Article of the week - Recycling of Mercury Bulbs

Contamination by Mercury is a growing problem around the world
By Pompeu

In 2001 the collapse of the system of supply of electricity throughout Brazil (the so-called "Apagão"), led the Brazilians to develop new habits of consumption relative to electricity. These habits that were designed to reduce the effect of the crisis and ensure the national supply of energy. In this period there was an increase in sales of fluorescent lamps. This type of lamp, to illuminate more and, spent an amount of electricity lower than for conventional incandescent lamps.
Despite the economic advantages, fluorescent lamps have several ecological problems. At the time the black out was not told the people what should be done when one of these bulbs break or queimasse. Unlike the common bulbs, which have products with low toxicity in its composition, fluorescent lamps are composed of a series of heavy substances such as mercury. This is an extremely toxic material that, if improperly expelled in the environment, can cause serious problems for man and nature.
The doctor and assistant professor of social medicine department of the Universty of Medical Sciences of Santa Casa de Sao Paulo(Universidade de Medicina Santa Casa de São Paulo), Luiz Carlos Morrone, explains that the most common form of contamination of mercury is through inhalation in his state of hot steam. Exactly the state where the mercury is stored in fluorescent lamps. "A person contaminated by mercury through the airways can present serious psychological problems, besides of possible injury to the nervous system that can lead to paralysis of certain areas of the body," said Morrone.
Although there is no effective treatment for cases of contamination of mercury. The infection mercury can take years to manifest itself, everything depends on the amount and the time that the individual was exposed to the material. "A fluorescent lamp is not sufficient to generate a table of chronic poisoning, but a person who works with mercury constantly without proper protection can develop some kind of contamination," concludes Morrone.
The director of the Industrial Apliquim Environmental Technology(Tecnologia Ambiental), Fernando Rodrigues da Silva, explains that while intact the lamp is not liable. However, when broken release of mercury vapor that can be snorted by whom the handling. " In contact with broken lamps is necessary the use of apron, gloves and plastic boots.

The pieces should be collected so as not to injure anyone who handles the packaging and placed in waterproof and can be sealed to prevent the continued evaporation of mercury released. "Under no circumstances should discard the broken fluorescent lamps with garbage common. "While the impact on the environment caused by a single lamp be negligible, the sum of lamps discarded annually (about 70 million only in Brazil) will have an appreciable effect on the places where they are ready," tells us Rodrigues.
The correct procedure to be followed when a fluorescent lamp if fall is to contact the city of his city to learn about the places and companies that carry out the work of collection of such lamps.