Scientists concluded that CFL light bulbs can be harmful to
healthy skin cells. “Our study revealed that the response of
healthy skin cells to UV emitted from CFL bulbs is consistent
with damage from ultraviolet radiation,” said lead researcher
Miriam Rafailovich, Professor of Materials Science and
Engineering at Stony Brook University, in New York, in a
statement. “Skin cell damage was further enhanced when low
dosages of TiO2 nanoparticles were introduced to the skin cells
prior to exposure.” According to Rafailovich, with or without
TiO2 (a chemical found in sunblock), incandescent bulbs of the
same light intensity had zero effects on healthy skin. The
scientists found that cracks in the CFL bulbs phosphor coatings
yielded significant levels of UVC and UVA in all of the bulbs —
purchased in different locations across two counties — they
examined. I was an early adopter of CFLs, but have since removed
almost all of them from our house. Not because of reports like
this one, or because of the potential for ex