Disposal Of Sodium & Mercury Vapour Lamps

[Roger Ramjet]

I am going back to when I was a sparks the 70's so assume this is in the right category.

When replacing LP Sodium bulbs, I used to notice a small chunk of metal within the bulb & guessing this was sodium which turned to gas when the lamp had warmed up.

During a chemistry lesson at school, the teacher dropped a small piece of sodium on a bowl of water whereupon it came to life, whizzed around the bowl & then burst into flames.

Maybe not a good idea then to dispose of these bulbs within the CFC bin at our local recycling depot ?

Likewise with Mercury Vapour lamps due to the toxicity of the gas ?

Rog

[russell_w_b]

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjet

When replacing LP Sodium bulbs, I used to notice a small chunk of metal within the bulb & guessing this was sodium which turned to gas when the lamp had warmed up.

The lamps are filled with neon gas, and as this heats up it causes the sodium metal to vaporise, hence the red glow initially, then the transition to 590 nanometre yellow (very narrow spectral bandwidth).

I was an apprentice electrician in the '70s, and we would occasionally chuck a sodium lamp in a puddle to watch it fizz! Tch... These and mercury lamps are classed as WEEE and can be disposed of accordingly. You'd need to check your local recycle place.

[Graham G3ZVT]

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjet

During a chemistry lesson at school, the teacher dropped a small piece of sodium on a bowl of water whereupon it came to life, whizzed around the bowl & then burst into flames.


Rog

My sister used to teach in an exclusive private girls' school.
It appears that the old buildings were having renovations and the builders discovered a small boarded up long forgotten room.

It was obviously a preparation room adjoining what was once a science lab and amongst the apparatus was a large jar filled with a silvery substance, not quite covered in oil. Someone had the sense to realise what it was and called the fire brigade.

Presumably they didn't charge in with their water hoses!

[kalee20]

It's not a good idea to drop anything other than a very small piece of sodium into water. Otherwise it can explode.

What happens is, a lively reaction happens, the sodium gets hot enough to melt... and it loses electrons becoming positively charged. Eventually the positive charge is strong enough that the sodium atoms repel each other sufficiently to fly apart - then suddenly there's a myriad of little molten balls, with hugely greater total surface area, all reacting with water together. You really don't want to get one in your eye...

If you want to handle sodium, wash your hands first and dry them absolutely thoroughly. Then it's fine. And wash them again afterwards - there'll be traces of caustic soda on them.

[dglcomp]

Yes the highly reactive metals can be nasty, one of our science teachers at school recollected a time where she was doing a test run for the experiment where you put Lithium, Potassium or sodium in a small amount of water, unfortunately that batch of metal was dodgy and she supposedly got blown through a door!, nasty stuff.

[kalee20]

Ultimately, sodium lamps shouldn't cause any environmental problems. The neon content will disappear into the atmosphere from whence it originally came, and the sodium will end up as sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate (washing soda), or whatever. It's just the bit of drama inbetweentimes to be aware of.

Mercury vapour lamps, on the other hand - mercury is a persistent, toxic, heavy metal, and although not very reactive, when metabolised by living creatures it is bad news. That's the lamp to dispose of 'properly.'

[pmmunro]

As ordinary fluorescent lamps also contain mercury it is possible that it is permissable to dispose of mercury vapour lamps by the same facility. (I would have to look up the quantities of mercury in each type but would guess that it is greater in mercury vapour lamps).

As many council waste sites have containers for fluorescent lamp disposal, you may find they will accept mercury vapour lamps.

PMM

[Tractorfan]

Hi,
In the 80s I worked in a power station and the sparks shop had a thing called a 'Shatterbox', outside which ground lamps to very small fragments to be caught in a fine mesh basket and had a water flushing system. Goodness knows what was washed down the drain.
Not long after, it was taken away and lamps disposed of in a more controlled manner.
Cheers, Pete.

[usradcoll1]

Originally Posted by Tractorfan

Hi,
In the 80s I worked in a power station and the sparks shop had a thing called a 'Shatterbox', outside which ground lamps to very small fragments to be caught in a fine mesh basket and had a water flushing system. Goodness knows what was washed down the drain.
Not long after, it was taken away and lamps disposed of in a more controlled manner.
Cheers, Pete.

The firm I worked at had a machine that was referred to as a fluorescent tube compactor! It was a motor driven device that was fitted to a 55 gallon drum.
When that drum was filled, it was unbelievably heavy! We had to discontinue using it, as the glass was hazardous waste. The tubes had to be recycled for $.50 USD per! We ended up storing the spent lamps, sodium, mercury vapor and fluorescent in an area. There was quite an accumulation of them after a few years. It was said that the cost of recycling would be around $30,000 to 40,000 USD and that was 24 years ago!
Dave, USradcoll1

[Roger Ramjet]

I've just remembered I have some mercury reed switches stashed away that eventually will need to be safely disposed off. Last time I checked there was a company local to me in Hinckley - Leicestershire who could oblige.

