Environmental Impact Analysis: Spent Mercury-Containing Lamps

January, 2000 (Fourth Edition)

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

SIGNIFICANT EFFORTS BY LAMP MANUFACTURERS TO REDUCE THE MERCURY CONTENT OF LAMPS, INCREASED RECYCLING AND MORE STRINGENT INCINERATION CONTROLS FOR MERCURY ARE REDUCING MERCURY EMMISSIONS FROM LAMP DISPOSAL ACTIVITIES TO MINIMAL LEVELS. WELL-MANAGED LAMP RECYCLING, REGULATED LANDFILLING, OR CONTROLLED INCINERATION OF SPENT MERCURY-CONTAINING LAMPS PRODUCE VERY SMALL MERCURY RELEASES. DUE TO AGGRESSIVE MANUFACTURER AND REGULATORY ACTIVITY, DISPOSAL OF MERCURYCONTAINING LAMPS IS AN INSIGNIFICANT CONTRIBUTOR OF MERCURY TO THE ENVIRONMENT.

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANALYSIS: SPENT MERCURY-CONTAINING LAMPS A SUMMARY OF CURRENT STUDIES: January, 2000 Prepared by the National Electrical Manufacturers Association ___________________________________________________________________________________________ MERCURY RELEASES TO THE ATMOSPHERE1 TOTAL GLOBAL MERCURY RELEASES, NATURAL, & MANMADE USA RELEASES FROM ALL MANMADE SOURCES (1995) FOSSIL FUEL COMBUSTION WASTE INCINERATION INDUSTRIAL PROCESSES MISCELLANEOUS & AREA SOURCES 5500 Tons/Year 158 84 54 16 4 Tons/Year Tons/Year Tons/Year Tons Year Tons/Year

Manmade sources of mercury in the United States contribute approximately 3% of the total global emissions of mercury from all sources. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ MERCURY CONTENT--4 FLUORESCENT LAMP INDUSTRY AVERAGES YEAR 1985 1990 1994 1999 INDUSTRY AVG. 48.2 mg. 41.6 mg. 22.8 mg. 11.6 mg
2

MERCURY USE PER 4 FLUORESCENT LAMP HAS BEEN REDUCED BY OVER 75% DURING THE PAST 14 YEARS. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ U.S. LAMP DISPOSAL--1999 INDUSTRY ESTIMATE 71% Landfilled 14% Incinerated 15% Recycled ____________________________________________________________________________________________ LAMP MERCURY IN VAPOR FORM, 4' FLUORESCENT LAMP LAMP OPERATING3 NOT OPERATING4 PERCENTAGE 0.5% 0.3% AMOUNT .06 mg. .04 mg.

PRACTICALLY 100% OF LAMPS BROKEN OR CRUSHED ARE NOT OPERATING AT THE TIME. THEREFORE, AN EXTREMELY SMALL AMOUNT (.04 mg.) OF MERCURY VAPOR IS RELEASED FROM A LAMP WHEN IT IS BROKEN. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

____________________________________________________________________________________________ MERCURY IN LANDFILLS5 Historically, mercury-containing lamps have accounted for only 3.8% of the total mercury deposited in landfills. More than 99.99% of the mercury from fluorescent lamps that is put in a landfill stays in the landfill. Of the 109 landfills analyzed by the Research Triangle Institute for the EPA, none had mercury above the EPA TCLP limits. 88 landfills had no detectable mercury 15 were below the drinking water standard of .002 mg/l 6 were slightly above the drinking water standard All mercury detections were well below the TCLP limit of .2 mg/l. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ ESTIMATES OF MERCURY IN LANDFILL LEACHATE RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE5: -Less than .001% of mercury escapes through landfill leachate. (The average mercury concentration in leachate is .0008 mg/l.) -Annual input of mercury released in landfill leachate: .0007% MERCURY IN LANDFILL LEACHATE IS NEGLIGIBLE. WHEN DETECTED, THE AVERAGE MERCURY CONCENTRATION IN LANDFILL LEACHATE IS LESS THAN THE DRINKING WATER STANDARD OF .002 mg/l. MERCURY IS VERY IMMOBILE WHEN PLACED IN LANDFILLS. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ MERCURY IN GAS RELEASES FROM LANDFILLS 1989 SWEDISH STUDY6: Air measurements above 4 landfills: Near detection limits of equipment. Range .0000062 mg/m3 to .0000176 mg/m3 above background. Only an average of 2.7 times minute background levels. Highest level measured less than .024% of the OSHA limit. Landfills contained many unknown industrial wastes. 1992) 0.000240 mg/m3 in vented landfill gases. 1997) 0.000006 mg/m3 to 0.0024 mg/m3 in vented landfill gases Less than .001% of mercury escapes through landfill gases.

