Neon Lights:The Good
and The Bad
• Neon is a rare,
inert gaseous
element occurring
in the atmosphere
to the extent of 18
parts per million
and obtained by
fractional
distillation of
liquid air. It is
colorless but
glows reddish
orange in an
electric discharge
and is used in
display and
television tubes.
Its Atomic number
is 10;
• atomic weight
20.180,melting
point -248.67°C,
and boiling point 245.95°C. Neon
lights have been
known to be
harmful to all
living organisms,
but helpful for
good business.
Studies have
shown how neon
lights may seem to
have inert gases
that are other wise
unable to harm the
atmosphere, or us
but they seem to
have other affects.
• Yes, fluorescents are • is deceptive, you have to
more energy efficient
build a lot of those bulbs
overall. To begin
to equal the value of one
with, fluorescent
fluorescent system.
lights have a much
Second, although there
longer life than
is considerable energy
incandescent lights,
consumed in
the fluorescent tube
manufacturing the
lasts many thousands
complicated components
of hours and its
of a fluorescent lamp,
fixture lasts tens of
it's unlikely to more than
thousands of hours.
a few kilowatt-hours, the
So the small amount
equivalent of the extra
of energy spent
energy a 100 watt
building an
incandescent light uses
incandescent bulb
up in a week or so of
typical operation.
• So it may take a
week or two to
recover the energy
cost of building the
fluorescent light, but
after that the energy
savings continue to
grow for years and
years. So the
benefits of this neon
lights are for the
consumer sake as in
selling
advertisements and
all types of business.
However, this cannot
compare to the harm
it does in our
community and our
natural environment.
• For many years mercury
has been used to make
paint., batteries,
pesticides, skin cream,
dental fillings, and even
vaccines. Sometimes
called quicksilver,
mercury is an extremely
dangerous metal which
becomes liquified at
room temperature. In
America’s factories
tones of mercury byproduct is poured into
the air each year. On
rainy days the mercury
is carried from the air
into ponds and streams
• where concentrations of it are found in
seafood of all types.
MERCURY
• Mercury has several
unique and useful
properties that have
led to widespread use.
It is the only metal
that, in its pure form,
is a liquid at room
temperature. Liquid
mercury is volatile,
meaning that it easily
evaporates to form a
poisonous vapor.
Mercury conducts
electricity and
expands at a constant
rate in response to
changes in pressure or
temperature.
• Replacing
conventional lights
with compact
fluorescent bulbs, are
a popular energy
conservation measure
promoted as a way to
fight global warming;
could create toxic
nightmares for
unsuspecting
consumers. Compact
fluorescents and all
other fluorescent
bulbs contain small
amounts of mercury,
which can cause brain
damage.
• When broken, fluorescent bulbs release mercury
vapors into the air that could pose health threats,
particularly to small children.Studies have shown
that even low levels of mercury can be extremely
toxic. Babies who were exposed to even tiny
doses of mercury before birth can have slower
reflexes, speech problems, and even autism.
• Concerns about compact fluorescent bulbs
circulated on the internet after a woman from
Maine was told she needed to hire a specialist to
clean up mercury dust released when she
dropped a compact fluorescent bulb on her
daughter’s bedroom floor. The clean up was
estimated to cost $2,000 and was not covered by
insurance.
• The Christmas Tree Lights
• Another Cause are
Christmas Lights.
These fluorescent
bulbs that look so
pretty on Christmas,
can make this your
worst holiday to live
through. Christmas
trees were the items
first ignited in an
estimated average of
300 reported U.S.
home structure fires
per year in 2000-2004.
These fires caused an
average of 14 civilian
deaths, 21 civilian
injuries, and $16.8
million in direct
property damage per
• These statistics
include both real and
artificial trees. On
average, one in every
22 reported home
Christmas tree fires
resulted in a death.
More than four of
every ten home
Christmas tree fires
are caused by
electrical problems or
malfunctions. One in
four (24%) home
Christmas tree fires
resulted from a heat
source placed too
close to the tree.
• Six percent were started
by children playing with
fire. Holiday lights (or
other decorative lighting
with live voltage) were
involved in 16% of the
home Christmas tree
structure fires. Fixed or
portable space heaters
were involved in 6% of
these incidents. No
equipment was involved
in 47% of these fires.
Candles were the heat
source in 12% of the
home Christmas tree
fires per year between
2000 and 2004.
• Two-thirds of the
home Christmas tree
fires were reported
in December, 20%
were reported in
January. During the
same five-year
period, 80 outside or
unclassified fires
began with
Christmas trees, on
average, per year.
Two-thirds of these
fires were
intentionally set.
Fifty-four percent of
the outside and
unclassified home
Christmas tree fires
occurred in January.
• When a light bulb of a
Christmas tree breaks,
you might as well
throw away all of the
lights. The wire inside
of the Christmas tree
lights can easily melt
and cause an electrical
charge throughout the
other lights, causing a
fire. Also, you have to
be careful where you
plug in your lights and
your trees should
always be wet enough
because if it does catch
on fire, it will not burst
into flames so quickly.
• There is also a
negative to that
because if your
lights cause a spark
from the outlet and
touches the tree,
wet or not, your
trees will still catch
on fire. Lights are
also containing
Lead, which
prevents fires from
starting, but can
cause harm to your
body.These are the
good and bad of
Neon Lights.
THE END