Bans
The use of mercury vapor lamps for lighting purposes will be banned in the EU in 2015. As this ban is designed to phase out less efficient lamps it does not affect the use of mercury in compact fluorescent lamp nor the use of mercury lamps for purposes other than lighting. In the USA, ballasts and fixtures were banned in 2008. Because of this, several manufacturers have begun selling replacement compact fluorescent lamps for mercury vapor fixtures, which do not require modifications to the existing fixture.
Read more about this topic: Mercury-vapor Lamp