Cleanup for Broken CFLs
Compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) are about 75% more energy efficient than incandescent light bulbs and last 10 times longer, and thus have quickly become a modern-day environmental icon. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that about 290 million CFLs were sold in 2007. But CFLs do have one dim spot on their otherwise bright green image: the mercury that makes the bulbs' inner phosphor coating fluoresce and produce light. A new study from a group of researchers at Brown University characterizes for the first time how elemental mercury vapor escapes from broken CFLs and offers a real-world solution for capturing escaping mercury.