Burgess: I did nothing wrong

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 2: The minister at the centre of a controversy over light bulbs has spoken out for the first time about the matter.

Derrick Burgess said the LED bulbs installed at Global House do not pose a health hazard, are better for the environment — and save taxpayers’ money.

And the Public Works Minister stressed that he did not go against the advice of his technical officers.

“There has been no violation of the law,” he told us. “There has never been any attempt on my part to go against the advice of technical officers as there was no advice given to me.

“The way it’s been made to sound is that I had their report and the technical advisors said to me ‘No, Derrick, don’t do it’ and I went ahead and did it. No such thing happened.”

The lights were replaced more than three years ago but an internal report critical of the installation surfaced recently and drew media attention.

In April/May 2009, a company called Electrical Technology Management (ETM) replaced 1,300 fluorescent lights at Global House. In April 2010 the Electrical Section from the Public Works Department issued a report suggesting regulations were not followed.

Mr Burgess told us: “I didn’t know there was a report. The first time I saw the report was last Thursday.

“This report speaks to the present Act. When the lights were put in, they were put in under the previous Act so there were no violations of the Act.”

The Occupational Safety and Health Regulations Act 2009, which came into effect on October 23 of that year, stipulates how many ‘foot candles’ a light should put out. [A foot candle is a measure of light intensity].

But the lights were installed in April/May 2009 under the 1982 regulations, which did not carry such a stipulation.

Mr Burgess said: “The report that came out spoke to the new regulations. The report seems to be done with some malice. There are no health hazards to LED lighting and there are no emissions.”

He added: “The mercury in a fluorescent tube can contaminate 6,000 gallons of water beyond drinking level. A lot of people don’t understand the health hazards that come with a fluorescent light. If a fluorescent light broke in this office, we would be required to leave for a certain period of time.”

Mr Burgess said when people had complaints about the bulbs not “being bright enough, the contractor went over and made the adjustments. The contractor has never walked away from the job.

“If there were still complaints at the time of the report, then the contractor should have been told about it to make the corrections. If he didn’t make the adjustments, then we would have had a problem.”

Pilot scheme

He added when the report was done, the contractor was never contacted for his input.

The Minister said he played by the rules on the contract: “A proposal was made to Government [by ETM]. It sounded good and I wanted to get this pilot programme going.

“All that went through Cabinet. We sole-sourced it because it was a pilot programme.

“At that time, that was the best bulb you could buy. They were certified. Anyone who says they weren’t certified has got it wrong and are being mischievous.”

The 18w T8 Tube with the model number GL-LI-X112 had been certified by MET Laboratories.

Most people are used to the Underwriters Laboratories (UL) certification, but MET is a Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in the US.

Mr Burgess said they have since expanded the pilot programme to a floor in a different building.

“But it’s with even newer technology since it happened this year.”

He did not want to name the location but said: “There are no complaints.”

Mr Burgess said Government should be a leader in ‘green’ initiatives.

“If we sit back and don’t do anything, then we’re not leading the country. We should be going green all the way — as much as we can. The carbon footprint of emissions is decreased by using LED bulbs and that’s what we have to do.”

“One report I read said if we changed 100 buildings over from fluorescent lights to LED, that’s like taking 300 cars off the road from the emissions they give. That’s a lot.”

LED bulbs are more expensive but the Minister stressed that in the long-run “they will save us money. LED bulbs pay for themselves in two years.”

Technology reports state that LED bulbs have a 50,000-hour life expectancy while for fluorescents, the life expectancy is 10,000 to 20,000 hours.

The LED bulbs also use less electricity because they have a lower wattage but can emit as much light as a higher wattage fluorescent light.

The Minister said: “The less electricity we use, the less oil we have to bring in and less carbon emissions.”

Tara Timmons, general manager for ETM, said: “There’s been like $100,000 in savings [in electricity costs] since the lights were installed in April (2009).”

He added that the lights have three-year warranties.

Mr Burgess said when the cost of the new lights and the reduction in electricity cost are factored in, Government expects to break-even this year and to subsequently save money as a result of the switch.

 “The LED is the light of the future. Some countries have already said they are getting rid of all fluorescent type lights. They are going green. Fluorescent lights produce heat emissions, but there are none from an LED.

“Since we installed those LED bulbs in 2008, the technology has improved 100 per cent.

“We need to do more — not only in Government buildings — but throughout the country.”