2016 Mercury Vapor Ban

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Planned in 2016 by NEMA is a ban to effectively Eliminate Mercury Vapor Lamps,the Preceeding ban passed in 2005 and Effective in 2008 made the sale of Mercury Vapor Ballasts illegal,Mercury Vapor lamps were proposed to be banned due to the fact that they are the least efficent of the HID Lamp Family,these lamps were Invented in 1934 and improvements continued to be made well into the Late 70's and Early 80's,as High Pressure Sodium Started to Become Popular due to its Higher Effiency,older mercury vapor installations were taken down and replaced in favor or newer high pressure sodium systems,while these lamps are more efficent they do come with several shortcomings...firstly the lamps usually cycle at the end of their rated lifetimes,whereas mercury vapor lamps typically dim out,they suffer reliability issues such as leaking,and compleate lamp falliure,the Ballasts and associated Gear required to start the lamp is more complex,expensive and likely to fail,lastly is the disgusting orange light they emit,this lowers visibility and is a hazzard,older mercury lamps emitted a Green Blue Light (From the Clear Lamps) and a Whiteish Light from the Color corrected lamps..this ban is compleatly unacceptable and shouldnt even have been passed,vote today in an Effort to prevent this from happening

55 Signatures

  • David Frangioso
    • Comments
    • Defend our childhood memories!
  • Michael Jung
    • Comments
    • Don't ban mercury lamps!
  • Randall S. Duncan, Jr. a.k.a. Xanadu590/Fiveninety/Semi-Comma
    • Comments
    • The EPA needs to be dismantled and abolished.
  • David Lay
    • Comments
    • Mercury lamps produce a wonderful green color that accents trees well plus they are also beneficial in that they produce a color spectrum trees can't see so they go through their regular dormancy cycle.
  • Felipe Secundo
    • Comments
    • Keep mercury vapor lights alive!
  • Marc Schmier
    • Comments
    • Please do not ban MV
  • Devonte Matthews
    • Comments
    • Mercury Vapor is the Most Reliable and Durable HID Lamp!
  • Bruce Parson
    • Comments
    • Since the ballasts have already been banned, it is pointless to ban the lamps, when the remaining fixtures will be kept in use anyway.
  • David Henke
    • Comments
    • Not enough mercury to harm anyone, just like fluorescent lamps, just make the ballasts more energy efficient (electronic)
  • Darren Harward
    • Comments
    • Don't ban the mercury vapor lamps!!
  • Aaron Walker
    • Comments
    • many older mercury lamps lasted a long time. in fact they were rated at 24,000 hours plus most last 30~40 years. High pressure sodium light is very high in the red end of the spectrum which interfeers with the plant/tree night and day cycles
  • David
    • Comments
    • Stuped to get rid of a lighting source that works so well.
  • Robert M Menefee
    • Comments
    • I like the color of mercury lamps much better.
  • Jan Martis
    • Comments
    • The high pressure mercury vapor lamp is the cheapest and most reliable high intensity white light source. Mercury vapor lamps have very long life, require simpler ballasts and don't cycle or explode at their end of life. It makes absolutely no sense to ban them.
  • Dustin Logan
    • Comments
    • Too much government regulation. Didn't this used to be a free country?
  • Alex Guzman
    • Comments
    • Let the market decide
  • Charles Moorehead
    • Comments
    • A Stupid Move Indeed!
  • Wiliam Osborne Bisset
    • Comments
    • Please don't ban the mercury vapor lamps!
  • Michael McCann
    • Comments
    • I favor the color of MV light and it's odd way of just soothing me. HPS is more efficcient and more enitial lumens and all, but to me not noticable on the asphalt at night.
  • richard bushey
    • Comments
    • merc lamps last along time and are 10x better then hps
  • Alex Van Mook
    • Comments
    • Mercury vapor is more visible at night than high pressure sodium.
  • David E. Stumpf
    • Comments
    • There are so many existing fixtures in use for these lamps that it would inconvenience many people to discontinue the lamps. Also, it my save electricity to change to some other type fixture but think of the cost of replacing all these fixtures.
  • Victor McEntee
    • Comments
