Introduction
Most people know mercury as the shiny, silver-colored liquid metal commonly used in thermometers. Most do not know that mercury is a naturally occurring element found in air, water and soil; one that exists in several forms such as elemental or metallic mercury, inorganic mercury compounds, and organic mercury compounds. Although it is a natural occurring element, mercury can cause serious ecological and human health effects when it is released to the environment. Depending on the level of exposure, health effects may include headaches, nerve damage, loss of cognitive function, kidney problems, respiratory failure or even death. Approximately 40% of man-made mercury emissions are the result of coal-fired electricity plants, however mercury can also be found in a number of commercial products such as batteries, thermostats, switches, and fluorescent lamps.
For facility managers perhaps the largest source of mercury in their buildings is found in the building’s lighting system, specifically: standard fluorescent lamps, compact fluorescent lamps, and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps. According to the Energy Information Administration, standard fluorescent lamps are used to light 90% of lit commercial floor space in the United States. Mercury is essential for these lighting products to perform their function. And although the total mercury contained in new fluorescent lamps has been nearly cut in half in the past decade according to a report by the National Electric Manufacturers Association, more can be done to reduce the quantity of both new and existing mercury entering the waste stream. By purchasing lower content mercury lighting products and employing a mercury recycling program, facility managers are well-positioned to have a significant, positive impact on the environment and the human health of their building’s occupants and maintenance personnel.
Procurement
When it comes to addressing the amount of mercury being introduced into buildings by mercury containing lamps three factors should be considered: mercury content, lamp life, and light output. Fortunately, all three factors are captured by using a single metric: the weighted average mercury content of the lamp (measured in picograms) per lighting output (measure in lumen hours). Since high efficiency versions of fluorescent and HID lamps having low picogram per lumen hour values are available, facility managers can directly reduce the mercury entering their buildings. In so doing, they can also indirectly reduce mercury emissions—through reduced energy consumption—from coal-fired power plants. Making matters better, each of the top three lamp manufacturers in the United States produce readily available lamps with mercury contents below 100 picograms/lumen hour. So with the right lighting procurement strategy, facility managers can save money through reductions in energy use, reduce the amount of new mercury entering the waste stream, and reduce the human health threat to occupants and maintenance personnel associated with the handling of mercury-containing products.
Recycling
Having been convinced of the economic, environmental, and human health benefits of purchasing lamps with lower mercury content, the question for the facility manager then becomes: what should be done with existing lamps as they are replaced with the higher efficiency, lower mercury containing ones? As with the case of procurement, the answer is relatively simple: recycle. Technologies and processes to safely reclaim mercury from used fluorescent lamps have been around since the late 1980’s. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency added fluorescent lamps to the Universal Waste Rule in July 1999, and since that point more lamp recycling facilities have been added. Despite this ruling, less than 30% of fluorescent lamps in the commercial sector are being recycled according to the Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (ALMR). Lamp recycling services can be obtained anywhere in United States and are generally available to large fluorescent lamp users, small businesses, contractors, municipal governments as well as the public. Setting up a lamp recycling program for your building is relatively simple and varies based upon the needs of the building owner. According to the ALMR, small users often participate in a “box program” whereby containers are provided which when full can be sent to virtually any recycler via ground mail shipment using prepaid shipping labels. Larger users can arrange “milk-run” pick-ups whereby common carriers transport the lamps to recycling facilities.
Conclusion
Although mercury is a naturally occurring element and is commonly found in most energy-efficient lamps, if not handled and disposed of properly it can pose serious environmental and human health problems. Fortunately, for facility managers there are two simple strategies to reduce the amount of mercury from entering their building and the amount of mercury entering the waste stream: procurement and recycling.
Resources
Association of Lighting and Mercury Recyclers (www.almr.org)
This non-profit organization represents the majority of commercial processors of mercury-containing wastes. This site provides educational information related to mercury-containing wastes and links to member companies with over 60 locations in the U.S.
LampRecycle.org (www.nema.org/lamprecycle)
This is an online resource from the National Electric Manufacturers Association providing information on recycling used mercury-containing lamps and includes links to recycling service providers.
U.S. EPA Mercury Web Site (www.epa.gov/mercury)
This site offers information about mercury emissions, the use of mercury in manufactured products, human and environmental health effects, and laws and regulations.
U.S. Green Building Council© (www.usgbc.org)
Having a toxic material source reduction program focused on reducing the amount of mercury being brought into the building is a requirement within the USGBC’s LEED for Existing Buildings program (LEED-EB). The LEED-EB rating system also provides a credit for those that go beyond the minimum requirements.
