US Advocacy Groups Urge Biden Administration to Phase-Out Fluorescents

A new report released today by the Clean Lighting Coalition, coordinated by CLASP, details the health and environmental risks posed when fluorescent lamps break throughout their lifecycle. Because fluorescent lighting is ubiquitous, lamp breakage can occur in homes, schools, childcare settings, offices, apartment buildings, health and other facilities. 

There is no “safe” level of exposure to mercury. Those most vulnerable include pregnant people and unborn babies; infants and young children; communities of color and people living in low-income neighborhoods who may be chronically exposed to a combination of toxic substances; and workers who can be exposed during manufacturing, recycling, installation, and disposal. 

The report highlights steps that government entities at local, state, and federal levels can take to transition to non-toxic and climate-friendly LEDs. Specifically, the Coalition is calling on the Biden Administration to support the global phase-out of fluorescent lighting by 2025 at the upcoming meeting of the United Nation’s Minamata Convention on Mercury in March 2022. The Coalition notes that phasing out fluorescent lighting aligns with the Administration’s Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad issued earlier this year. 

Read the press release.

Read the full report, Mercury in Fluorescent Lighting: Unnecessary Health Risks & Actionable Solutions, co-authored by the Mercury Policy Project, Responsible Purchasing Network, and Peter Maxson, a UNEP expert on mercury, and co-released with six partners. 

“Conventional lighting technologies are still emitting massive amounts of CO2 everywhere in the world,” said Mr. Baro, Ministry of Environment, Green Economy and Climate Change of Burkina Faso and Co-chair, COP 4 Minamata Convention on Mercury for Africa Region. 

We are actively seeking new partners to join the 6-week campaign to raise awareness of the benefits of safe, clean and energy-saving LEDs. Join us!

The authors point to programmes like UJALA, which have had transformative socio-economic impacts, and India’s emergence as the world’s second largest exporter of LEDs. Read the article. 

In the Edison Report, CLiC’s Nyamolo Abagi writes that supporting the campaign will signal the private sector’s readiness to produce LEDs to meet accelerated demand.