MEGAMAN^® has employed AMALGAM in manufacturing its full series of energy saving lamps starting from January 2008, making all its products FREE from liquid mercury ever. By adopting this liquid mercury free policy, MEGAMAN^® is able to minimize the environmental impact at different stages of product life cycle. This act would protect not only the workers during production and transportation, but also the end-users upon usage and disposal from exposure to liquid mercury.

Amalgam is an alloy of mercury combined with other metals. It is in a stable solid form under room temperature. It is a more eco-friendly and safer alternative to liquid mercury because mercury vapour would not be released until it reaches around 100°C under atmospheric pressure.

At room temperature, the mercury inside the Amalgam is concealed inside the metal alloy and would not escape even if the lamp breaks. Amalgam will not pose health hazard to the people and pollute the environment. The use of Amalgam makes the lamp even easier and safer to handle on disposal. Moreover, it would not lead to land and water contamination even if the lamps were not properly recycled.

Technological advancements have enabled modern compact fluorescent lamps to deliver excellent illumination performance with Amalgam at minimal mercury levels (less than 2mg). This is far less mercury than in other items in the house, e.g. batteries (5-25 mg), thermometers (500 mg), etc.

MEGAMAN^® Energy Saving Lamps on average contain mercury less than 2mg. It is far below the 5mg limit set by the EU environmental regulation. For example, a MEGAMAN^® GSU111i in 11 Watt contains 1.3mg of mercury only.

Moreover, research has revealed that compact fluorescent lamps actually work to minimize mercury from being released into the air by power plants, where it affects our health the most. According to the statistics provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal. 70% of power plants are coal fired and hence burn fossil fuel to produce energy. These power plants in general emit 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only 2.4mg of mercury required to run a compact fluorescent lamp for the same time. In other words, compact fluorescent lamps are responsible for less mercury than incandescent bulbs.

In its solid form, the mercury inside Amalgam can be collected, recycled and reused more readily. Since Amalgam will not release mercury vapour when it is exposed under room temperature, it will not pose health hazard to the people and pollute the environment.

Mercury is considered to be a naturally occurring toxic element that poses health hazards to human beings and damages to the environment. However, compact fluorescent lamps (CFL) require mercury vapour for efficient operation. Nowadays, technological advancement has allowed CFL to deliver high quality illumination performance with Amalgam, an eco-form of mercury. As liquid mercury poses potential danger in case of lamp breakage, Amalgam is getting popular for use in CFL made by social responsible manufacturers.

Note: http://www.ec.gc.ca/MERCURY/SM/EN/sm-mcp.cfm?SELECT=SM

The small amount of mercury sealed in a CFL does not pose a hazard to users. However, mercury is a toxic metal and every product containing mercury should be handled with care. We should dispose used CFLs properly and clean up any broken CFL safely.

For more information, please visit US Environmental Agency Website:
http://www.epa.gov/mercury/spills/index.htm