Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?

[Jennifer Clarke]

Dear list

(Not strictly a confocal question:)

I heard a while ago that the use of mercury lamps on fluorescence microscopes would be discontinued in the United States, and possibly other countries, in the next couple of years,due to the safer replacement illumination systems now available.

Can anyone verify this rumour?

Kind regards
Jen
--
Jennifer Clarke BSc (Hons) PhD
Research Associate, Anatomy and Histology
Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine
&
Facility Manager, Optical Microscopy Suite, Flinders Microscopy

Flinders University
GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001
Phone: [phone] 8204 6637
Email: [hidden email]

[Peter Gabriel Pitrone]

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Hello Jen,

I have heard the same rumor, but it was from a LED salesman. So I don't know how far I can trust him. He told me that in the E.U. the sales of Hg lamps will be "phased out" (read abruptly stopped!) by 2012.

Who knows, he might be right. It sounds like something the E.U. would be jumping all over, seeing that they made glass manufacturers "take the lead out" of their glasses a few years ago. Nobody I know licks objectives (or stained glass church windows for that matter) clean with their tongues, so I see it as a moot point. All they did was shoot camera, telescope and microscope manufactures in the feet with a shotgun, transmission efficiencies went down by 5-10%. Who did they save in the end, the objective lickers?!

So it is something to look into. Have a nice day!

Pete


On Dec 15, 2010, at 01:41 AM, Jen Clarke wrote:

> Dear list
>
> (Not strictly a confocal question:)
>
> I heard a while ago that the use of mercury lamps on fluorescence microscopes would be discontinued in the United States, and possibly other countries, in the next couple of years,due to the safer replacement illumination systems now available.
>
> Can anyone verify this rumour?
>
> Kind regards
> Jen
> --
> Jennifer Clarke BSc (Hons) PhD
> Research Associate, Anatomy and Histology
> Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine
> &
> Facility Manager, Optical Microscopy Suite, Flinders Microscopy
>
> Flinders University
> GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001
> Phone: [phone] 8204 6637
> Email: [hidden email]

[Ignatius, Mike-2]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

Lighting fixtures based on Hg lamps were banned in the US in 2008 (big ones in auditoriums and such) and will be banned as well in EU in 2015.  This is the famous Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that looks to ban incandescent bulbs as well by 2012.

The bill is tad long (882 pages), so couldn't find evidence that the lamps used in fluorescent devices, along with spectrometers etc. will be banned.

Anyone have further information?

Mike Ignatius

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]] On Behalf Of Peter Pitrone
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
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*****

Hello Jen,

I have heard the same rumor, but it was from a LED salesman. So I don't know how far I can trust him. He told me that in the E.U. the sales of Hg lamps will be "phased out" (read abruptly stopped!) by 2012.

Who knows, he might be right. It sounds like something the E.U. would be jumping all over, seeing that they made glass manufacturers "take the lead out" of their glasses a few years ago. Nobody I know licks objectives (or stained glass church windows for that matter) clean with their tongues, so I see it as a moot point. All they did was shoot camera, telescope and microscope manufactures in the feet with a shotgun, transmission efficiencies went down by 5-10%. Who did they save in the end, the objective lickers?!

So it is something to look into. Have a nice day!

Pete


On Dec 15, 2010, at 01:41 AM, Jen Clarke wrote:

> Dear list
>
> (Not strictly a confocal question:)
>
> I heard a while ago that the use of mercury lamps on fluorescence microscopes would be discontinued in the United States, and possibly other countries, in the next couple of years,due to the safer replacement illumination systems now available.
>
> Can anyone verify this rumour?
>
> Kind regards
> Jen
> --
> Jennifer Clarke BSc (Hons) PhD
> Research Associate, Anatomy and Histology
> Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine
> &
> Facility Manager, Optical Microscopy Suite, Flinders Microscopy
>
> Flinders University
> GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001
> Phone: [phone] 8204 6637
> Email: [hidden email]

[Vijay Singh]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

No further enlightening information, but if it is any indication of things
to come, here at Temple University they have been gradually replacing even
the Hg thermometers with alcohol/spirit ones.






