Can Compact Fluorescent Lightbulbs Damage Skin?

[xchrom]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=can-compact-fluorescent-lightbulbs-damage-skin


SKIN RISK: A new study finds that damaged compact fluorescent lightbulbs can emit harmful ultraviolet light capable of damaging skin cells.
Image: flickr/rubberpaw

The curlicue compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs) oft touted as an Earth-friendly alternative to standard incandescent bulbs may cause skin damage, according to a new study by researchers at Stony Brook University.

The bulbs are already known to pose hazards from using mercury, a toxic element, though in very small quantities, as lighting manufacturers are quick to point out. Regulations in parts of the United States and in the European Union limit mercury to 3.5 milligrams per bulb, with the limit dropping to 2.5 mg next year.

Now researchers have found that ultraviolet radiation seeping through CFLs may damage skin cells. Miriam Rafailovich, a professor of materials science and engineering at Stony Brook, led the research after reading an article in an Israeli newspaper that reported a spike in skin cancer on a communal farm when residents switched to fluorescent bulbs.

"In the past two years some disturbing reports have surfaced mostly in the European Union literature, which indicate that exposure to CFL bulbs might be responsible for exacerbating certain skin conditions, such as photodermatoses and skin cancer in humans," says the paper, published last month in the journal Photochemistry and Photobiology.

[dipsydoodle]

1. Would if you bit one

Best avoided that.

Energy efficient they might be - light efficient they're not.

[snappyturtle]

2. The most disturbing part of this article is that the U.S. Dept. of Energy spent $252 million

in 2010 to promote CFL usage. I also smell government grant for the study.

Even more I find it remarkable that the scientist started this study because Israeli Commune
members on a FARM where there was a spike in skin cancer. I think the scientists are grabbing at straws.
imho

[ErikJ]

3. I smell Koch money.

[snappyturtle]

4. Are the Kochs into light bulbs too? nt

[ErikJ]

5. Probably. But mostly fossil fuels. The more wasted, the richer they become.

[LastDemocratInSC]

6. I suppose there will be an attack against all forms of arc welding next

Arc welding emits gobs of ultraviolet radiation - so much that protection is needed if you're doing the work.

Are the "bulbers" (oh, I like that term) going to go nuts over welding as they have over CFL lamps?