BSGA wins stay of execution for neon
The British sign industry has succeeded in its fight to allow mercury to continue to be used in the manufacture of neon lighting—but only until 2020.
Monday, 05 Jan 2015 12:22 GMT
Neon has an iconic place in the history of the sign industry, and continues to be very much in vogue for use in retro design concepts
“If we had failed to win the exemption, it could possibly have rung the death knell for neon signs. Dealing with the Council of Europe was never going to be a straight forward. However, we had an extremely good case and, with perseverance, we managed to get through to them and gain the necessary backing,” says Mike Hall, chairman of the BSGA Technical Committee.
European regulators want the hazardous material to be removed from neon lighting but have conceded ground to an argument put forward by the sign industry’s trade organisation the British Sign and Graphics Association (BSGA) and the European Sign Federation (ESF).
It is widely known that under the Minamata Convention the use of mercury will be banned entirely by the year 2020”
The BSGA has earned an exemption for the use of mercury until 2020 allowing more time to lobby for a further extension or to find alternatives to the metal to be developed. Banning or significantly reducing the amount used would have effectively restricted the colour of neon signs to red.
Hall continues: “It is widely known that under the Minamata Convention the use of mercury will be banned entirely by the year 2020. However, now that we have this exemption in place, we have a good argument to get it extended beyond 2020.
“Neon is a small but key part of our industry and it needs protection. We must continue work to see that there are controls in place across the industry to ensure correct processing, that the correct amount of mercury is used to produce eco-quality neon, and that lamps perform correctly.”
Neon is a small but key part of our industry and it needs protection”
When Print Monthly broke the news online it created a surge of reader reaction. John Bowler of Imex Grafix in Newcastle wrote: “The use of other heavy metals like lead have also been drastically reduced, so with enough will, we can stop using mercury. LED lights are bright and getting brighter, so I feel that there is no excuse for continuing with neon, especially because LED lights are very energy efficient and operate at low voltage, so do not need special switchgear.”
The article was also met with dismay by several neon specialists who warned it would unnecessarily cast neon in a negative light to sign buyers. The proposed banning of mercury and its usage in neon—or as it is technically called, ‘handcrafted linear discharge tubes’—comes within the Restriction of Hazardous Substances (RoHS) Regulations 2012.
