BRUSSELS, Aug. 27 (UPI) -- A European Union plan to switch all light bulbs to new energy-efficient bulbs may have possible health risks, leading consumer groups say.
The European consumers' rights organization, BEUC, said in a statement the plan set to go into effect next week does not include provisions for European Union residents with health problems such as light sensitivity, The EUobserver reported Thursday.
"We call on the European Commission to take immediate measures to ensure that people who rely on incandescent light bulbs will be able to buy these bulbs until suitable alternative lighting technologies are available," the group said.
A poll conducted by the electronics disposal firm UFH indicated many residents of Austria may be hesitant to embrace the new light bulb plan, as well.
The poll, whose polling period and margin of error were not reported, found 64 percent of respondents deemed the plan to swap all basic light bulbs with more efficient bulbs to be nonsensical.
The EUobserver said nearly 54 percent of poll respondents, the total number of which was not reported, said they feared they could be exposed to mercury contamination should one of the new energy-efficient bulbs break.
