THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: CFL bulbs can be compared to a mercenary who stays on long after the job is done. With no proper disposal mechanism in place, burnt-out dead compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are turning out to be a nightmare for the state. Functional CFL bulbs save energy, but dead ones poison the environment. It is estimated that at the moment there could be at least 50 lakh CFL bulbs in the state that are either defective or have completed their lifespan.
If CFLs are disposed of casually like ordinary waste, there is a high chance of a tube burst and the spilling of the mercury into the environment. Mercury poisoning is especially harmful for children and pregnant women. Each CFL bulb holds four milligram of toxic mercury. The mercury vapour from 250 of them will be enough to contaminate a waterbody of about 25,000 acres. Nearly 130 lakh CFLs were distributed to over 77 lakh households across the state under the Bachat Lamp Yojana during 2009.
An average CFL bulb has the life expectancy of a domestic rabbit, six years. Meaning, the CFLs distributed as part of efforts to conserve energy have either burnt out or are emitting their last sparks of light. Then there are the defective ones that have not been reclaimed by companies like Philips that have sold the CFL bulbs. A report of the Assembly Committee on Public Undertakings Assembly Subject Committee has strongly criticized the KSEB for not foreseeing the pollution caused by the “dumped” CFLs.
Though the Energy Management Centre has submitted an action plan to the KSEB a year ago, it has not been taken forward. The plan mainly involves collection and recycling. The plan is to take the lamps, collected after paying the households, to a recycling site where the mercury will be extracted and the hollow glass crushed. The mercury, crushed glass and plastic will be sold. “However, as of now, the burnt-out CFLs are handled carelessly by a population blissfully unaware of the disasters the curled tubes can unleash,” a top KSEB official said.
