Recycle C&D Debris - Flourescent and HID Lamps

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Flourescent and HID Lamps
Fluorescent and high-intensity discharge (HID) lamps--such as metal halide and mercury vapor lamps--contain mercury, cadmium, and antimony. Incandescent light bulbs contain lead. Exposure to small amounts of these substances can cause serious human health problems. Under federal law, mercury-containing lamps may be considered a hazardous waste and must be managed accordingly.

Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP)
To determine whether a mercury-containing lamp is a hazardous waste, you could use a test known as the Toxicity Characteristic Leaching Procedure (TCLP). The TCLP test:

Identifies whether a waste is hazardous and must be managed as hazardous waste
Attempts to replicate the conditions in a municipal landfill to detect a contaminant's (metal or organic compound) concentration in water that might leach from the landfill
Analyzes the leachate after an acidic solution is passed through a sample of the waste

The waste is determined to be TCLP toxic if the concentration of the contaminant is greater than the designated standard for that substance. If the substance fails the TCLP test, it is considered a characteristic hazardous waste.

Lamp Management
Even in the absence of disposal regulations, recycling is an environmentally responsible way to manage spent lamps. Recycling separates toxic substances such as mercury from the glass, aluminum, and other lamp components that can be reused. It costs only 10 cents per foot to recycle a fluorescent lamp. Fluorescent and HID lamps can be recycled regardless of whether the lamp fails the TCLP test.

Some precautions to take for storing spent lamps:

Do not break or crush lamps--mercury may be released.
If storing lamps for recycling facilities, avoid taping lamps together.
If lamps are accidentally broken, store them in a sealed container.

If your construction or demolition activities involve removal and disposal of fluorescent or HID lamps, you should monitor changing regulations.

Regulations

Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA)
40 CFR 273 Universal Waste Rule. Provides guidelines for managing universal wastes.

Best Practices

Follow state and local landfill requirements for handling and disposing of lamps.
Recycle lamps through a licensed and permitted recycling facility.
If you can't recycle your mercury-containing lamp wastes, and you generate more than five lamps at a time, follow hazardous waste disposal practices.

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