As the use of compact fluorescent lamp bulbs – popularly known as CFLs – grows rapidly in the country, it is also putting the environment at risk with unregulated CFL disposal causing a significant rate of mercury pollution.
According to a recent study, each year, around 20 million CFLs are being used in the country, resulting in 0.07-0.1 tonnes of mercury entering the environment, with an estimated average of 5mg mercury content in every bulb.
Such high levels of emission can have direct harmful effects on the human food chain and lead to health costs ranging between $255,000 and $344,00011 annually, the study – carried out under the supervision of the Power Division – also claimed.
Based on the study, the Power Division has finalised a guideline that aims to reduce the harmful effects.
“We have finalised a guideline for environmentally safe disposal and recycling of CFLs, which will ensure minimisation of negative health and environmental effects of used CFLs,” said Mohammad Hossain, the director general of the Power Cell – a state-owned entity under the Ministry of Power, Energy and Mineral Resources.
“CFLs contain toxic mercury as well as other substances like glass and other metal parts. When broken, compacted, crushed, or disposed of improperly, fluorescent bulbs may release mercury into the air, water, and land, posing significant threats to people and the environment,” he told the Dhaka Tribune.
The purpose of the guideline is to provide practical guidelines to all stakeholders conducting any activities related to the collection, transportation, treatment or recycling and disposal of used CFLs, the Power Cell DG said.
The guideline would facilitate institutions like the Department of Environment (DoE) and Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA) to formulate the relevant legal and institutional framework for implementing safe disposal and recycling of mercury-bearing CFLs and subsequently broaden the boundary to include all hazardous wastes.
The study – conducted by Ernst & Young Global Limited, a London-based multinational professional services firm – found that the lighting industry in the country was flourishing with increasing rural electrification programs as well as increasing urban electrification.
The annual sales of CFLs – which have numerous benefits over incandescent lamps in terms of energy savings and lifetime – ranged approximately between 15-20 million.
Mercury content in CFLs generally range between 2mg to 5mg, while for a small segment of manufacturers, mercury content goes up to 8mg, the study found.
The Efficient Lighting Initiative of Bangladesh (ELIB) and Solar Home System (SHS) programmes – which were introduced in recent years – had led to a rapid growth of CFLs in the country, the study mentioned.
Under the first phase of the ELIB programme, the government distributed 10.5 million CFLs in 2010; while under the SHS programme, the Infrastructure Development Company Limited (IDCOL) distributed 2.7 million more CFLs.
Assuming a 5mg mercury content per CFL, the total mercury released into the atmosphere from CFLs distributed under the ELIB program alone is estimated to be 0.04 tonnes, which may lead to a marginal environmental and health damage cost of $136,0009.
Similarly, for the 2.7 million CFLs distributed under the SHS, a resultant emission of 0.014 tonnes may be expected, leading to a damage cost of $45,900 per annum, the study found.
People were being exposed to mercury almost entirely by eating contaminated fish, while fish-eating birds and mammals were also being exposed to the mercury in water ecosystems and the pollution continued up the food chain, the study claimed.
Effects of mercury exposure on environment and wildlife can include fatality, reduced fertility, slower growth and development and abnormal behaviour that affect survival, depending on the level of exposure.