Health Risks of Solar Energy

About as harmless as serin gas

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It is the belief of the common man that solar panels are harmless and possess no real means to cause physical damage. But this could not be further from the truth. Numerous safety risks are present in solar power plants that are not present in any other facility. The majority of the risks available are derived from the material that the solar panels are comprised of, the high voltage traveling through the system, the gaseous vapors flowing off equipment, and the poor quality that solar panels are now manufactured with.

Electrical Dangers

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If you have been paying attention to the solar game you will have noticed that the prices of solar panels have been declining over the past few years. This drop in solar panel prices is related to the innovation of using industrial seconds from the electronic industries to manufacture solar panels. Another development that has lowered the prices of solar panels is the explosion in production from the Asian, primarily Chinese, markets.

It is this explosion in supply from Chinese markets that have created many new risks for workers and any person within contact with the solar power plant. The new inexpensive solar panels coming out of China have quality issues in production and deteriorate at a much quicker rate than solar panels from other locations. This rapid deterioration leads to many problems in the structural integrity of the solar panel and physically results in the form of hotspots and micro-fractures in the panels. These hotspots and micro-fractures are the results of poor-quality materials and poorly performed soldering on the electrical parts. This poor soldering can cause electrical current to arc from one panel to the next causing electrocution, and the creation of hotspots on the solar panels can burn flesh. But there are other dangers to watch for that are not so evident.

Can solar panels cause cancer?

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It was the introduction of doping agents that allowed solar power to become a viable means of producing energy. But it was also the use of these doping agents that greatly changed the effects solar panels have on our body. All doping agents used in the manufacturing of solar panels are toxic, the most popular of these being cadmium telluride.

Cadmium telluride has specific chemical properties that make it especially hazardous to all life residing near solar power plants. One of the most dangerous characteristics posed by cadmium telluride is that when the substance is exposed to high temperatures it transitions from a solid into a highly carcinogenic vaporous gas that will cause permanent lung damage when exposed to life forms. Considering that gas vapors can travel several hundred feet, this means that when a fire does break out at a solar power facility all residents within that particular area will need to be evacuated to prevent them from exposure to the toxic substance.

This is merely one negative aspect of incorporating cadmium into the production of solar panels. At one time cadmium was listed as the sixth most toxic substance known to man. Not only is cadmium carcinogenic, but it causes early onset osteoporosis and physical deformities that are genetically passed down from the parent into the child. The above picture is an example of these physical deformities that come with cadmium poisoning.

What makes cadmium so problematic for the human body is that cadmium poisoning is a form of heavy metal poisoning. With all other forms of heavy metal poisoning, the human body does not have the necessary functions to purge it from the system. Thus the cadmium resides in the body and wreaks havoc on the various systems of the human body.

There is little doubt, exposure to cadmium can cause cancer. Solar panels contain cadmium and solar panels seep toxins that include cadmium. Therefore, solar panels are correlated with causing cancer.

Lead Poisoning and pollution

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Regardless of which doping agent is employed in the manufacturing of solar panels, all solar panels contain lead solder, and research has shown that lead from solder will seep out of the solar panels along with whatever toxins are also incorporated. This lead then will contaminate the groundwater supply of the surrounding area and pose great risks to all individuals living in the surrounding area. The effects of lead poisoning are heavily documented, and are much more familiar to the common man than poisoning from cadmium. So at this time, no more discussion will be spent explaining all the complications lead plays on the human body. Need less to say, it is a nasty toxin, that leads to life long suffering and eventually death.

Sulphuric Acid

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Sulphuric acid is often used in batteries and is used for the batteries to generate electricity. Any person who has taken high school chemistry understands that sulphuric acid will melt and burn through flesh if exposed to uncovered skin. Another lesser-known danger of acid-based batteries is the expelling of toxic fumes from the batteries when current travels through them. This toxic gas can cause lung damage and can lead to suffocation and death when exposed in unventilated areas.

Lithium Based Batteries

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Modern batteries no longer employ the use of an acidic base to generate an electrical current, they now rely on the special properties of lithium.

Lightning Strikes

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By nature of design solar panels are required to conduct electricity, and often the highest probability for fires to occur in solar power plants is through lightning strikes. Lightening is naturally attracted to electrically conductive materials that lead to or produce a shorter route to a grounded source. Solar power production facilities are perfect for creating conditions that encourage the probability of such an occurrence to happen. Georgia Technical University encourages all solar power production facilities to incorporate the use of lightning rods to mitigate the possibility of strikes occurring. But as of right now, this practice is not enforced and many contractors are not concerned with installing any preventative measures due to an increase in construction costs.

Flying Debris

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There are many solar farms located in geographical areas that tend to experience tornadoes and wind storms. Since most solar power plants are constructed with aluminum, and aluminum has a lower breaking point when exposed to stress than steel, this means there is a probability of increased shrapnel and a larger debris field is produced during these violent natural disasters. The debris getting thrown around in these disasters are highly toxic which makes the dangers and potential for human injury much greater than it normally would be.

Solar Toxins

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You can find more information specifically related to toxins incorporated in the manufacturing of solar panels on our Solar Panel Toxins

Links

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• Green Job Hazards: Solar Energy
• Solar Construction Safety Hazards Manual
• Preventing Worker Deaths in the Solar Industry
• Power Plant Safety
• Residents Win Battle Against Bullard Farm Solar Plant

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• Potential Dangers of Solar Panels
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• Solar EMF Hazards
• Solar Panels Start Fire
• Solar Panels Radiation Concern
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• Do power lines cause cancer?
• Clay County North Carolina Solar Statutes