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ALTOtm reduced mercury 4-ft and 8-ft fluorescent lamps contribute to mercury source reduction through an environmentally-conscious design.
The Truth About Low Mercury Lamps
This is a write up that Philips Lighting posted on their website http://www.lighting.philips.com
Philips Lighting Company continues to support the reduction of mercury at its source as the environmentally responsible approach to make things better. Low mercury lamps are the best option for the environment and for the end-user that desires non-hazardous lamps. The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) is used by the Federal Government and by most states in order to determine whether or not spent fluorescent lamps should be characterized as hazardous waste.
For linear fluorescent lamps only leaching of mercury is critical for passing TCLP. ALTO® fluorescent lamps by Philips Lighting Company have the lowest mercury doses available in the market and pass the TCLP test because of this low mercury dose. No additive materials that help to pass the TCLP test are used.
Other TCLP compliant linear fluorescent lamps (available from GE and Osram-Sylvania) pass the TCLP test due to the use of 'additives' i.e. materials added to the lamp with the objective of reducing mercury leaching in the TCLP laboratory test. The mercury content of these TCLP compliant is equal to non -TCLP compliant lamps available from these companies and much higher than the mercury content in ALTO® lamps.
The mentioned additives are likely to be inefficient in preventing mercury leaching in real-world lamp disposal conditions and Hg leaching in the environment will presumably be higher for these lamps than for low mercury ALTO® lamps. This issue has already been raised in several state letters.
In addition to a leaching test the state of California has a total threshold limit for mercury for hazardous waste qualification. Philips ALTO® linear fluorescent lamps are the only lamps available that are classified as non-hazardous waste in California. Other states are considering implementing a total mercury threshold as well.
THE TRUTH ABOUT LOW MERCURY LAMPS
1. Low mercury fluorescent lamps Mercury (Hg) is an essential component of fluorescent lamps. The mercury discharge is the most energy efficient and environmentally friendly source of light generation in these lamps. Unfortunately Hg is a hazardous material. Legislation has been developed in order to reduce Hg contamination in the environment. Fluorescent lamp manufacturers have reduced the Hg content in the lamps and are providing lamps that comply with legislation to be non-hazardous waste upon disposal.
Figure 1: A comparison of Hg content in F32T8 lamps demonstrating the leadership of Philips for low mercury lamps. Average mercury dose (in milligrams of mercury (mg Hg) per lamp) for F32T8 lamps produced in the period 1995-2000. 'Regular' lamps (red bars) are non-TCLP compliant lamps, the green bars represent TCLP compliant lamps. Data are averages based on at least 5 lamps from several production batches. The Hg dose in individual lamps may vary by up to a 30% deviation of the average.
Philips Lighting Company has clearly taken the lead in low mercury lamps. In 1995 Philips introduced the ALTO family of non-hazardous TCLP compliant lamps (see section 2). Others have followed, but Philips continues to have the lowest mercury lamps.
The leadership of Philips is a result of more than ten years of research and on precise Hg dosing and reduced Hg consumption of the lamp during operation ('Alto technology'). By using special coatings and phosphors Philips Alto lamps allow a low Hg dose to be used without loss in lamp life and lamp performance. In fact, less Hg consumption means better lamp performance during life (Hg consumption causes phosphors and glass to turn gray which reduces light output). Philips has also developed and invested in a special Hg dosing method that offers the most accurate Hg dosing available while minimizing mercury exposure in our factories (Figure 2).
Figure 2: Philips' Hg dosing technology: A sealed glass capsule containing a precise amount of mercury mounted on the electrode shield (this shield is present in all Philips lamps to improve lamp performance). When the glass bulb is sealed the capsule is opened (using a high-frequency field) and mercury is available for lamp operation. A green lamp-cap identifies Philips low-mercury ALTO lamps.
2. Hazardous waste classification of fluorescent lamps The United States Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP) is used by the Federal Government and most states to determine whether or not spent fluorescent lamps should be characterized as hazardous waste. Some States use additional tests or criteria and a few have legislated or regulated that all fluorescent lamps are hazardous whether or not they pass the various tests. For those States that use TCLP, to determine the status of linear fluorescent lamps, the mercury content is the critical factor. In order to minimize variability in the test, the National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) developed a standard how to perform TCLP testing on linear fluorescent lamps (NEMA Standards Publication LL 1-1997).
