20 November 2007
We received a petition asking:
"We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to maintain the availability of existing incandescent lightbulbs until there are suitable non-fluorescent energy saving bulbs which can be tolerated by everyone including people with light sensitivity."
Details of Petition:
"Health conditions which can result in severe and painful reactions to fluorescent low-energy bulbs and LEDs include lupus, ME, forms of eczema and dermatitis, XP, migraine, electrosensitivity and many more. These people will suffer increased ill health and total social exclusion if the ban on incandescent bulbs is implemented. Their home life, family life and social life will be severely disrupted and their access to employment, places of worship, cultural and educational activities will be removed. Lightbulbs are essential items of everyday use. We need to encourage technologies that promote both environmental sustainability and human health and wellbeing. This is a serious and complex issue of public health, disability rights and human rights."
Read the Government’s response
The Government is working to consider how to avoid any unintended consequences, including impacts on health, from the phase out of inefficient light bulbs. The current voluntary initiative will not, in any case, remove all incandescent lighting products from the UK market, just the least efficient products. A range of specialist and more efficient incandescent bulbs will remain available on the market for the foreseeable future. The EU is currently looking to put forward legislation on inefficient incandescent lighting products, except where there are no suitable alternatives and the Government is working with the European Commission as it develops its proposals. Members of the public can be assured that the Government will consider the full range of impacts of any policy measure before it is introduced and will continue to work with stakeholders to avoid any unintended adverse impacts.
The Government are aware that there is a small number of people who claim that the use of fluorescent lights, in particular, is a problem due to either the spectrum of the emitted light or, more specifically, the amount of ultra-violet light emitted. Lighting manufacturers claim that the amount of ultra-violet light in modern compact fluorescent light bulbs is fractional in comparison to sunlight, though recommend that consumers purchase ‘warm-glow’ bulbs to reduce the risk of this being a problem.
Phasing out incandescent light bulbs and replacing them with efficient alternatives is a fairly simple thing everyone can do to help reduce our emissions. Phasing out such bulbs will save up to 5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year from electricity generation by 2011. More efficient alternatives also last up to ten times longer than normal bulbs, saving up to £60 over the lifetime of the bulb in reduced energy bills and replacement costs, which will give vulnerable groups of people, such as the fuel poor, better access to good quality light in their homes.