KEY POINTS:
Claims that energy-efficient lightbulbs could expose people to unacceptable levels of mercury have been dismissed by the Green Party.
In a 20-page article in tomorrow's Investigate magazine, journalist Ian Wishart reveals new evidence from the United States that suggests compact fluorescent lights (CFLs) are much riskier than the Government has admitted and that when broken can emit dangerous levels of mercury.
The Government and Greens announced last month that traditional incandescent bulbs would be phased out next year, to be replaced with more energy-efficient bulbs, including CFLs.
Wishart cites the case of a woman in Maine, USA, who broke a CFL in her daughter's bedroom.
When she sought advice, the state Department of Environmental Protection called in a hazardous waste crew. Eventually the carpet in the room was ripped out and disposed of as toxic waste.
The Maine DEP then did some tests on broken bulbs. Wishart says their subsequent report found the level of inhalable mercury vapour far exceeded recommended safe levels.
He says the US Environmental Protection Agency is undertaking a "full review" of the Maine study.
Wishart also claims there are serious issues around the transportation and handling of CFLs.
"No cabinet minister has ever queried how the mercury lights are handled and no Government safety agency has addressed the issue. The question is, how many workers, customers, and householders have been exposed to dangerous doses of mercury vapour because of a failure by the Government to ensure safety standards were designed and adhered to?"
Green Party co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons said the issues raised in the article were not new. She was aware of the case involving the woman in Maine and described it as "the most absurd thing I have ever read". Somebody was advised to take those precautions for one bulb, when it was probably a piece of solid mercury about the size of the ball in a ballpoint pen." She said household thermometers contained 100 to 600 times as much mercury as energy efficient bulbs.
