24 August 2023 will be remembered as the date when mercury-based fluorescent lamps were consigned to history in the EU.
In the European Union, the use of mercury in products has been phased out gradually since 2006, and it is restricted by the RoHS Directive and the Ecodesign Directive. By exemptions for the RoHS Directive, the European Commission has allowed the use of restricted substances, such as mercury, for certain applications.
In general lighting, this has covered, for example, T8 and T5 fluorescent tubes, compact fluorescent lamps and halogen lamps, the use of which has been justified by poor availability of energy-efficient mercury-free alternatives. Today, T8 and T5 fluorescent tubes are easily replaced by energy-efficient and environmentally friendly LED light sources, and therefore, the Commission has recently amended the RoHS Directive to remove most of the exemptions for light sources.
In practice, the change to the directive means that many light sources still in common use will be phased out, and T8 and T5 fluorescent lamps will be off the market starting from 24 August 2023.
This is a significant change, as fluorescent tubes have been used to light office and industrial premises since the 1940s. For domestic lighting, fluorescent tubes became more common in the 1960s.
