Mercury waste reduction program

Oct. 19, 2009
OCTOBER 19, 2009--Mercury arc lamps are a common tool used in many labs, specifically those performing fluorescence microscopy. Unfortunately, a typical arc lamp can contain as much as 150 mg of mercury and have a useful lifetime of only 100 to 200 hours. This means that a typical lab will go through 3 to 4 lamps per year, creating a significant amount of dangerous mercury waste.

OCTOBER 19, 2009--Mercury arc lamps are a common tool used in many labs, specifically those performing fluorescence microscopy. Unfortunately, a typical arc lamp can contain as much as 150 mg of mercury and have a useful lifetime of only 100 to 200 hours. This means that a typical lab will go through 3 to 4 lamps per year, creating a significant amount of dangerous mercury waste.

89 North (Burlington, VT) reports that its PhotoFluor II light source uses a high-power metal halide lamp with a useful life nearly 10 times longer than that of a mercury arc lamp. In addition, a metal halide lamp uses 25% less mercury than an arc lamp of comparable power. As a result, a lab could significantly reduce the amount of mercury waste by replacing its current mercury arc lamp with a metal halide lamp like the PhotoFluor II.

To encourage labs to make the switch, 89 North is offering a $300 credit toward the cost of a new PhotoFluor II in exchange for turning in their old mercury arc lamp system. The company will then handle the proper disposal of the old lamp and lamp housing in an environmentally friendly manner.

For more information on 89 North, please visit www.89North.com.

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