Megaman Calls for international ban on use of Liquid Mercury

Megaman has called for an international ban on cheap bulbs which contain mercury in liquid form. The entire Megaman range of lighting products are free of liquid mercury and they feel that consumer safety is being compromised by lax regulations which allow inferior – and potentially hazardous - products to be sold through shops and Internet retailers. The company is actively lobbying at the EU in Brussels and in other European countries.

Megaman has carried out exhaustive research into what happens when different types of low energy bulbs – known as CFLs - get broken in a confined space. While those types which use a safe form of amalgam are safe when broken, those which contain liquid mercury can release mercury vapour in concentrations which far exceed internationally agreed safety limits.

The low energy lighting products manufactured by Megaman have been completely free of liquid mercury since January 2008. By adopting the use of the safer solid amalgam form of the element, the company has been able to minimise environmental impact at different stages of the product life cycle. This not only protects consumers during the products useful life, but also workers during production and transportation, and during end-of-life disposal.

Click here to view the complete White paper, Compact Fluorescent Lamps and the dangers of Liquid Mercury