RE: [Leica] Mercury (Hg) Batteries and Minamata

["Bergman, Mark A." <mabergm@nppd.com>]

What it doesn't say is that large quantity users of fluorescent bulbs, such
as most large businesses, must dispose of them as hazardous waste.   That
means they don't go to your local landfill.  Also the Federal, State,
County, City, zoning commissions have extremely tight restrictions on how to
build a landfill to assure that no wastes of any kind pollute the
groundwater.  Wells are also dug around the perimeter of the landfill to
sample the water on a weekly basis to confirm that no wastes are seeping
from the landfill.  These wells will continue to sample the water for
decades after the landfill closes. 

But from http://es.epa.gov/techinfo/facts/lamps-fs.html

" Industry estimates show that between 450 and 500 million fluorescent lamps
are disposed of in the United States each year, dumping over 30,000 metric
tons of mercury contaminated waste into the nation's landfills"

Paul

>-----Original Message-----
>From: John Coan [mailto:jcoan@alumni.duke.edu]
>Sent: Monday, September 11, 2000 4:16 PM
>To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us
>Subject: Re: [Leica] Mercury (Hg) Batteries and Minamata
>
>
>William,
>Do you happen to know what mercury compound is in fluorescent tubes?  I
>wonder how much is in one industrial size light, vs. one PX-625? 
>Anybody else?
>John