For many this is a sentence to debilitation as the bulbs have been found to create numerous health problems. Over the last few years as CFL’s use has increased so has the number of reports linking them to a variety of physical trauma, such as migraines, dizziness, nausea, confusion, fatigue, skin irritations and eye strain. These physical disruptions are the result of being surrounded by dirty electricity from the radio frequency radiation the bulbs generate. CFL’s put out a wildly fluctuating electricity field that can travel around homes and offices via wiring, “polluting” other electrical signals and fields in place, spreading and accumulating.

There is another health issue too, the following brings forward research showing exposure to the bulbs when sleeping can diminish a persons ability to defend against cancer due to the simple difference of the CFL’s bluer light in contrast to the incandescent filament glow which casts a yellower light. Exposure to the bluer light of the CFL’s, which closely mimics daylight, at night causes a disruption in the secretion levels of the hormone melatonin which is thought to protect against breast and prostate cancers.

~Health Freedoms

Energy saving light bulbs ‘could trigger breast cancer’

Haifa University in Israel, said that the bluer light that compact flourescent lamps (CFLs) emitted closely mimiced daylight, disrupting the body’s production of the hormone melatonin more than older-style filament bulbs, which cast a yellower light.

Melatonin, thought to protect against some breast and prostate cancers, is produced and secreted by the brain’s pineal gland around the clock. Highest secretion levels are at night but light depresses production, even if one’s eyes are shut.

A possible link between night time light exposure and breast cancer risk has been known for over a decade, since a study was published showing female shift workers were more likely to develop the disease.

Prof Haim explained that a recent study by himself and fellow colleagues had found a much stronger association than previous research between night-time bedroom light levels and breast cancer rates. Their study, published in the journal Chronobiology International, found breast cancer rates were up to 22 per cent higher in women who slept with a light on, compared to those who slept in total darkness. They thought one of the reasons for this stronger link could be that people had switched to using energy saving lightbulbs.

They wrote: “In the past decade, light bulbs emitting bluer light waves (~460 nm) have been widely introduced to save energy consumption and reduce CO2 emission.”

They quoted another study which showed that exposure to bluer, shorter wavelength light for two hours in the late evening suppressed melatonin production more than the same exposure to yellower light (~550nm), which is more typical of filament bulbs. The bluer light also made people more alert and increased their body temperature and heart rate.

Prof Haim thought this was because the bluer light from eco-lightbulbs mimiced the stronger light of midday closer than filament bulbs did.

Speaking to The Daily Telegraph, he said he had subsequently removed eco-friendly lightbulbs from his house, as he thought they caused “light pollution”.

He said: “Around the world the advice is to change the lights to ‘green’ bulbs – but they are not really green. They pollute much more light.” Because people thought they were so cheap to run, they were turning on more lights at home, he explained. He emphasised that the study did not prove that using eco-friendly light bulbs late at night or overnight resulted in higher breast cancer rates than using filament bulbs, and that it remained an unproven theory.

British cancer charities echoed that point.

Jessica Harris, senior health information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: “As this study didn’t investigate low energy ‘eco’ light bulbs and there isn’t any other evidence that they have an effect on breast cancer risk we can’t draw any conclusions about the risk of breast cancer from low energy light bulbs. ”Although it’s far from settled, the evidence that light at night – from any source – could affect breast cancer risk is strengthening and the World Health Organisation classify shift working as a ‘probable’ cause of cancer.”

Dr Sarah Rawlings, head of policy at Breakthrough Breast Cancer, said the link was “purely speculative”. ”We know there are a number of lifestyle, genetic and environmental risk factors associated with breast cancer, which require more research,” she said.

By: Stephen Adams http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/8288982/Energy-saving-light-bulbs-could-trigger-breast-cancer.html

As if the danger to our health by using the CFL’s isn’t enough, the bulbs also contain mercury.

When they break or of disposed of improperly, exposure to this toxin is guaranteed.

