VA tries to dodge fed ban on incandescent lightbulbs | LoudounTimes.com

ALEXANDRIA — Delegate Bob Marshall hopes to do for lightbulbs in Virginia what California did for marijuana and Arizona did for guns. But he faces an uphill climb.

The Manassas Republican introduced a bill to allow makers of incandescent lightbulbs to set up shop in Virginia after a federal ban on the bulbs went into effect Jan. 1. 

Marshall, a skeptic of global warming, said he has safety concerns about the compact fluorescent bulbs, or CFBs, that are supplanting traditional lightbulbs. The more energy-efficient bulbs carry traces of mercury, and federal guidelines recommend evacuating the site of a broken bulb for up to 10 minutes before trying to clean it.

“The solution is worse than the problem,” he said, “When you drop one of these mercury bulbs you have hazardous materials. It’s a health risk that you wouldn’t have with one of Mr. (Thomas) Edison’s bulbs.”