No. 104 - Miljøstyrelsen

� Use of additives. Addition of antioxidants or, for example, a
protective layer of aluminium oxide between the phosphor coating
and the glass may help reduce quantities of mercury bound to the
fluorescent lamp in the lamp life.
� Type of phosphor coating. Quantities of mercury bound to the
phosphor coating depend highly on the type of phosphor coating
used.
Several manufacturers also told that they are working continuously to
minimise mercury contents in their products and that the content is therefore
expected to decrease in the future. Thanks to improved technologies
quantities of mercury can be lowered without affecting the lifetime or
performance of the lamp (SAES Getters, 2009; Snijkers-Hendrickx et al.,
2007). According to Snijkers-Hendrickx et al. (2007) a gradual shift in dosage
technology is furthermore seen towards the use of solid mercury, i.e. in the
form of tablets or as amalgam.
In Commission Regulation (EC) No. 244/2009 with regard to ecodesign
requirements for non-directional household lamps it is required that the
mercury content of a lamp (in mg) must be indicated as from 1 September
2010 (EU, 2009). Since mercury contents must be known in the future it may
become a future competitive parameter to minimise mercury contents, even
when they are below the limit values of the RoHS directive and the ecolabel
criteria. Examples have been seen that manufacturers already today indicate
the mercury content on their packaging. For example a 10 Watt bulb from
PRO light is on the market indicating a mercury content of ”