On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 5:04 PM, Ignatius, Mike
<[hidden email]>wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Lighting fixtures based on Hg lamps were banned in the US in 2008 (big ones
> in auditoriums and such) and will be banned as well in EU in 2015.  This is
> the famous Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that looks to ban
> incandescent bulbs as well by 2012.
>
> The bill is tad long (882 pages), so couldn't find evidence that the lamps
> used in fluorescent devices, along with spectrometers etc. will be banned.
>
> Anyone have further information?
>
> Mike Ignatius
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Peter Pitrone
> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:19 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Hello Jen,
>
> I have heard the same rumor, but it was from a LED salesman. So I don't
> know how far I can trust him. He told me that in the E.U. the sales of Hg
> lamps will be "phased out" (read abruptly stopped!) by 2012.
>
> Who knows, he might be right. It sounds like something the E.U. would be
> jumping all over, seeing that they made glass manufacturers "take the lead
> out" of their glasses a few years ago. Nobody I know licks objectives (or
> stained glass church windows for that matter) clean with their tongues, so I
> see it as a moot point. All they did was shoot camera, telescope and
> microscope manufactures in the feet with a shotgun, transmission
> efficiencies went down by 5-10%. Who did they save in the end, the objective
> lickers?!
>
> So it is something to look into. Have a nice day!
>
> Pete
>
>
> On Dec 15, 2010, at 01:41 AM, Jen Clarke wrote:
>
> > Dear list
> >
> > (Not strictly a confocal question:)
> >
> > I heard a while ago that the use of mercury lamps on fluorescence
> microscopes would be discontinued in the United States, and possibly other
> countries, in the next couple of years,due to the safer replacement
> illumination systems now available.
> >
> > Can anyone verify this rumour?
> >
> > Kind regards
> > Jen
> > --
> > Jennifer Clarke BSc (Hons) PhD
> > Research Associate, Anatomy and Histology
> > Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine
> > &
> > Facility Manager, Optical Microscopy Suite, Flinders Microscopy
> >
> > Flinders University
> > GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001
> > Phone: [phone] 8204 6637
> > Email: [hidden email]
>

[Guy Cox-2]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

It's all a bit daft, isn't it, since the compact fluorescent lamps we
are supposed to use in place of tungsten lamps are based on ....
mercury.

                                        Guy

Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology
by Guy Cox    CRC Press / Taylor & Francis
     http://www.guycox.com/optical.htm
______________________________________________
Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis,
Madsen Building F09, University of Sydney, NSW 2006

Phone [phone]     Fax [phone]
             Mobile [phone]
______________________________________________
      http://www.guycox.net
 


-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
On Behalf Of Ignatius, Mike
Sent: Thursday, 16 December 2010 9:04 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

Lighting fixtures based on Hg lamps were banned in the US in 2008 (big
ones in auditoriums and such) and will be banned as well in EU in 2015.
This is the famous Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that
looks to ban incandescent bulbs as well by 2012.

The bill is tad long (882 pages), so couldn't find evidence that the
lamps used in fluorescent devices, along with spectrometers etc. will be
banned.

Anyone have further information?

Mike Ignatius

-----Original Message-----
From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
On Behalf Of Peter Pitrone
Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:19 AM
To: [hidden email]
Subject: Re: Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

Hello Jen,

I have heard the same rumor, but it was from a LED salesman. So I don't
know how far I can trust him. He told me that in the E.U. the sales of
Hg lamps will be "phased out" (read abruptly stopped!) by 2012.

Who knows, he might be right. It sounds like something the E.U. would be
jumping all over, seeing that they made glass manufacturers "take the
lead out" of their glasses a few years ago. Nobody I know licks
objectives (or stained glass church windows for that matter) clean with
their tongues, so I see it as a moot point. All they did was shoot
camera, telescope and microscope manufactures in the feet with a
shotgun, transmission efficiencies went down by 5-10%. Who did they save
in the end, the objective lickers?!

So it is something to look into. Have a nice day!

Pete


On Dec 15, 2010, at 01:41 AM, Jen Clarke wrote:

> Dear list
>
> (Not strictly a confocal question:)
>
> I heard a while ago that the use of mercury lamps on fluorescence
microscopes would be discontinued in the United States, and possibly
other countries, in the next couple of years,due to the safer
replacement illumination systems now available.

