 ENERGY MANAGEMENT AND CONSERVATION AT ACPS As a result of the Division's fundamental commitment to protect the environment by adopting an Energy Management and Conservation Policy and becoming an ENERGY STAR Partner in April 2009, some energy awareness and conservation changes will be implemented this year. Beginning in September 2009, energy and water usage for each school will be communicated to school. Each school will receive an ENERGY STAR benchmark rating to compare its energy usage to schools around the country. ACPS and ENERGY STAR - What Employees Can Do To Save Energy Energy conservation will depend on the help of all staff and students. Portions of the policy that will affect the majority of staff are below. Although these actions may seem small, when individual efforts are combined for our school system, they can add up to financial and environmental savings. As part of the policy, the following energy conservation measures are requested of each building occupant.
If you would like additional staff to be included in the monthly energy communication, please contact Lindsay Snoddy (434-975-9340). The full policy can be accessed at http://esb.k12albemarle.org/Reference_Library/ESB_Policies_and_Regulations/Policies//FEH_0409.pdf . The Energy Management Team executes energy management activities across different parts of the District and ensures integration of best practices. The following people make up our District's team:
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 Information About Compact Fluorescent Lamps
The risks to you and your family from breaking a CFL are small. The amount of mercury in a CFL is very small, about five milligrams, or the size of the tip of a ball point pen. In comparison, older thermometers contain about 500 milligrams of mercury. It would take 100 CFLs to equal the amount of mercury in a single thermometer.
The mercury in a CFL is needed to help turn the electric current into white light you get from the bulb. Once turned on, a very small amount of the mercury in the CFL becomes a vapor. If a CFL bulb breaks, a small amount of the mercury vapor will be released in the air. Unlike the elemental mercury found in fever thermometers, which are the shiny beads of liquid mercury, you will probably not see any mercury with the naked eye if you break a CFL bulb. The white powder you see is from the phosphorus coating on the inside of the CFL.
So if you break a bulb, you're at little risk for significant mercury exposure. It is important, though, to carefully clean up and dispose of a broken CFL to avoid spreading around the phosphorus powder, glass and any remaining mercury.
Here are U.S. EPA's guidelines for cleaning up a broken CFL: 1. Open a window and leave the room (restrict access) for at least 15 minutes. If you have fans, place the fans in the windows and blow the air out of the room. Note: If the room has no windows, open all doors to the room and windows outside the room and use fans to move the air out of the room and to the open windows.
2. Remove all materials you can without using a vacuum cleaner. o Wear disposable rubber gloves, if available (do not use your bare hands). o Carefully scoop up the fragments and powder with stiff paper or cardboard. o Wipe the area clean with a damp paper towel or disposable wet wipe. o Sticky tape (such as duct tape) can be used to pick up small pieces and powder.
3. Place all cleanup materials in a plastic bag and seal it, and then place in a second sealed plastic bag. o If no other disposal or recycling options are available, private residents may dispose of the CFL in residential garbage. Be sure to seal the CFL in two plastic bags and put into the outside trash. o Wash your hands after disposing of the bags.
4. The first time you vacuum the area where the bulb was broken, remove the vacuum bag once done cleaning the area (or empty and wipe the canister) and put the bag and/or vacuum debris, as well as the cleaning materials, in two sealed plastic bags in the outdoor trash or protected outdoor location for normal disposal. |