By Larry Coonrod, Lebanon Express writer | Posted: Tuesday, June 19, 2007 12:00 am
Senate Bill 479, signed into law by Gov. Ted Kulongoski on June 11, prohibits the use of R type metal halides and or mercury vapor bulbs in public schools. They are commonly used in gymnasiums. For the Lebanon School District, that means replacing 120 to 150 metal halide bulbs by Jan. 1, 2008.
“I don't know how we can possibly do it. It's one of those unfunded mandates," said Larry Tilford, director of facilities for the district. Unless the state provides funding, the cost of converting the district's six gyms to fluorescent bulbs will come out of capital improvement funds, he said.
New light fixtures will have to be installed to accommodate the two to four fluorescent bulbs needed to replace each metal halide light.
The district pays $45-$65 each for metal halides. Fluorescent bulbs cost about $6 each. Tilford did not have an estimate on how much installing the new fixtures will cost.
“Once you get over the initial sticker shock, we'll probably save money in the long run; fluorescents are cheaper and save energy," Tilford said.
In November 2004, UV radiation from a damaged metal halide bulb caused five educators to suffer burns, fever and eye damage during a teacher in-service training at an elementary school in Lake Grove. The five received the equivalent of a month's worth of sunlight exposure in five hours.
Tilford said he has never seen a similar accident in his 28 years of experience.