DCAWD.com

WINCHESTER, VA. - The last major GE factory making ordinary incandescent light bulbs in the United States is closing this month, marking a small, sad exit for a product and company that can trace their roots to Thomas Alva Edison's innovations in the 1870s.

The remaining 200 workers at the plant here will lose their jobs.

"Now what're we going to do?" said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful.

During the recession, political and business leaders have held out the promise that American advances, particularly in green technology, might stem the decades-long decline in U.S. manufacturing jobs. But as the lighting industry shows, even when the government pushes companies toward environmental innovations and Americans come up with them, the manufacture of the next generation technology can still end up overseas.

What made the plant here vulnerable is, in part, a 2007 energy conservation measure passed by Congress that set standards essentially banning ordinary incandescents by 2014. The law will force millions of American households to switch to more efficient bulbs.

"Now what're we going to do?" said Toby Savolainen, 49, who like many others worked for decades at the factory, making bulbs now deemed wasteful.

Side Effects of Fluorescent Light

# Fluorescent bulbs are often blamed for headaches and general eye pain in the work place. Research may indicate that these side effects are real and just the beginning of side effects that could be caused by this type of lighting. Modern advances in light bulbs are now available to give consumers several options when choosing a fluorescent bulb that won't put such a strain on their eyes.

Mental/Seizure Disorders

# Fluorescent light bulbs can be a trigger for anxiety disorders, according to healthcentral.com. This is due in part to the "unnatural" glow of fluorescent bulbs that creates a disconnect from an anxiety sufferer's sense of reality. The electricity in fluorescent bulbs cycles every 60 seconds, which impacts those that suffer from photosensitive reflex epilepsy. Seizures are caused by flashes of light or other visual stimuli, making light cycles of fluorescent bulbs problematic.

Vestibular Disorders

# Vestibular disorders affect the human center of balance (the inner ear) creating symptoms of vertigo, imbalance and dizziness among others. Fluorescent light worsens these symptoms due to its brightness and lack of warm light emission. Those experiencing symptoms of a vestibular disorder should avoid department stores and other situations where fluorescent light may be in great concentration.

Headaches and Migraines

# The power cycle, or light flicker of fluorescent bulbs using ballasts to stabilize electrical flow may cause eye pain, headaches and migraines in those prone to the fluctuation of sensory information processed by the optic nerve. Pain is reported most often in bulbs using magnetic ballasts that are an older model of fluorescent bulb. Modern ballasts are electronic and use magnets.

Raven wrote:Modern fluorescent bulbs come in a wide variety of light colors.