Briefly TCLP testing of fluorescent lamps consists of the following steps:
• ALL lamp parts are crushed or cut into small pieces to ensure all potential hazardous materials will leach out in the test.
• The lamp parts are put in a container and an acetic acid buffer (pH=5) is added. A slightly acidic extraction fluid is used to represent typical landfill extraction conditions.
•The closed container is tumbled end-over-end for 18 hours (30 revolutions per minute)
•The extraction fluid is then filtered and the Hg that is dissolved in the extraction fluid is measured.
The average test result must be lower than 0.2-milligram mercury per liter extraction fluid for the lamp to be qualified as non-hazardous waste.
The TCLP test is a laboratory test meant to represent typical landfill conditions. The EPA developed this the test in order to reduce leaching of hazardous materials in the environment. Of course such a test is a compromise between the practicality of testing a large variety of landfill materials and actual landfill conditions (obviously, not every landfill has a pH of 5, metal parts are normally not cut, etc..).
California has a more rigorous testing procedure for non hazardous waste classification. The Total Threshold Limit Concentration (TTLC) also need to be passed in order for a fluorescent lamp to be classified as non hazardous waste. The TTLC requires a total mercury concentration of less than 20 weight ppm: for example a F32T8 lamp with a typical weight of 180 grams must contain less than 3.6 milligrams of mercury. Philips is the only lamp manufacturer to offer a linear fluorescent ALTO lamp range that complies with TTLC and is not hazardous waste in California.
3. The use of additives to pass TCLP For fluorescent lamps the soluble Hg content measured by the TCLP test is mainly determined by:
• The amount of soluble Hg that is used (consumed) in the lamp as ionic Hg(2+).
• The total Hg content (metallic Hg and ionic Hg) as demonstrated by the fact that TCLP increases for higher Hg doses, even for lamps that do not contain ionic Hg. Metallic Hg is less soluble than ionic Hg. As ionic Hg increases with lamp operation, TCLP increases for longer lamp life.
• Lamp-parts influencing the ionic to metallic mercury equilibrium in the TCLP solution. Examples are materials capable to reduce ionic Hg (such as metals or reducing agents) or materials that change the pH (acids, bases). The effect of these materials on TCLP can be very significant and can easily account for the difference in failing or passing TCLP.
Manufacturers have different ways of manufacturing TCLP compliant fluorescent lamps.
•Philips ALTO lamps have no added materials that help pass TCLP. Philips has ensured that Hg consumption during life is low using 'TCLP neutral' solutions. Coatings and special phosphors do not effect the TCLP. Then, using an accurate Hg dosing technology, a mercury dose is applied that is low enough to allow the lamps to pass TCLP and other tests such as TTLC.
• For our competitors' fluorescent lamps the difference between TCLP compliant lamps and regular lamps is not a lower Hg content (figure 1). These manufacturers choose to pass TCLP by using special materials that are designed to make their lamps pass the TCLP test. These materials have no effect on lamp operation and are introduced in the lamps for the purpose of passing the TCLP test. Although their lamps have somewhat lower Hg levels than several years ago, the reason they pass TCLP is due to the use of these additives.
Different additives are used: GE puts ascorbic acid (an acid and a strong reducing agent) into the cement used to fix the lamp caps; Osram-Sylvania mixes copper-carbonate in this cement or applies zinc plated iron lamp caps (copper, iron, and zinc ions reduce soluble Hg). These additives are found in 1999 and early 2000 produced lamps.
The use of additives reduces the soluble Hg measured by the TCLP test in laboratories and is as such a legitimate way to produce TCLP compliant fluorescent lamps. Unfortunately, the 'additive approach' does not reduce the amount of hazardous mercury in the environment. More importantly, the additives may not work as effectively in 'real world' lamp disposal as they do in the laboratory TCLP. In 'real world' disposal the lamp caps are not cut to pass a 0.95 cm sieve, are not tumbled intensively with all other lamp parts for 18 hours, and so forth. Therefore, the additives that become available during the TCLP test to reduce mercury leaching, may not, or only partly, do their job in real world disposal. As a consequence lamps that rely on additives to pass TCLP may still have relatively high amounts of mercury leaching out in the environment.