    • Mercs are extremely reliable. HPS cast an ugly orange color.
  • CarolynApsey
    • Comments
    • science supports
  • Todd McCubbin
    • Comments
    • Doesn't make sense that they would ban a light source such as this claiming it is inefficient yet there are other light sources that have absolutely horrible efficiency, short life, and bad color that they are not touching. This is completely wrong. Forcing someone to replace inexpensive mercury vapor with more expensive hps or mh is wrong. If the government wants to force this on everyone then the government is going to be responsible for the higher cost of replacement systems otherwise this is totally unacceptable and tantamount to communism!
  • Julian Dominik Karl
    • Comments
    • MV have not to be banned!
  • Vincent lemieux
    • Comments
    • Glad to sign this and hope that it will avoid the ban.
  • Niall
    • Comments
    • I belive Mercury Vapuors should never be banned.
  • joe
    • Comments
    • banning light bulbs is stupid find something else to ban
  • Bobby Fitzgerald
    • Comments
    • theres nothing wrong with mercury vapor lights!
  • Brittany Boucher
    • Comments
    • My fav. color is green and so is Mercury Vapor so I want it to not go away...bye
  • wesley koster
    • Comments
    • must keep this history alive on our streets
  • Chris Jarrell
    • Comments
    • The free market should decide which light source is best.
  • Vinney DiBacco
    • Comments
    • STOP THE BAN
  • Rick Delair
    • Comments
    • I am tired of the government trying to tell me what light bulbs to use!! First they come up with some lame-brained idea that they want to ban incandescent bulbs--which WON'T WORK, then they want to ban mercury lamps. Where is it going to end? I also have, aside of incandescent and mercury vapor, early preheat fluorescent units in use and even have built some new fixtures using the preheat ballasting and starting system and they are more efficient than even the modern T-8 and T-5 electronic units the government are also trying to shove down our throats. I have a 1954 Wstingouse OV-20 in use in our back yard currently fitted with a "Fluorex" 65 watt compact fluorescent type lamp and frankly, though it's decent, I an wanting to replace this 65 watt fluorescent with a 175 watt merc, as the fluorex falls short of it's promises. Lumen maintenance is one issue, and it seems to lack the character and beauty of a real mercury vapor lamp, for which this beautiful Westinghouse street light fixture was designed for.
  • Jack
    • Comments
    • That orange HPS is awful and hate the cycling, blue is better.
  • BRADLEY LANGSTON
    • Comments
    • I am a scuhool custodian; we have to replace sodium vapor bulbs constantly! Sodium vapor has too many problems!
  • Melissa Dolson
    • Comments
    • sure i agree
  • Ciara Crystal Repovsch Kastelein
    • Comments
    • I'm sure mercury has something to do with my grandmother's fatal brain cancer. Get rid of it!
  • Keith DeCosta
    • Comments
    • I have also been opposed to the horrible color rendering of high pressure sodium luminaires. when averaging out lumens-to-watts, and life span of bulbs, and associated equipment, mercury vapor has always seemed the way to go.
  • charles kramer
    • Comments
    • these bulbs should not be banned.
  • David Clark
    • Comments
    • Mercury Vapor is a good light source and should not be banned
  • Dennis M. McInerney
    • Comments
    • this is another unacceptable ploy by government and business to increase profits and at the cost of the average person. This ban has NO real basis except for profits
  • Wilfred
    • Comments
    • You can't ban mercury vapor
  • Andrew Shill
    • Comments
    • hum
  • Roy Chang
    • Comments
    • Inefficient as an out-of-date technology, and contain mercury as endanger environment.
  • steven o'brien
    • Comments
    • bring back all mercury streetlights and fixtures
  • B.J.M.T.
    • Comments
    • I don't think they should be banned, but they should make a special fixture to allow them to make the best use of the light, all modern lights are designed for HPS, MH, LED, or Induction flourscent, and not MV.
  • DEZ
    • Comments
    • Dont ban MV lamps
  • Ethan Singree
    • Comments
    • I think that the ban on MV is a bad idea HPS is prone to cycling and I think that HPS is more inefficient than MV