Re: mercury from LCD monitors [Health Check List]

[Guest guest]

--- Lana Gibbons <lana.m.gibbons@...> wrote:

> Probably a good idea to wait as LCDs currently contain Mercury.

> There are a few manufacturers currently working on Mercury free

> versions. Their backlights are LEDs instead of fluorescent bulbs.

> LEDs are typically Arsenic based. They are sealed better than the

> Mercury bulbs so they are less likely to leak.

Thanks, Lana, I didn't know the LCD's had fluorescent bulbs! Sounds

like it's not a good idea to drop or smash an LCD monitor. Hopefully

they are sealed well enough not to emit significant amounts of mercury

vapor. I wonder if anyone has tried to measure mercury vapor near LCD

monitors or near fluorescent bulbs in general?

[Guest guest]

,

It would be interesting to see some actual numbers on this.

I can tell you that when I was at the height of my toxicity, I couldn't be

near either without getting ill. Even after I became more tolerant of

mercury exposure, I still have issues when I spend too much time around my

approx. 4 year old LCD. So it sits packed away in my closet. I hope this

old CRT will last!

-Lana

> I wonder if anyone has tried to measure mercury vapor near LCD

> monitors or near fluorescent bulbs in general?

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

--- Lana Gibbons <lana.m.gibbons@...> wrote:

> I can tell you that when I was at the height of my toxicity, I couldn't

> be near either without getting ill. Even after I became more tolerant

> of mercury exposure, I still have issues when I spend too much time

> around my approx. 4 year old LCD. So it sits packed away in my

closet.

> I hope this old CRT will last!

Lana, if the CRT doesn't bother you and the LCD does, there must be

something associated with it that bothers you that's not in the CRT

and it could very well be the mercury.

BTW, how is the pregnancy going? Any morning sickness? Are you going

to check on whether it's a boy or girl? Inquiring minds want to know

[Guest guest]

,

Thanks for asking.

The pregnancy is going well - I had very little morning sickness and even

then it was only after I made a remark to the line of " I haven't had any

yet " . Thankfully I learned a lot about my body when I was mercury poisoned:

particularly about my GI tract and nausea. What little issues I had were

fairly easy to handle as a result. The morning sickness has been long

gone and I'm glad it wasn't as bad as everyone else seems to have had to

dealt with (I haven't met anyone who wasn't sick after the first trimester

despite all the material I've read that says that is usually when it

dissipates).

I'm gaining weight surprisingly easily given my difficulties in retaining

weight pre-pregnancy. (I'm starting to really respect the idea that

calories are a flawed concept.) My flora is more regular, thanks to not

being disrupted by fluctuating hormones, and it is growing more towards

acetic acid producers - a little disconcerting at first as I prefer the

lactic acid/peroxide scent I had before.

The baby started moving noticeably back around 2/10, but then I realized I'd

been feeling it for about a month prior to that as people kept asking me if

it felt like butterflies (I've had butterflies since early January). The

movement is far more defined than that now and I often visualize the baby

tumbling around in there, regularly bumping into walls it doesn't realize

are there. Daddy can't feel it yet as it isn't that pronounced from the

outside, but my dog Jezebel noticed my belly move about a week ago and

proceeded to stare it down. I was chuffed.

I'm still getting used to all my abdominal muscles being in a different

place than they used to be - some of the most basic movements make me feel

like an old rubber band that doesn't want to stretch anymore. I'm

investigating prenatal yoga classes - I get the feeling I'll need the

regular stretching.

I'm big enough to need maternity pants, but it isn't terribly noticeable to

those who don't know. My inner organs are all squashed already: my bladder

is frequently screaming to be emptied, my stomach is so crammed upwards my

esophageal sphincter doesn't seem to close properly anymore and my poor

intestines have been evicted from their usual resting place. Despite all

that I'm quite comfortable, believe it or not! My biggest complaint is my

new apartment has both bathrooms upstairs which is not fun when your bladder

feels like it is gonna explode.

I found a Certified Nurse Midwife about 20 minutes away and my first visit

with her is on Thursday. She's the only one I could find with hospital

privileges. Apparently CNMs don't work at the hospital 10 minutes from my

house so I'll be traveling to the one across the street from her practice.

I have yet to find a CNM that does home birth and I'm starting to doubt that

I will - but I'm happy with a CNM hospital birth if that is the best I can

get.

As for ultrasounds, I'm not so fond of them: they make me sore. The baby

doesn't like them much either: baby is very adept at swimming away from the

techs. We don't like the ultrasound based fetal heart rate device either,

so hopefully my new CNM would be okay with avoiding that if possible. I do

have 2 grandma-to-bes totally on the edge about the baby's sex, so if the

CNM wants an ultrasound I'll likely get it just to make the grandmas happy -

but if it takes too long to catch baby at the right angle I'd rather stop

the ultrasound than be sore the next day.

I'm still pondering the whole vaccination situation - thankfully a lot of

them are avoidable with good titer results in this state, so I'll probably

be pursuing that considering the titers they did on my prenatal bloodwork

came back high and I plan to breastfeed for at least a year. Hopefully the

CNM will be on the same page as I am about the Hepatitis B vaccination and

the Vitamin K injection... as for a pediatrician - I'm gonna start the

search soon because I get the feeling it is going to be difficult to find

one that is willing to work with me as an equal. Hopefully 20 weeks is

enough to find an acceptable one.

