Ignorance Stroke Fear of LED Technology

I have read a widely quoted article written by EarthTalk regarding the hazard of using LED Lighbulb.  The article seems to use information from a paper written by a group of scientists from UC Irvine.  Here is a quote from the article:


      "Ogunseitan (one of the UC professors) adds that while breaking open a single LED and breathing in its fumes wouldn’t likely cause cancer, our bodies hardly need more toxic substances floating around, as the combined effects could be a disease trigger.  If any LEDs break at home, Ogunseitan recommends sweeping them up while wearing gloves and a mask, and disposing of the debris -- and even the broom -- as hazardous waste."
                                                   ~ "LED Lightbulb Concerns"
                                                       By EarthTalk
                                                       Apr 14, 2012 - 10:30:17 AM


I understand UC Irvine group has done extensive testing on environmental impact of LED by looking at all the material that goes into making it.  However, the quote above that talks about “breaking open a single LED” gives the impression that it is the same as  “breaking open a LED light bulb”, just like how you would break a CFL tube.  Anyone who knows what a LED is knows that nothing will happen if someone smashes open the plastic that cover the light bulb. There is no mercury vapor that will arise like CFL  The LED chips inside are tiny.  If you want to “break a single LED”, you have to deliberately yank the chips out and hammer them to pulp to deserve the type of treatment mentioned.

If one talks about taking a hammer and smashes a Xmas light to powder to find out the toxic content, then how about smashing up a cell phone and measuring the toxicity of these common consumer products?

This type of articles shows complete lack of understanding of LED technology and it creates groundless fear based on ignorance.  We in the industry have to spend more resources educating the public about our technology before the baseless negative view takes hold.

I contacted one of the professors who wrote the paper and she agreed with my assessment. I have also written to Earthtalk but they have not replied.