“all CFL bulbs contain – at least – four to five milligrams of mercury, about 200 times the amount of mercury in a flu vaccine shot. There is enough mercury in each CFL bulb to contaminate 6,000 gallons of clean water. To break one of these CFL bulbs is to risk ruining the health of one’s entire family, or office staff, with enough released atmospheric mercury to best require the expensive, professional services of a Haz/Mat Removal Team.”              http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/03/17/stock-up-on-incandescent-light-bulbs-in-fact-buy-a-lifetime-supply-of-them

The EPA provides a four step program on how to safely dispose of a broken CFL. The first step is to open a window and leave the room for 15 minutes; next, clean up the glass with duct tape; third step is to seal broken glass into a glass jar; then you have to take the container to a special dump that can handle the toxic waste. But this is hardly enough to keep you and your family from being exposed. The truth is though waiting 15 minutes and coming back armed with duct-tape does not offer you protection from the mercury.

Really, only the first step in the EPA’s plan is safe- walk away. Amalgams that contain mercury are kept in boxes lined with lead and are collected by special hazardous-materials cleaning teams to carry our removal, the doctor wears a mask during the removal process and special precautions are taken so the patient does not inhale the fumes during placing or removal. Mercury is mercury- exposure is dangerous.

So what should really happen when a bulb is broken?

Here is the safety protocol outlined by a hazardous materials removal company:

To protect your family and employees against dangerous mercury exposure, Mercury Instruments USA provides clean up, decontamination and screening in the case of a broken mercury containing light bulb. All of our cleaning services are backed by screening the area with the Mercury Tracker 3000 mercury detector.                                                                    

CFL’s contain dangerous levels mercury

1. If you break a compact fluorescent light – CFL
   1. Immediately turn off heating or air conditioning units
   2. Call us at 303-972-3740 or after normal business hours at 720-203-5224
   3. Open windows for ventilation
   4. Leave the contaminated area immediately, unless there is a chance that some of the broken light bulb got on your clothing, then stay put until we get there or you may risk contaminating other areas!

1. Things Not to Do!
   1. Do Not Use Vacuum Cleaner
   2. Do not walk through broken glass

It’s hard to imagine that all of the CFL bulbs that have broken have been disposed of properly. I am also sure that there are a number of people that aren’t even aware of the dangers and took no precautions when cleaning or handling broken bulbs.

And our environment? This is where mercury laden CFL bulbs do their most serious damage to everyone of us. This is the same environment that our hordes of”Greenies” are so concerned about dying from global warming. But unknown to our greenie friends, already there are hundreds of millions of disposed CFL bulbs that have contaminated personal garbage cans, fleets of garbage trucks (spreading their toxicity near and far), and garbage disposal sites, that are doing irreparable damage to our ground water, except when such garbage is burnt; then, mercury is released into the very air we all breathe. You see there are precious few toxic dump sites in the world equipped to handle mercury, the most dangerous element in the world, after radio-active materials. http://healthfreedoms.org/2010/03/17/stock-up-on-incandescent-light-bulbs-in-fact-buy-a-lifetime-supply-of-them/

~Health Freedoms

Almost 70,000 pounds of cheese was recalled and a small farm was ordered to destroy 8 months worth of stored cheese without the FDA doing any more testing or allowing it to be done by the farm itself, even after swabs of the entire facility were clear of the bacteria (FDA Orders Family Farm to Destroy $250,000 Worth of Cheese). The potential loss of approximately 29,000 pounds of cheese would be devastating, please join us in helping with a $5 or $10 donation to the besieged families facing down the FDA tyranny. Friends of Morningland have put up a website, The Uncheese Party.

Earlier this month, a trial was held to determine whether or not the cheese would be destroyed; the judge should deliver his decision in the coming weeks, the closing statements were submitted to him in writing. By the end of the trial, it was difficult for those present to read what the outcome will be, we can certainly hope it will be a win for our food freedom.

The trial for Morningland Dairy, owned by Joseph and Denise Dixon, was held at the Howell County Courthouse in West Plains, Missouri with Judge David Dunlap presiding. Hearings began Jan. 11th and despite the cold and snow that shut down area schools, the courts small spectator’s vestibule was packed, an unusual occurrence which the judge remarked on during his opening statements. Morningland Dairy was represented by Attorney Gary Cox, a general counsel for the Farm-to-Consumer Legal Defense Fund (FCLDF) to defend against the Missouri State Milk Board. Mr. Cox also presented a counterclaim to the court, asking to lift the August 26 embargo and vacate the destruction letter.

