Can “green” light bulbs make you crazy?

“Are energy-efficient bulbs making people crazy?”

The answer: “Nope.”

Or rather, that’s the answer offered by Dr. Roshini Raj in response to a reader’s question posted on a CNN health blog.

After “Nope,” Dr. Raj immediately contradicts himself, noting that compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) contain mercury, “which can cause neurological damage, especially if you eat it.”

So let me get this straight: Yes, those bulbs CAN make me crazy, so I shouldn’t eat them. Excellent health tip!

Dr. Raj also advises us to recycle CFL bulbs properly. That’s also good advice. You’re not supposed to throw CFLs in the trash, because… I’ll let Dr. Raj finish this sentence: “…you don’t want to expose your trash collector to any mercury from broken bulbs.”

And why not expose the trash collector? Because mercury is a neurotoxin. And if the trash truck contains CFLs, they’re going to break. In spite of the “Nope” above, that cumulative mercury exposure just might make your trash collector crazy.

By Congressional mandate, manufacturing of incandescent bulbs will cease in the U.S. after 2014. So by 2015, thousands of CFLs will end up in garbage trucks every day. You know and I know that most people are just going to throw burned-out CFLs in the trash.

Nice mandate, Congress. Our light bulbs will be “green,” while mercury floods the environment.

And “Yep,” people WILL go crazy.

Sources:

“Are energy-efficient bulbs making people crazy?” Dr. Roshini Raj, 2/11/11, pagingdrgupta.blogs.cnn.com