My mind is reeling and I'm so cheerful about everything. I've had my

registries done for a few weeks now, although I'm really missing wandering

around the stores looking at baby stuff... I picked wood for the furniture,

cloth for diapers and glass bottles with silicone nipples if I need to leave

baby with Daddy... I'm still having trouble with the materials toys are

made of. I found a few wooden toys painted with clear gloss paint but they

seemed like they could be gnawed which worries me, some cloth books but a

number of them have unspecified plastic teethers (some just have ribbons

though), so I'll probably end up giving in to plastic for some stuff: I

figure they can all live in the toy box so baby isn't constantly exposed to

them. Probably won't have the shower until late May/early June since my Mom

is planning to move up here around then.

I've been going through books and websites like candy and I can't help but

to be astonished at how negatively a lot of them look at pregnancy. It

really has been a lovely experience so far.

-Lana

BTW, how is the pregnancy going? Any morning sickness? Are you going

> to check on whether it's a boy or girl? Inquiring minds want to know

>

>

[Guest guest]

Lana Gibbons wrote:

> ,

>

> Thanks for asking.

>

> The pregnancy is going well -

Thanks for the update, Lana. Gives us birthing junkies our fix.

Keep us posted.

--s, with a c-section, CNM in hospital, and U/A homebirth...one of each.

[Guest guest]

-

> Thanks, Lana, I didn't know the LCD's had fluorescent bulbs! Sounds

> like it's not a good idea to drop or smash an LCD monitor. Hopefully

> they are sealed well enough not to emit significant amounts of mercury

> vapor. I wonder if anyone has tried to measure mercury vapor near LCD

> monitors or near fluorescent bulbs in general?

I'd think functioning fluorescent bulbs wouldn't be able to emit any

mercury vapor without a compromise in the seal of the bulb... which

would immediately stop it from working.

That said, perhaps some bulbs have some mercury residue on the outside

from imperfect manufacturing...? I've never heard of any concerns

about mercury release from intact, functioning fluorescent bulbs,

though -- just broken ones.

-

[Guest guest]

--- Idol <Idol@...> wrote:

> I'd think functioning fluorescent bulbs wouldn't be able to emit any

> mercury vapor without a compromise in the seal of the bulb... which

> would immediately stop it from working.

>

> That said, perhaps some bulbs have some mercury residue on the

> outside from imperfect manufacturing...? I've never heard of any

> concerns about mercury release from intact, functioning fluorescent

> bulbs, though -- just broken ones.

, that makes sense. I haven't been able to find any studies of

mercury vapor emissions from LCD monitors. Although, I did find

plenty of studies comparing the environmental impact of CRT and LCD

monitors from manufacture through disposal. These studies made no

mention of direct mercury vapor exposure from using an LCD monitor.

That doesn't mean it doesn't exist, but may be negligible compared to

other impacts.

As long as you don't get mad and smash your LCD monitor

Hope things are looking up for you, since you've found some time to

post again.

[Guest guest]

,

Back when I first found out about my poisoning and was reacting badly to the

CFLs in my house, I went and removed them all. Each and every one had a

crack in the seal yet still functioned as expected. (A range of different

brands too, from budget to name brands so it wasn't just one brand that had

the issue.)

I was also told by someone that the reason tube fluorescents flicker before

they die is because they have slowly leaked most of their mercury out but

still have enough to create light - dunno how true it is but my experience

with the CFLs definitely makes me wonder.

I do know they are now offering " low mercury " versions of both bulbs, which

makes me wonder exactly how much extra mercury (beyond the amount needed to

create light) is present in the " regular " bulbs.

-Lana

> I'd think functioning fluorescent bulbs wouldn't be able to emit any

> mercury vapor without a compromise in the seal of the bulb... which

> would immediately stop it from working.

>

[Guest guest]

" Is it true that CFLs contain mercury? Why and how much?

CFLs contain a very small amount of mercury sealed within the glass

tubing - an average of 5 milligrams (roughly equivalent to the tip of

a ball-point pen). Mercury is an essential, irreplaceable element in

CFLs and is what allows the bulb to be an efficient light source. By

comparison, older home thermometers contain 500 milligrams of mercury

and many manual thermostats contain up to 3000 milligrams. It would

take between 100 and 600 CFLs to equal those amounts. "

So each bulb contains about 5 mg of mercury. Not a small number...but

it seems like it would be just as or more dangerous to talk to

somebody who has a mouthful of mercury fillings...especially if they

just drank a cup of hot coffee.

LCD monitors should theoretically have less as they don't produce

nearly as much light as a compact fluorescent.

I personally can't stand compact fluorescent lighting...and I also

read that even full spectrum have wavelengths not present naturally

which are irritating to our energy. But I would certainly rather use

an LCD monitor than a CRT which produces a lot more radiation by

shooting electrons at the screen.

A very important part is having good ventilation...so if any mercury

does come out it diffuses with minimal effect on you and so it doesn't

build up to higher concentrations in the room.

FWIW,

>

> ,

>

> Back when I first found out about my poisoning and was reacting

badly to the

> CFLs in my house, I went and removed them all. Each and every one had a

> crack in the seal yet still functioned as expected. (A range of

different

> brands too, from budget to name brands so it wasn't just one brand

that had

> the issue.)

>

> I was also told by someone that the reason tube fluorescents flicker

before

> they die is because they have slowly leaked most of their mercury

out but

> still have enough to create light - dunno how true it is but my

experience

> with the CFLs definitely makes me wonder.

>

> I do know they are now offering " low mercury " versions of both

bulbs, which

> makes me wonder exactly how much extra mercury (beyond the amount

needed to

> create light) is present in the " regular " bulbs.

>

> -Lana

>

>

> > I'd think functioning fluorescent bulbs wouldn't be able to emit any

> > mercury vapor without a compromise in the seal of the bulb... which

> > would immediately stop it from working.

> >

>

>

>