Obviously, the amount of mercury that leaches out in real life will depend strongly on the type of additive and the exact disposal conditions. Clearly the 'additive' approach is not a guarantee that only small amounts of mercury will leach into the environment upon disposal. The low mercury approach is a much better way to go since it actually reduces the amount of mercury that can leach out, no matter what the exact disposal conditions are.
Several states (New Jersey, Delaware) have addressed the additive issue. They have indicated that if lamps with additives were thrown away as non-hazardous waste and later found to behave differently in the landfill, generators and those who dispose of such lamps could potentially face the possibility of having violated the hazardous waste disposal regulation known as RCRA. California has a total Hg threshold as indicated before, and some other states are considering the option of a total Hg threshold as well.
The signals are clear. Low mercury lamps are the best option for the environment and for the end-user that desires non-hazardous lamps.
THE IMPORTANCE OF MERCURY REDUCTION Industry-wide consensus on the importance of reducing fluorescent lamp mercury content has led to a 25.4 milligram drop in the average four-foot 40-wattT-12 fluorescent lamp (from 48.2 milligrams in 1985 to 22.8 milligrams in1994).
That means it is not enough to relieve the financial and operational costs associated with hazardous waste disposal faced by industrial, commercial, institutional and governmental users.
| PHIILIPS MEETS THE CHALLENGE: REDUCTION IN MERCURY CONTENT OF MORE THAN 80% When the TCLP guidelines were established, Philips lighting launched a worldwide effort to pass the U.S. EPA's standard during every phase of lamp life. Philips ALTO lamps provide a reduction in mercury content of more than 80% when compared to standard fluorescents with no loss in performance versus standard fluorescent lamps.* Currently, about 550 million 4 foot fluorescent lamps are disposed of every year in the United States alone. With a reduction in mercury content of more than 80%*, ALTO Lamp Technology provides users with a tremendous opportunity to contribute significantly to the preservation of our ecosystem. If all fluorescents were ALTO lamps, approximately 9 tons of mercury would be removed from our waste stream annually due to fluorescent lamps alone. |  |
| MERCURY AND HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL | |
| The presence of mercury is essential for fluorescent lamp operation. Electricity must pass through mercury gas in order to produce the ultraviolet energy that is converted to visible light by the phosphor coating. In fact, it's the mercury that gives fluorescent lamps their high-performance capabilities. And although fluorescent lamps substantially reduce environmental pollution compared to less efficient sources, ordinary spent fluorescent lamps have been classified by the U.S. EPA as hazardous waste because high mercury content causes them to fail the Toxic Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). this was established in 1990, when the EPA developed TCLP to measure toxic substances that might dissolve into the ecosystem, potentially contaminating our fish and water resources. |
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EXTRAORDINARY PROCESS MAINTAINS PERFORMANCE This ground breaking process protects the high-performance features of Philips' fluorescent lamps, while reducing the source of environmental mercury at the end of lamp life. For all ALTOTM fluorescent lamps, lumen output, longevity, color rendering and energy efficiency are absolutely identical to the performance expected from standard fluorescents. | |
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INNOVATION THAT RAISES THE STANDARD ON FLUORESCENT TECHNOLOGY | |
IMPACT OF A DECISION
For many large end-users, ALTOTM Lamp Technology is a business decision that meets major corporate environmental objectives. In addition to the positive environmental impact, ALTO fluorescent lamps can save companies hundreds of thousands of dollars by reducing hazardous disposal costs, back-end labor and operating costs. One such company, retail giant Wal-Mart, installed ALTO lamps in its 130,000 square foot model store in City of Industry, California. Wal-Mart's Green Manager, Janis Blackwell, predicted the savings from hazardous waste transportation and disposal costs would exceed $5,000 with every re-lamping in the California store alone.
Another major corporation, NutraSweet-Kelco, a unit of Monsanto, completely changed over the facility to ALTO lamps. "They save you money, they're easy to install and they are the right thing to do!," reports P. Michael Veltri, Plant Manager of NutraSweet-Kelco."The ALTO lamps installed in just one of our stores will eliminate 48,00 milligrams of mercury from the waste stream with each relamping." Janis Blackwell, Green Manager; Wal-Mart
*Based on the combined average end of life data for Philips ALTO T8and T12 lamps compared with available published data for 4-foot T12 fluorescent lamps.
* Based on National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA)data.
* ALTO is a registered trade mark of Philips Electric
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