Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2008-05-21-Speech-3-204"
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"en.20080521.20.3-204"2
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"Does hypocrisy have no limits? The European Commission rightly proposes banning the use of mercury and creating suitable infrastructures to store it, in view of its high toxicity and the risks to public health. The Commission nonetheless insists on promoting fluorescent bulbs to save energy, knowing that they contain at least 5 mg mercury each, a particularly dangerous amount, given the number of bulbs in every home or workplace.
Profit is everything. The investments and profits of monopolies must be protected even if they are demonstrably at the expense of public health. The EU prohibits the use of mercury but allows companies to offer free light bulbs containing mercury in order to promote their sales.
Responsibility for public health is assigned to the companies. They have to manage waste collection, although it is known that waste will end up in dumps and refuse bins. Society as a whole, and not just those who use the bulbs, will be exposed to the considerable risk of contamination. This, of course, is why in general they can be disposed of in landfills. Indeed, to forestall protests that would affect sales, not even the most basic steps are being taken to inform the public of the risks they run from leakage of the contents of these bulbs into the environment."@en1
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