Amalgam is a solid, eco-friendlier and safer alternative to liquid mercury. At room temperature, mercury is concealed inside the metal alloy and would not escape even if the lamp breaks. In its solid form, the mercury inside Amalgam can be collected, recycled and reused more readily. Since Amalgam will not release mercury vapour when it is exposed under room temperature, it will not pose health hazard to the people and pollute the environment.
Moreover, research has revealed that compact fluorescent lamps actually work to minimise mercury from being released into the air by power plants, where it affects our health the most. According to the statistics provided by the US Environmental Protection Agency, the highest source of mercury in our air comes from burning fossil fuels, such as coal. 70% of power plants are coal fired and hence burn fossil fuel to produce energy. These power plants in general emit 10mg of mercury to produce the electricity to run an incandescent bulb compared to only 2.4mg of mercury required to run a compact fluorescent lamp for the same time. In other words, compact fluorescent lamps are responsible for less mercury than incandescent bulbs.
Look out for these new lights today, and make sure your lighting company is thinking about eco-friendly alternatives.