How times have changed... when at school 67 - 68, we were encouraged to mess around with mercury droplets in the physics lab in order to determine it's characteristics ! At least it was not not the vapor (hopefully) ?

Rog

[usradcoll1]

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjet

I've just remembered I have some mercury reed switches stashed away that eventually will need to be safely disposed off. Last time I checked there was a company local to me in Hinckley - Leicestershire who could oblige.

How times have changed... when at school 67 - 68, we were encouraged to mess around with mercury droplets in the physics lab in order to determine it's characteristics ! At least it was not not the vapor (hopefully) ?

Rog

Back in the early 60's I broke an ignatron tube to get the Mercury out and put in a small glass jar. There was quite a bit of it, about 5 ounces of it!
We moved from that home in 1969. I forgot about it, as it was stored on an attic shelf. I often wondered what happened to it.
Dave, USradcoll1.

[Keith956]

I seem to recall visiting a lighthouse, in Cornwall I believe, in the early 60's. The light was floating in a bath of mercury. It was quite open to the public, there must have been a lot of mercury there.

[dglcomp]

Originally Posted by Keith956

I seem to recall visiting a lighthouse, in Cornwall I believe, in the early 60's. The light was floating in a bath of mercury. It was quite open to the public, there must have been a lot of mercury there.

Yes, the lighthouse here on Portland also used a bath of mercury, it's been reengineered and the original Fresnel lens has been removed/replaced and there is no longer any mercury as the new setup doesn't need it.

[Panrock]

Originally Posted by Roger Ramjet

How times have changed... when at school 67 - 68, we were encouraged to mess around with mercury droplets in the physics lab in order to determine it's characteristics ! At least it was not not the vapor (hopefully) ?

Also in that era, a boy at my boarding school managed to suck up a quantity of mercury through a rubber tube. He saw a doctor, who allegedly was unconcerned. The mercury would go straight through him and act as a laxative.

Steve

[williamsunique]

Mercury vapour lamps are still sought after. The light given from these is of the correct wavelength to attract insects. The recording of moth species is carried out utilising mercury vapour lamps fitted to a trap filled with egg cartons. Moths are attracted to the light and fall into the trap and settle in the egg cartons. This is over night, in the morning the moths will be identified and counted before release. I participate in "moth trapping" and send my results to the moth county recorder. This is one way to record environmental changes throughout the years.

Please message me if there are any Mercury Vapour bulbs that you wish to dispose of.

Paul

[usradcoll1]

Originally Posted by Panrock

Also in that era, a boy at my boarding school managed to suck up a quantity of mercury through a rubber tube. He saw a doctor, who allegedly was unconcerned. The mercury would go straight through him and act as a laxative.

Steve

In a dental proceedure, the Dentist uses a tiny amount of mercury when filling a decayed tooth. At least, that's what I understand! Maybe it's different today!
Dave,USradcoll1

[stevehertz]

I have a conical flask with a few teaspoons of mercury in it that I need to do something with.

[broadgage]

Originally Posted by Panrock

Also in that era, a boy at my boarding school managed to suck up a quantity of mercury through a rubber tube. He saw a doctor, who allegedly was unconcerned. The mercury would go straight through him and act as a laxative.

Steve

metallic mercury is fairly inert and therefore not that dangerous in the event of "one off" incidents like the one described. Mercury compounds are a greater risk. The other risk is the long term inhalation of mercury vapour. Old labs and workshops may have dangerous levels of mercury vapour in the air as a result of decades of minor spills and leakages.
Mercury is a cumulative poison and I would have no concerns about occasional visits to such a place, but might not be keen on regular employment therein.

During my time a secondary school, a new rule came in regarding mercury filled physics equipment. Mercury was still permitted, but was not allowed to be directly exposed to the air. A little water had to be placed over the mercury.

[Uncle Bulgaria]

Our local recycling place has no guidance for lamps, just a place for fluorescent tubes, CFL, halogen and 'normal' bulbs. There are no results for 'mercury' on the Suez website either.

I have a couple of vials of mercury I found clearing my grandparents' house, which I'm keeping as a curiosity along with several beautiful tilt-switches. I'm too young to have encountered it at school, and it's pretty fascinating to see it move about in the vial and simply be so heavy! I don't think I'll be unstoppering the bottles and poking it about, though.

Doesn't it come out in hair and so on, so the amount in the body will eventually reduce if there isn't further exposure?

[ms660]

Originally Posted by Keith956

I seem to recall visiting a lighthouse, in Cornwall I believe, in the early 60's. The light was floating in a bath of mercury. It was quite open to the public, there must have been a lot of mercury there.

Pendeen? It's an easy one to get to:

https://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/l...es/Pendeen.htm

Lawrence.