Gormley’s new light bulbs cast a dark shadow

I WAS shocked to see the manner in which our Green Environment Minister John dismissed all concerns and objections to his grand plan for a new Ireland lit by millions of highly suspect and expensive CFL light bulbs.

It was even more shocking to read his department’s claim (January 11) that the mercury in CFL bulbs poses no threat to health (or the environment?).

And they seldom break, they say. Really? And for them to claim we’ve thrown mercury-operated fluorescents into landfills for 50 years is disgraceful. With such official attitudes and no environmental warnings, little wonder that our water sources and even our seas have been so badly polluted.

Mercury is a deadly neurotoxin, even in small amounts such as are found in dental amalgams as well as light bulbs. The dental fillings regularly cause health problems, even death in some cases.

So also the even deadlier mercury preservative (thimerasol) in many ‘mandatory’ vaccines given to helpless, innocent babies. Let’s stop the pretence — mercury, in whatever form, is deadly, even in small doses.

In some places they’ve stopped promoting these CFL light bulbs, but our minister wants to see the 1.5 million or so households in this (one-time) Republic lit by these bulbs. At a conservative average of 20 lights per residence, that’s 30 million bulbs, each containing about seven milligrammes of mercury (according to Dr David Ray, toxicologist, University of Nottingham). That’s about two tonnes of one of the world’s deadliest poisons.

Where will we put the poison waste, Mr Gormley? Into landfills, as we’ve been doing for 50 years and as your department suggests? And why no warnings? Is not each CFL bulb hazardous waste needing special disposal methods? Why did no one tell us? If this is the greenest way to ‘save’ the planet, no wonder oil moguls and pharmaceutical giants can daily poison us — and our food and environment — with impunity. Without a real defender, or even a watchdog, our decaying society is infected by an apparent death wish. And our media are compliant, servants of the aforementioned business giants whose profits dictate all that is said or written.

May God save Ireland. No one else seems bothered.

Richard Hogan

Clonmore

Mullingar

Co Westmeath