Osaka —

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. said Thursday it has developed a technology to produce electrode glass for fluorescent lamps without using environmentally harmful lead. The industry’s first technology of its kind, which replaces lead with barium, will enable Matsushita to cut the use of lead-contained glass by 2,000 tons a year, the Osaka-based company said. Matsushita, Japan’s largest fluorescent lamp maker with annual production of some 135 million units, will make all of its products lead-free, starting in October.

Matsushita also announced a plan to increase the use of glass from recycled fluorescent lamps from 53 million tons a year in fiscal 2007 to 600 tons in ten years time. Combined with other technological improvements, the increase in the use of recycled glass will reduce the emission of carbon dioxide in the glass-melting process by 25 percent from the fiscal 2007 level, Matsushita said.

Kyodo

1 Comments

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  timeon at 09:31 AM JST - 22nd August

  wasn't barium also toxic? (and more expensive as I remember)

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