LED products billed as eco-friendly contain toxic metals, study finds

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://today.uci.edu/news/2011/02/nr_LED_110210.php

LED products billed as eco-friendly contain toxic metals, study finds

UC researchers tested holiday bulbs, traffic lights and car beams

— Irvine, Calif., February 10, 2011 —

Those light-emitting diodes marketed as safe, environmentally preferable alternatives to traditional lightbulbs actually contain lead, arsenic and a dozen other potentially hazardous substances, according to newly published research.

“LEDs are touted as the next generation of lighting. But as we try to find better products that do not deplete energy resources or contribute to global warming, we have to be vigilant about the toxicity hazards of those marketed as replacements,” said Oladele Ogunseitan, chair of UC Irvine’s Department of Population Health & Disease Prevention.

He and fellow scientists at UCI and UC Davis crunched, leached and measured the tiny, multicolored lightbulbs sold in Christmas strands; red, yellow and green traffic lights; and automobile headlights and brake lights. Their findings? Low-intensity red lights contained up to eight times the amount of lead allowed under California law, but in general, high-intensity, brighter bulbs had more contaminants than lower ones. White bulbs copntianed the least lead, but had high levels of nickel.

“We find the low-intensity red LEDs exhibit significant cancer and noncancer potentials due to the high content of arsenic and lead,” the team wrote in the January 2011 issue of Environmental Science & Technology, referring to the holiday lights. Results from the larger lighting products will be published later, but according to Ogunseitan, “it’s more of the same.”

...

[midnight]

1. I'm glad they are studying this and reporting on this...

I love my incandescent bulbs, and not a fan of the energy efficient fluorescent squiggly thing that is being pushed upon me. So is it safe to say I can use health reasons to stay with my old bulbs?

[baldguy]

2. Versus traditional lightbulbs, LEDs use 1/3 of the energy and are more than 10x more durable.

And traditional incandescents also use lead in their manufacture - as well as mercury, phosphorus and other toxic heavy metals.

[Javaman]

3. Shush! What did I tell you about bringing facts into a discussion?

Don't make me come back there!

[OKIsItJustMe]

5. Right

So, please don’t present facts which suggest that LED’s are anything other than a panacea. ;-)

I love my LED’s but it’s important to understand that they can also have ecological drawbacks.

[Javaman]

6. My snarky point was...

everything has some level of this or that in it.

There is no clean cure all.

However, I will take the LED's over incandescents any day, just on the carbon footprint alone.

[hunter]

4. But let's ignore the toxic metals of burning coal, okay?

And the fracked natural gas, and yes, even the nuclear waste (although much less egregious than the fossil fuel wastes.)

[Viking12]

7. Another case of, "The perfect is the enemy of the good"