Doreen Hannes, who has been following and exposing the truths about the exploits of the FDA upon small farms attended the hearing to give an inside view of the proceedings which went on for 10 hours on both Tuesday and Wednesday. The first day mainly focused on the testimony of Gene Wiseman the Executive Secretary of the Missouri Milk Board, and Don Falls an Environmental Specialist and lead Missouri Milk Board investigator, also the inspector of Morningland Dairy plant. Here are the highlights from the proceedings from the first day drawn from Doreen Hannes’ update on The Uncheese Party site:

Wiseman stated that he ordered an embargo on Morningland Dairy’s cheese without any actual knowledge of contamination. That he had never scheduled a destruction date with Morningland, and that the State of Missouri had assumed all FDA documents, except for the one Cox showed him about investigations of dairy facilities. There is no state statute or regulation that categorically states that Missouri has accepted and adopted all FDA guidelines or standards….and the Attorney General’s office tried to disallow questioning about the FDA as hearsay. But since Don Falls worked with the FDA on their investigation of Morningland, it was allowed after all.

Judge Dunlap is rather unorthodox in his courtroom manner. Initially I thought he was entirely too helpful and lenient with the Attorney General’s office. I have never seen a Judge help to rephrase counsel’s questions after objection in the way that he did. But he showed the same latitude with Mr. Cox’s cross examination, so I think it is just his demeanor and it wasn’t apparent to me that he was showing bias in favor of the prosecution. Additionally, his questions for his clarification of the two Missouri Milk Board witnesses were germane, intelligent, and astute. So it doesn’t appear on its face that we are actually dealing with a foregone conclusion in favor of the State in this case.

The following is a summary of Doreen’s article, “Morningland Dairy Trial Nearly Complete”, also on The Uncheese Party site.

Early in the Wednesday proceedings there were approximately 20 people in the audience, but as noon approached the attendance grew to nearly 45. The day was almost entirely devoted to defense witnesses with the exception of Sarah Blamely, technician from Microbe Innotech on behalf of the Missouri Milk Board. In testifying to the process she followed after receipt of the samples by courier, she stated that she allowed Don Falls of the Missouri Milk Board to change information regarding batch numbers on Morningland samples because she thought he was a representative of Morningland Dairy

Following Ms. Blamely was Denise Dixon, General Manager of the farmstead cheese plant. Both Joseph and Denise Dixon were in Washington State at the American Cheese Society Convention on August 26th, when the Missouri Milk Board embargoed, seized and condemned their cheese stock. Mrs. Dixon testified that an FDA recall notice was sent out without their authorization and prior to their return to Missouri from the American Cheese Society convention in Washington. Defense attorney Gary Cox indicated that they have proof of the August 27th recall notice, despite the objection of the AG’s office at the admission of this testimony to the court record. The Missouri Attorney General counsel, Jennifer Bloome, objected nearly every time a defense witnesses mentioned the “FDA”, yet did not object to the testimony of their own witnesses, Missouri Milk Board employees Gene Wiseman and Don Falls in stating that they followed all FDA guidelines and procedures in their agency.

Further into the trial, an inference was made by the AG’s office that the Dixons were trying to avoid discovery of listeria laden cows in their herd. Ms Bailey-Brown of the AG’s office was questioning Denise Dixon and asked, “Do you expect us to believe that you sold cows after finding you had a listeria problem, and did not pick those cows?” Joseph Dixon had informed Doreen that the cows they sold in the end of September, early October were dry cows due to freshen, and they simply could not afford to continue to feed them, so they were sold, many to slaughter at 54¢ per pound. Denise Dixon simply replied, “We were financially stricken.” The Attorney General’s office pursued this reasoning for what seemed an inordinate amount of time to those in the audience remotely familiar with dairying…which was most of the audience.

Jedadiah York, Morningland’s Plant Manger testified next, mostly expounding on the processes in making cheese. He said that the cheeses had always been aged at least 60 days, but he was occasionally busy and failed to make record of the dates certain batches had been cut. This is important because raw dairy cheeses are required to be aged 60 days, while no reports of illness or product complaints have ever surfaced, those lapses in record keeping are not helpful to Morningland Dairy’s plight.