FLORIDA STUDIES7,12:

RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE5:

MERCURY IN LANDFILL GAS IS NEGLIGIBLE. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

____________________________________________________________________________________________ MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM LANDFILLING ACTIVITY Lawrence Berkeley Labs documented that if all of the mercury in a fluorescent lamp were exposed to air at room temperature, it would experience an evaporation rate of approximately 1% over the first 24 hours. Most of the evaporation in their experiment occurred during the first two hours. Evaporation decreased substantially after this point.3 In actuality, it is unlikely that a 1% mercury evaporation rate would be reached, even over several days. This is because a large part of the mercury in a used lamp is imbedded in the lamp phosphor and glass and is not exposed to air. Additionally, most broken lamps are commingled with other trash, stored in sealed drums, or otherwise covered before 24 hours. An experiment completed by Tetra Tech, Inc. and Frontier Geosciences, Inc., confirmed the assumption of a lower evaportation rate under actual conditions. This experiment simulated the current landfill practice of covering waste with .5 ft. to 1 ft. of soil. Lamps with .5 ft. soil cover released 0.8% of their mercury over 20 days. Lamps with 1 ft. soil cover released 0.2% of their mercury over 20 days. Based on this study, a conservative estimate of lamp mercury evaporation from landfilling activity is 0.8%.8 ____________________________________________________________________________________________ INCINERATION EMISSIONS RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE5: 90% of the mercury in lamps is released if there are no mercury controls.

POTENTIAL MERCURY CONTROL EFFECTIVENESS: Over 90% MERCURY EVAPORATES EASILY WHEN INCINERATED. ____________________________________________________________________________________________ MERCURY EMISSIONS FROM RECLAMATION (RECYCLING) ACTIVITY RECLAMATION (RECYCLING) FACILITY ESTIMATES: RESEARCH TRIANGLE INSTITUTE5: Estimated .2% to .4% mercury emitted to the atmosphere from a well-managed MRT lamp reclamation (recycling) facility. US EPA9: Estimated mercury released from recycling equipment crushers between .002 to 0.16 mg per lamp, averaging 0.071 mg/lamp. RE-USE OF RECOVERED MATERIALS: Mercury imbedded in lamp glass will be released into the atmosphere when the glass is heated or melted for subsequent re-use. Analysis of recycled lamp glass revealed mercury levels ranging from less than 0.1 mg. to over 3 mg. per lamp averaging approximately 1.5 mg. of mercury per lamp. Mercury will be released if recovered glass is re-heated or re-melted. Reuse temperatures as low as 250 O C can produce mercury evolution rates as high as 7 mg. per hour per kg. of glass.10 MERCURY RELEASED FROM A WELL-MANAGED RECLAMATION (RECYCLING) FACILITY IS LOW. SMALL AMOUNTS OF MERCURY CAN BE RELEASED FROM PROCESSING RECOVERED MATERIALS. ____________________________________________________________________________________________

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

Data Input for Mercury Emissions Analysis Description

Number of Lamps Disposed Total Mercury Contained in Lamps DISPOSAL OPTIONS % Recycled % Landfill % Incinerated % Released from Incinerators11 % Breakage (not recycled) Ave. Mercury Content of Recovered Glass

1990
440 Million 24 Tons

1995
530 Million 27 Tons

1999
620 Million 17 Tons

2004
680 Million 13 Tons

2% 82% 16% 90%

8% 77% 15% 51%

15% 71% 14% 33%

25% 64% 11% 9%

98% 1.5 mg/lamp

92% 1.50 mg/lamp

85% 1.50 mg/lamp

75% 0.75 mg/lamp

ESTIMATED MERCURY AIR/WATER RELEASES FROM LAMP DISPOSAL ACTIVITIES

1990
DESCRIPTION RELEASES FROM LAMP BREAKAGE

Amount
Estimated 440 Million Lamps disposed @ 98% breakage 24 tons of mercury at 82% landfilled 24 tons of mercury at 16% Incinerated 440 Million Lamps at 2% Reclaimed 440 Million Lamps at 2% Reclaimed

Rate
0.04 mg per lamp

Total Mercury Released

0.02 tons

RELEASES FROM LANDFILLS RELEASES FROM INCINERATORS RELEASES FROM RECYCLING RELEASES FROM REUSE OF RECLAIMED MATERIALS

0.8% release 90.0% release (No mercury controls) 0.071 mg/lamp 1.5 mg /lamp released from lamp glass re-melt

0.16 tons 3.46 tons 0.001 tons 0.014 tons

Total:

3.66 tons

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

ESTIMATED MERCURY AIR/WATER RELEASES FROM LAMP DISPOSAL ACTIVITIES

1995
DESCRIPTION RELEASES FROM LAMP BREAKAGE

Amount
Estimated 530 Million Lamps disposed @ 92% breakage 27 tons of mercury at 77% landfilled 27 tons of mercury at 15% Incinerated 530 Million Lamps at 8% Reclaimed 530 Million Lamps at 8% Reclaimed

Rate
0.04 mg per lamp

Total Mercury Released

0.02 tons

RELEASES FROM LANDFILLS RELEASES FROM INCINERATORS RELEASES FROM RECYCLING RELEASES FROM REUSE OF RECLAIMED MATERIALS

0.8% release 51.0% release (Limited mercury controls) 0.071 mg/lamp 1.5 mg /lamp released from lamp glass re-melt

0.17 tons 2.07 tons 0.003 tons 0.07 tons

Total: % Change from 1990

2.3 tons - 37%

1999
DESCRIPTION RELEASES FROM LAMP BREAKAGE

Amount
Estimated 620 Million Lamps disposed @ 85% breakage 17 tons of mercury at 71% landfilled 17 tons of mercury at 14% Incinerated 620 Million Lamps at 15% Reclaimed 620 Million Lamps at 15% Reclaimed

Rate
0.04 mg per lamp

Total Mercury Released

0.02 tons

RELEASES FROM LANDFILLS RELEASES FROM INCINERATORS RELEASES FROM RECYCLING RELEASES FROM REUSE OF RECLAIMED MATERIALS

0.8% release 33.0% release (Increasing mercury controls) 0.071 mg/lamp 1.5 mg /lamp released from lamp glass re-melt

0.10 tons 0.79 tons 0.01 tons 0.15 tons

Total: % Change from 1990

1.1 tons - 70%

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

2004 Projection
DESCRIPTION RELEASES FROM LAMP BREAKAGE

Amount
Estimated 680 Million Lamps disposed @ 75% breakage 13 tons of mercury at 64% landfilled 13 tons of mercury at 11% Incinerated 680 Million Lamps at 25% Reclaimed 680 Million Lamps at 25% Reclaimed

Rate
0.04 mg per lamp

Total Mercury Released

0.02 tons

RELEASES FROM LANDFILLS RELEASES FROM INCINERATORS RELEASES FROM RECYCLING RELEASES FROM REUSE OF RECLAIMED MATERIALS

0.8% release 9.0% release (With Mercury controls) 0.071 mg/lamp 0.75 mg /lamp released from lamp glass re-melt

0.07 tons 0.13 tons 0.01 tons 0.13 tons

Total: % Change from 1990

0.36 tons - 90.2%

USA Mercury Released from Lamp Disposal Tons per Year

4 3.5 3 2.5 2 1.5 1 0.5 0 1990 1995 1999 2004 Tons per Year

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000

AVERAGE 4 FLUORESCENT LAMP MERCURY CONTENT

50 40 30 20 10 0 1985
REFERENCES
1.

Mg Mercury

1990

1994

1999

U.S. EPA, Office of Air and Radiation, "Mercury Study Report to Congress", December 1997.

National Electrical Manufacturers Association, Fluorescent Lamps and the Environment, November, 1996. NEMA Lamp Manufacturers Survey on Mercury Content, February, 1999.
2.

Clear and Berman, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory, Environmental and Health Aspects of Lighting: Mercury, Journal of the Illuminating Engineering Society, Summer, 1994.
3. 4. Battye, McGeough, and Overcash, Evaluation of Mercury Emissions From Fluorescent Lamp Crushing, EPA- 453/D-94-018, February, 1994. 5. Truesdale, Beaulieu, and Pierson, Research Triangle Institute, Management of Used Fluorescent Lamps: Preliminary Risk Assessment, May 1993. 6.

The Swedish Association of Public Sanitation and Solid Waste Management, Off-gassing of Mercury Vapor from Landfills, December 1989.

KBN Engineering and Applied Sciences, Inc., Mercury Emissions to the Atmosphere of Florida, Florida Department of Environmental Regulation, 1992.
7. 8.

Tetra Tech, Inc. and Frontier Geosciences, Inc., Information on Fate of Mercury from Mercury-Containing Lamps Disposed in Landfills, November, 1994.

9. U.S. EPA, Office of Air and Radiation; "Locating and Estimating Air Emissions from Sources of Mercury and Mercury Compounds". May, 1997.

10. NEMA, Mercury Content of Residues from Lamp Reclamation, September 1994. 11. Eastern Research Group, Summary if the National Emission Estimates for Municipal Combustion Units, September 30, 1999. 12. Lindberg, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Environmental Sciences Division; Airborne Emissions of Mercury from Municipal Landfill Operations: A Short-Term Measurement Study in Florida, May ,1999.

Environmental Impact Analysis

January 2000