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  • 2015-03-29 (xsd:date)
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  • Do CFL Light Bulbs Emit Harmful Levels of Radiation? (en)
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  • On 23 March 2015, a video that purportedly showed a radiation detector picking up a soft attack from a CFL (compact fluorescent lamp) was posted to Facebook from an unvetted and anonymous source, along with claims that CFLs are dangerous because they emit unhealthy levels of radiation: Claims about electromagnetic radiation and electromagnetic fields (EMFs) — produced by everything from radios to light bulbs to cell phones — causing deleterious health effects have been around for decades, with no definitive scientific evidence proving such claims. The World Health Organization (WHO) concluded in a survey of available scientific literature on the topic that current evidence does not confirm the existence of any health consequences from exposure to low level electromagnetic fields such as those produced by CFL bulbs: Moreover, a Science-Based Medicine round-up of claims surrounding CFLs noted that although those lamps can put out more EMF than other types of bulbs, that fact poses no health hazard. Moreover, the EMF levels fall off so sharply with distance that measuring them from a few inches away (as shown in the video) is highly misleading: What about other forms of radiation emitted by CFLs, such as ultraviolet (UV)? A Canadian government study in 2009 found that CFL light bulbs do result in exposure to more UV radiation when used within a distance of one foot from the subject. The United Kingdom Health Protection Agency came to a similar conclusion, and the FDA recommends that single-enveloped CFL light bulbs should not be used at distances closer than one foot for more than one hour per day: This does not, however, mean that CFL light bulbs are unsafe for consumer use. In fact, the aforementioned organizations all concluded that CFL light bulbs are just as safe as incandescent light bulbs when used at a distance greater than one foot: It should also be noted that the amount of UV radiation emitted from a CFL bulb can be reduced by using double-enveloped (enclosed in a second layer of glass) bulbs. In fact, double-enveloped CFL light bulbs were found to emit less radiation (even at distances as close as 3cm) than incandescent light bulbs: While it is true that CFLs may emit more radiation that other types of light bulbs at short distances, CFLs are considered just as safe as incandescent light bulbs for general use. (en)
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