Here’s a heads-up regarding traffic lights, especially if your municipality ‘converted’ to LED light bulbs in traffic signals! Yeah, it’s a belief system; not a practical one!
LED light bulbs do NOT produce heat, which melts snow on traffic signal lights and housing coverings. Previously, standard light bulbs kept signals free of snow, whereas they snow over, freeze and don’t melt with LEDs, thereby obscuring traffic lights from shining their familiar red, yellow and green traffic signals.
Traffic accidents anyone?
Important information to know
CBC News Windsor, Canada reported in February of 2016:
Thursday in Windsor, Ont., police say a school bus ran a red light and broad-sided a car in an intersection. Six kids, a school staff member, and the drivers of the car and bus were taken to hospital. Police said the bus driver claimed the red light was covered in snow. [CJF emphasis]
How safe and efficient are LED lightbulbs, if they contribute to accidents? Shouldn’t you find out if your town, township or city has installed LEDs in traffic lights in your locale?
The City of Windsor, Canada, thought they were saving money with LEDs but, instead, had to send out work crews to remove the snow to correct the problem. How much did that cost? Imagine city workers snow blowing or dusting off traffic lights every time it snows just because traffic lights no longer provide their self-melting-snow-removal due to heat former conventional bulbs provided for umpteen years.
According to John Wolf, senior manager for traffic operations at the City of Windsor,
LEDs do not put off any heat. The old heads were just 150 watt, so basically [stoplights] had a 150-watt light bulb in them, so they generated heat and anything on them melted.
Moreover, city officials had not been able to come up with a workable idea to fix the problem. Hey, why not just replace the LEDs? It’s really not brain surgery! Oh, it’s the money spent on light bulbs rather than safety on the roads.
Are there any health effects from LEDs?
This is not the first time energy-saving bulbs have been criticised [sic] – fluorescent bulbs emit dangerous UV light. Eco-friendly LED lights may damage your eyes, according to new research. A study has discovered that exposure to LED lights can cause irreparable harm to the retina of the human eye. [1]
Have you ever caught an oncoming car’s LED headlights effect? [2]
How about CFL light bulbs?
The above technology with light bulbs reminds me of the CFLs power companies have been pushing customers to use. CFLs contain mercury and if they break, you have a hazmat situation on your hands and must call in proper remedial cleanup crews, which can cost megabucks for breaking one light bulb.
Source: ehp.niehs.nih.gov
Take note of mercury and argon in the tubes that stimulate UV light!
Are CFLs safe?
A: These energy-efficient bulbs are safe when used as directed. All types of fluorescent bulbs contain mercury vapor, which emits ultraviolet (UV) rays when exposed to an electric current. … Even when CFLs release UV, this will cause little or no damage if the bulbs are farther than a foot or two away from your skin. [3] [CJF emphasis]
The other problem with CFLs is they can cause adverse health effects because they emit UV radiation [4], including high levels of “dirty electricity.” Check out that aspect in this video.
Furthermore, if burnt-out CFLs are tossed in with regular trash, it causes environmental contamination plus health and safety issues for trash collectors and others along the route of trash disposal, including landfills.
So much for two new technologies everyone seems to think are so great. Personally, I still use incandescent light bulbs. I don’t want to pollute the planet nor cause harm to workers with spent CFL light bulbs!
References:
[1] https://gunnar.com/do-environmentally-friendly-led-lights-cause-blindness/
[2] http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/10/10/roadshow-led-headlights-are-just-too-bright/
[3] http://www.berkeleywellness.com/healthy-community/environmental-health/article/cfl-light-bulb-safety
[4] http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2012/10/18/study-fluorescent-light-bulbs-emit-high-levels-of-uv-radiation/
Catherine J Frompovich (website) is a retired natural nutritionist who earned advanced degrees in Nutrition and Holistic Health Sciences, Certification in Orthomolecular Theory and Practice plus Paralegal Studies. Her work has been published in national and airline magazines since the early 1980s. Catherine authored numerous books on health issues along with co-authoring papers and monographs with physicians, nurses, and holistic healthcare professionals. She has been a consumer healthcare researcher 35 years and counting.
Catherine’s latest book, published October 4, 2013, is Vaccination Voodoo, What YOU Don’t Know About Vaccines, available on Amazon.com.
Her 2012 book A Cancer Answer, Holistic BREAST Cancer Management, A Guide to Effective & Non-Toxic Treatments, is available on Amazon.com and as a Kindle eBook.
Two of Catherine’s more recent books on Amazon.com are Our Chemical Lives And The Hijacking Of Our DNA, A Probe Into What’s Probably Making Us Sick (2009) and Lord, How Can I Make It Through Grieving My Loss, An Inspirational Guide Through the Grieving Process (2008)
Catherine’s NEW book: Eat To Beat Disease, Foods Medicinal Qualities ©2016 Catherine J Frompovich is now available
Top image credit: Pixabay
I thought it amusing that an article explaining the dangers of LED lights featured an ad for an LED flashlight. Just sayin’ …