Light bulbs under scrutiny

The Panamanian Associated Engineers Association is concerned that the bad quality of the light bulbs could present a danger to the public.

Furthermore, a report of the Firemen Department pointed out that these energy saving light bulbs have been that cause of fires in five different occasions.

The energy efficient light bulbs program was proposed a few months ago as a way to help the population to save energy and reduced the electricity consumption in the country.

The district of Panama municipality and its Mayor Juan Carlos Navarro, last year launched a campaign encouraging people to switch to energy saving bulbs to save energy and protect the environment.

Navarro also changed the incandescent bulbs in municipal offices to fluorescent ones as a way of helping to reduce the increasing electricity appetite of the capital city.

The People’s Defender Office is not opposed to the energy saving light program of President Martin Torrijos, but it wants to make sure that the bulbs are of good quality to avoid any possible accidents caused by faulty one in the future.

The problem is that energy saving bulbs are so toxic that if one falls on the floor and breaks the room needs to be evacuated for at least 15 minutes.

Experts in England said that the toxic mercury inside the bulbs can aggravate a range of problems from dizziness to migraines.

And a leading dermatologist said tens of thousands of people with skin complaints will find it hard to tolerate being near the bulbs as they cause conditions such as eczema to flare up.

The People’s Defender Office said it is going to look into the concerns of the Engineers Association, because its main objective is to take care of the lives of Panamanians and make sure that the energy saving light bulbs giving free by the government are not a danger to the public.