WINNIPEG — The safety of energy-saving light bulbs is under review over concerns the low-cost green alternative may emit potentially harmful ultraviolet radiation.
Health Canada launched the study in December to test compact fluorescent bulbs to see if they emit ultraviolet radiation.
Two months earlier, British health officials issued a public warning that, in close proximity, the bulbs emit UV rays similar to outdoor exposure levels on a sunny summer day.
The United Kingdom’s Health Protection Agency now recommends people should not be closer than 30 centimetres from an energy-saving light bulb for more than one hour per day, saying it is like exposing bare skin to direct sunlight.
The agency warns the emissions could cause problems for people suffering from medical conditions like lupus.
In Canada, the bulbs have been widely promoted as an easy way to reduce greenhouse gases and are expected to replace incandescent bulbs by 2012 after a federal ban eliminates the inefficient bulbs altogether.
Robert Bradley, Health Canada’s director of consumer and clinical radiation protection, said the increased use of energy-saving light bulbs across the country prompted the review.
That it comes on the heels of media fanfare over the British study is coincidental, he said.
“It’s not something we’ve announced outright and, quite frankly, at this point in time there really isn’t a lot to announce,” Bradley said Tuesday from Ottawa.
“I’d rather have some results we can analyze and determine what, if any, response is required.”
Researchers will test whether the bulbs emit any UV rays and, if so, how intense they are, Bradley said. It’s important to ensure the compact fluorescent bulbs are as safe as the old standard fluorescent tube lights, he added.
He wouldn’t speculate on whether the findings could jeopardize nationwide campaigns promoting the use of the light bulbs as a green alternative.
Preliminary results are to be available by late summer or early fall.
(Winnipeg Free Press)