Which Poison Will Change Your Life?

CFL’s/Dirty Electricity

In the interest of “going green”, the incandescent light bulbs that have been in use since Thomas Edison invented them are now going the way of Edison himself. The stampede is on for every bulb to be replaced with compact fluorescent bulbs (CFL’s). What do you know about this technology? The government says that CFL’s are more energy efficient and thus will lower energy consumption. The government has a tradition of jumping the gun and then spinning the facts to cover its tracks. This massive overhaul of our lighting is no exception.

Fluorescent lighting has a history of causing health problems because of its inherently biologically-incompatible technology. Whereas the good old incandescent bulb depends on the thermal effect of current to make it glow, a fluorescent bulb needs a certain high frequency to make it glow. This frequency is achieved by chopping up the AC electricity via an electronic ballast. This results in voltage fluctuations which generate not only the flickering or stroboscopic effect typical with fluorescent lights, but also harmonic currents in the electrical system which generate high-frequency radio noise. Even before the advent of CFL’s, proximity to fluorescent lighting was a known trigger for migraine headaches, nausea, dizziness, confusion, tinnitus, eyestrain, skin problems, and epileptic seizures. Those adversely affected by fluorescent lighting could count on respite from their symptoms in the privacy and comfort of their homes. Now this option is being taken away from us. And in the meantime, homeowners are jumping on the CFL bandwagon solely on the basis of advertising hype and public service announcements which conveniently do not tell the true story.

I mentioned that the voltage surges from CFL’s produce radio wave frequencies. These radiate not only directly from the bulbs themselves, but are also carried throughout the electrical wiring. This is called dirty electricity. The RF radiation carried along the wiring throughout your house, school, or place of business is not only absorbed by you but is also re-radiated through you since your body, being conductive, acts like an antenna for the RF. Even if in your home you do not use CFL’s, DECT phones, computers, fax machines, plasma televisions, dimmer switches, or other variable speed motor devices which contribute to dirty electricity, RF can enter your wiring system from your neighbors who share the same electrical transformer. Some CFL bulb packages actually state the RF hazard. Did you read the package?

Besides creating an inescapable RF environment, CFL exposure has been proven to dramatically raise blood sugar levels by inhibiting insulin production and by initiating stress, which also affects blood sugar levels (Havas, v. Klitzing). If there is a diabetes epidemic now, just wait! The increase in multiple sclerosis has also been linked to the kind of RF exposure that is seen with dirty electricity environments.

Another CFL hazard is the one that more people have heard of—namely, mercury toxicity. Fluorescent technology is dependent on the use of mercury. When voltage is applied to the bulb, electrodes energize the mercury vapor to produce UV light. Mercury is a neurotoxin. The government itself warns about mercury ingestion from seafood—with a particular warning for pregnant women. You can’t buy a mercury thermometer anymore because of the hazard of a mercury spill in your home from a broken thermometer. Is there any difference between the hazard of a mercury spill from a thermometer and a spill from a broken CFL? No, there is not. Yet the government blithely advises and soon will require all homes to use these bulbs without any thought to the consequences of mercury poisoning. We are not supposed to dispose of batteries in the garbage can but how many of us do it? Does the government really think that the public will heed the instruction not to dispose of broken light bulbs in the garbage? And what happens to the child or pregnant woman who picks up the broken bulb and throws it away? Remember absorption, inhalation, and ingestion? You can subject yourself to all three poisoning pathways if you clean up a broken CFL bulb! Naturally, babies, children, and pets are particularly vulnerable to mercury poisoning from broken CFL bulbs as they spend more time closer to the floor. The government doesn’t want our children’s brains damaged by lead poisoning but apparently has decided to tolerate mercury poisoning. I shudder to think of moving into a new apartment or house not knowing if and where there have been mercury spills. Add to the mercury problem the medical establishment’s resistance to the only proven method of eliminating mercury from the body—chelation. If this poisoning is thrust upon us, we should at least be provided a way out of it!

Other questionable CFL claims are their longevity and their reduction of greenhouse gases. Fluorescent technology was not designed for constant on-off switching. This dramatically shortens the life of the bulb. So we are back to replacing burned-out bulbs. Only now it costs more! If the cost is destined to be higher, why not simply bypass the CFL stage and proceed directly to clean, long-lasting and non-RF-producing LED (light-emitting diode) bulbs as more forward-thinking countries have done? Also, some CFL users have noticed that without the heat source of incandescent bulbs, they are turning up their furnaces. Greenhouse gas reduction out the window—or up the chimney! The trade-off of attempting to reduce emissions by requiring technology that will cripple the citizenry is not a sensible one.

Do CFL bulbs meet the criteria for a “green” product? They are harmful to workers during manufacture (mercury poisoning); they are harmful during use (dirty electricity and mercury hazard at home, work, school); they are harmful to the environment in their disposal (mercury pollution). This product can hardly be called “green”.