps found within lamp storage, shipping or recycling containers. A recent study conducted by NUCON International Inc., a world-wide leader in providing gas, vapor and liquid phase adsorption solutions to the Nuclear Power and other industries, found that mercury vapor levels within packages containing broken fluorescent lamps exceed health and safety exposure limits and guidelines.
Opening a package containing broken fluorescent lamps and/or CFLs presents a significant risk of mercury vapor exposure, potentially rising well above both the OSHA 8-hour permissible exposure limit of 100 ug/m3 and the NIOSH (National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health) IDLH (immediately dangerous to life and health) level of 10,000 ug/m3. Patent-pending, new VaporLokCapture technology significantly minimizes this risk, effectively adsorbing and capturing the mercury vapor, achieving more than 95 percent mercury vapor reduction within the container. With this design, approximately 60 percent vapor reduction is achieved in as little as 15 minutes after lamp breakage, keeping vapor levels below the NIOSH IDLH guideline.
Using a proprietary process, the patent-pending adsorbent is manufactured with powdered activated carbon and inert chemicals. When lamps or CFLs break, the adsorbent immediately begins to capture the mercury vapor. In addition to broken lamps, VaporLokCapture is designed to adsorb mercury vapor from any device or product containing mercury. You can view a short animated depiction of this process at www.vaporlokproducts.com/capturedemo or read the full release here.
Wednesday, June 13, 2012
Why Should You Switch to Fluorescent Lamps?
Incandescent light bulbs emit light by using electricity to heat up a filament that is encased in a protective glass globe to a very high temperature, causing the filament to glow and produce light. The energy required to produce this light is four times the amount of energy required to produce equivalent light in fluorescent lamps. When the fixtures in an average household are counted and multiplied by the number of households in the country, a true sense of the energy needed to produce the light—that many people take for granted—can be realized.
Fluorescent lamps are made up of a sealed glass tube with a phosphor powder coating along the inside of the glass. Inside the tube is a small amount of mercury as well as an inert gas—such as argon—that is maintained under low pressure. Two electrodes on opposite sides of the tube energize the mercury to produce ultraviolet energy. The phosphor coating on the glass tube then absorbs this energy and releases a photon of visible light.
Like incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lamps don't convert 100 percent of the energy they consume into visible light. However, they are four to six times more efficient than incandescent lamps, which in turn reduces the power demand from local utilities. Since most power stations use coal as a source for electrical generation, they are large emitters of both greenhouse gas and mercury, which is naturally occurring in most coal that is used today. The reduced demand for electricity in turn reduces both greenhouse gas and mercury emissions.
Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC
Fluorescent lamps are made up of a sealed glass tube with a phosphor powder coating along the inside of the glass. Inside the tube is a small amount of mercury as well as an inert gas—such as argon—that is maintained under low pressure. Two electrodes on opposite sides of the tube energize the mercury to produce ultraviolet energy. The phosphor coating on the glass tube then absorbs this energy and releases a photon of visible light.
Like incandescent bulbs, fluorescent lamps don't convert 100 percent of the energy they consume into visible light. However, they are four to six times more efficient than incandescent lamps, which in turn reduces the power demand from local utilities. Since most power stations use coal as a source for electrical generation, they are large emitters of both greenhouse gas and mercury, which is naturally occurring in most coal that is used today. The reduced demand for electricity in turn reduces both greenhouse gas and mercury emissions.
Brad Buscher
Chairman and CEO
VaporLok Products LLC
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Where Does Your Recycled Lamp Go?
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
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
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