Fluorescent light bulbs, when broken or incinerated, release toxic mercury into the air. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, high amounts of mercury can damage the gastrointestinal tract, the nervous system and the kidneys. High exposure can also result in skin rashes, mood swings, memory loss and muscle weakness.

Due to these dangers, the Onondaga County Resource Recovery Agency suggests people drop the bulbs off on a Household Hazardous Waste Drop-Off Day. There are only three drop-off days each year, and with the next drop-off day six months away on May 19, not everyone participates in the process.

Neal Andrus, an undecided sophomore at Syracuse University, uses florescent bulbs in his basement.

‘When they go out, we just put them in the garbage,’ he said.

Austin Ted Paulnack, the coordinator of Syracuse MoveOn, and the coordinator of The Accountability project, has been trying to alert OCRRA to the problem by circulating a petition around campus.

The petition was circulated around campus and then sent to OCRRA along with copies of letters Paulnack has had published on the issue in various local publications.

While the petition circulated, OCRRA was already beginning to organize the program.

Andy Brigham, the OCRRA public information spokesperson, said that while he was aware of Paulnack’s efforts through his letters to the editor, the idea for their program came from an article published by the Sierra Club.

‘I asked the ice cream store next door what they do with (their fluorescent bulbs), and they said they just put them in the garbage and step on them,’ Paulnack said, of Marshall Street’s Tasti D-Lite. ‘The minute they get smashed, or put in the incinerator, the vapor gets sent into the air.’

While the closest incinerator is located near South Campus, Brigham maintained that it poses no threat to the SU students living in the apartments.

‘The assessments and permitted limits established are extremely extensive, so it poses no danger,’ he said.

New York state law requires waste containing mercury to be managed separately from solid waste, but residents and small businesses with fewer than 100 employees are exempt, according to the OCRRA Web site.

According to James McCumber, the director of the SU Environmental Health Office, the university uses an outside vendor to safely dispose of products containing mercury.

Fluorescent light bulbs, along with batteries containing mercury and some thermostats, are sent to a plant where the mercury is reclaimed. The university funds this program itself, and has been doing so for years, McCumber said.

OCRRA is dealing with this problem by organizing a plan to help residents and small businesses safely dispose of their fluorescent light bulbs.

Carlos Avila, a freshman computer engineering major, said he is glad OCRRA is dealing with this issue.

‘Any form of recycling is good,’ he said. ‘You don’t just throw away something like oil, so why would you throw away mercury?’

Catherine Cahill, a junior communications science and disorders major, said she considers mercury pollution a big problem.

‘Just look at Onondaga Lake, and you can see how much mercury affects the environment,’ she said.

OCRRA wants local retailers to collect used fluorescent bulbs from the consumers when they come in to buy new ones, Brigham said. They will be provided with special kits to recycle the bulbs, at an expense to OCRRA of $50 per box.

‘The way I envision it now, is you have a box of fluorescent bulbs, and you bring it to a retail outlet, and we supply them a mailing packet with prepaid shipping,’ Brigham said. ‘They put in the bulbs, and when they get enough, they ship it off to a company that will recycle and recapture the mercury.’

Brigham also said that they would publicize which retailers are participating in the program. They hope to start it in early 2007, he said.

‘The problem is that the most valuable thing is floor space.’ Brigham said. ‘We need to reach an arrangement where people dropping the bulbs off doesn’t consume floor space.’

Robert White, the manager of ACE hardware store at Nottingham shopping plaza, has received a letter from OCRRA asking his store to be part of the program.

‘Up until now, we just threw them in the trash,’ he said.

However, some people might still not recycle the bulbs, like freshman Chad Cable, a computer science and computer art major.

‘I don’t know if I’d save them to bring them to the store,’ he said.

Julie Knapp, a sophomore television, radio and film and psychology dual major, said she thinks OCRRA needs to do more to safely dispose of the community’s fluorescent bulbs.

‘People aren’t going to do it if it isn’t convenient,’ she said. ‘People are a lot more likely to do it if they come around to pick them up, because people are lazy.’

If fluorescent bulbs reach landfills, the mercury inside can pose further dangers. The mercury can reach and pollute the groundwater. People can consume mercury and the more dangerous compound methylmercury from fish which have been living in this polluted water.

Methylmercury, when exposed to pregnant women, can cause major damage to the infant’s nervous system. According to Paulnack, these high levels of Methylmercury are why New York state residents can’t eat locally caught fish more than once a week.

According to Paulnack, more and more residents are using compact fluorescent light bulbs, adding to the problem of mercury pollution.

Both the government and environmental agencies are promoting the use of these bulbs because of the energy they save. On the EPA’s list of suggestions to reduce greenhouse emissions at home, the first suggestion is to replace the bulbs in the five most frequently used light fixtures with these fluorescent bulbs.

While they cost a little more, they use two-thirds of the electricity, and last up to ten times longer than normal bulbs. They also generate less heat, making them safer to work with.

However, the bulbs still contain mercury, and therefore cause the same problems when thrown away.

Paulnack said that his proposal was similar to returning batteries to drugstores to receive credit off of the next purchase.

‘My idea was to get hardware stores to give people 50 cents credit on a new one,’ Paulnack said. ‘They could advertise this discount on bulletin boards, and if one hardware store did it, they could become famous for being the first.’

On the web:

To make an appointment for the Household Hazardous Waste Drop-off day on May 19, go to OCRRA.org

Published on November 8, 2006 at 12:00 pm