Next came the testimony of Tim Wightman, a dairy consultant, an FCLDF board member and major force in the push for National Raw Milk Standards. While the Attorney General’s office questioned his expertise, they nonetheless had done their research on Wightman and used his own standards to effectively malign Morningland Dairy, because of one milk sample where their somatic cell count (SCC) went over the state grade A level of 750,000. Results from one full year of Morningland milk samples were read into the record and the SCC’s were from 160,000 to a single time spike of 1.7 million. The average SCC was 600,000 or lower with only that one spike and several in the 300,000 range. Most dairy people will tell you that the records are indicative of a very well run dairy with good herd health, and the spike was likely due to someone forgetting to turn on the tank to cool the milk. Nonetheless, the AG’s office used Wightman’s standards from his own literature to cast aspersions on the herd health of Morningland. Wightman also inexplicably stated that when you remove cows from the milking line it will reduce your SCC. Wightman testified that his standards require SCC’s less than 300,000 with any spike being indicative of a potentially severe herd health problem, not a potential human error. The push for National Raw Milk Standards is a deep concern for many in the raw milk movement, and the standards expressed by Wightman on the stand in this trial are good examples of the basis for these concerns.

There was only one witness left and that was Dr. Ted Beals, an extremely well-educated and highly credentialed medical doctor and microbiologist. Beals was the indisputable star witness in the entire case. Initially, while he was reciting his credentials, Judge Dunlap said, “While we could ask when you received your medical license, that could reveal your antiquity and that is not the habit of the court”, which drew some laughs from the peanut gallery. Dr Beals was articulate, thought provoking and quite authoritative in his testimony which centered predominately on the extremely pervasive presence of bacteria in general, and both listeria monocytogenes and staphaureus in particular, both in the environment and all over each one of us in the court room. From time to time, Dr. Beals was guilty of falling into narratives, but despite the lessons in bacterial behavior, his testimony remained germane to the topic. Near the end of his testimony, AG Bailey-Brown was attempting to infer that Beals was an anti-government whack job by citing points the AG’s office had harvested from a power point presentation he had given at a raw milk symposium. Bailey-Brown asked a question that began with “Isn’t it true that you believe that….” which was so long and meandering that no one could follow it, and to which Cox entered an objection and the Judge replied, “As long as it isn’t to the truth of the matter and only to the beliefs of the witness, the witness can answer the question….That is, if he can remember the question.” Beals asked her to re-state the question, and not too surprisingly, she couldn’t recall it either. It definitely provided some much needed comic relief. One of Beals’ responses (among many) that bears repeating was, “There are millions more bacteria in and on humans than there are cells in the human body…..” Kind of like, “Auuugh! Nature! It’s all over me!” And also, when the AG evidently (okay, I’m being generous here) misinterpreted some of Dr. Beals’ testimony given in deposition regarding listeriosis resulting in 100% fetal mortality, he corrected her cleanly. His response was, “No, that is not what I said. I said that if listeriosis resulted in abortion it would cause 100% mortality in a fetus”

It was interesting that the Attorney General’s office seemed intent on showing some kind of collusion by inquiring of every witness for the defense as to their membership and/or position in the FCLDF organization. As if being a member of this group somehow was akin to being a card carrying member of a terrorist group or something. Obviously Denise Dixon, is a member of the group as Morningland Dairy is being represented by FCLDF Lead Counsel Gary Cox, and you must be a member of the group to be represented by the groups attorney. Is it really that much of a surprise that an organization designed to represent the interests of farmers and farmstead producers would use it’s own experts in a trial? It appeared that the attempt to deride the testimony of the defense witnesses on this basis held little weight with the judge as his facial expression didn’t change a bit when everyone admitted to some type of an affiliation with the organization.

The 7:00 pm adjournment time was met with no time for oral closing arguments. Judge Dunlap, whom as I’ve said previously is a very unorthodox judge, allowed that if the State wished they could bring in their own medical doctor as an expert to rebut Dr. Beals’ testimony, with the ability of the defense to depose as well. Barring developments in that realm, closing arguments are to be presented in written format. Gary Cox asked if there was to be a page limit, and Dunlap replied, “I guess 40 pages….Holding to the law and consonant arguments, explain why your side wins.” The written closing arguments are to be submitted to the court on January 28th. Meanwhile, the judge will go over the testimony.

Barring any further developments on the potential suit involving the FDA as alluded to by Missouri Attorney General Jennifer Bloome. So far there have been no further updates.

Sources:

http://uncheeseparty.wordpress.com/2011/01/12/morningland-dairy-1st-day-in-court-update/

http://uncheeseparty.wordpress.com/2011/01/17/morningland-dairy-trial-nearly-complete/