>
> Can anyone verify this rumour?
>
> Kind regards
> Jen
> --
> Jennifer Clarke BSc (Hons) PhD
> Research Associate, Anatomy and Histology
> Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine
> &
> Facility Manager, Optical Microscopy Suite, Flinders Microscopy
>
> Flinders University
> GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001
> Phone: [phone] 8204 6637
> Email: [hidden email]

[Craig Brideau]

*****
To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
*****

But it is all about the name.  Mercury lamps have 'mercury' in them.  Witch
hunts against prescribed things often follow form more than function.
Remember that Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) used to be called Nuclear
Magnetic Resonance (NMR) but they had trouble getting patients to stick
their heads inside a machine described with the word 'nuclear'. @:-)

Craig


On Wed, Dec 15, 2010 at 10:52 PM, Guy Cox <[hidden email]> wrote:

> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> It's all a bit daft, isn't it, since the compact fluorescent lamps we
> are supposed to use in place of tungsten lamps are based on ....
> mercury.
>
>                                        Guy
>
> Optical Imaging Techniques in Cell Biology
> by Guy Cox    CRC Press / Taylor & Francis
>     http://www.guycox.com/optical.htm
> ______________________________________________
> Associate Professor Guy Cox, MA, DPhil(Oxon)
> Australian Centre for Microscopy & Microanalysis,
> Madsen Building F09, University of Sydney, NSW 2006
>
> Phone [phone]     Fax [phone]
>             Mobile [phone]
> ______________________________________________
>      http://www.guycox.net
>
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Ignatius, Mike
> Sent: Thursday, 16 December 2010 9:04 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Lighting fixtures based on Hg lamps were banned in the US in 2008 (big
> ones in auditoriums and such) and will be banned as well in EU in 2015.
> This is the famous Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007 that
> looks to ban incandescent bulbs as well by 2012.
>
> The bill is tad long (882 pages), so couldn't find evidence that the
> lamps used in fluorescent devices, along with spectrometers etc. will be
> banned.
>
> Anyone have further information?
>
> Mike Ignatius
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Confocal Microscopy List [mailto:[hidden email]]
> On Behalf Of Peter Pitrone
> Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 2010 9:19 AM
> To: [hidden email]
> Subject: Re: Future discontinuation of mercury lamps?
>
> *****
> To join, leave or search the confocal microscopy listserv, go to:
> http://lists.umn.edu/cgi-bin/wa?A0=confocalmicroscopy
> *****
>
> Hello Jen,
>
> I have heard the same rumor, but it was from a LED salesman. So I don't
> know how far I can trust him. He told me that in the E.U. the sales of
> Hg lamps will be "phased out" (read abruptly stopped!) by 2012.
>
> Who knows, he might be right. It sounds like something the E.U. would be
> jumping all over, seeing that they made glass manufacturers "take the
> lead out" of their glasses a few years ago. Nobody I know licks
> objectives (or stained glass church windows for that matter) clean with
> their tongues, so I see it as a moot point. All they did was shoot
> camera, telescope and microscope manufactures in the feet with a
> shotgun, transmission efficiencies went down by 5-10%. Who did they save
> in the end, the objective lickers?!
>
> So it is something to look into. Have a nice day!
>
> Pete
>
>
> On Dec 15, 2010, at 01:41 AM, Jen Clarke wrote:
>
> > Dear list
> >
> > (Not strictly a confocal question:)
> >
> > I heard a while ago that the use of mercury lamps on fluorescence
> microscopes would be discontinued in the United States, and possibly
> other countries, in the next couple of years,due to the safer
> replacement illumination systems now available.
> >
> > Can anyone verify this rumour?
> >
> > Kind regards
> > Jen
> > --
> > Jennifer Clarke BSc (Hons) PhD
> > Research Associate, Anatomy and Histology
> > Centre for Neuroscience, School of Medicine
> > &
> > Facility Manager, Optical Microscopy Suite, Flinders Microscopy
> >
> > Flinders University
> > GPO Box 2100, Adelaide 5001
> > Phone: [phone] 8204 6637
> > Email: [hidden email]
>