Heavy metal waste is making farmland unusable

It wasn’t long ago, we were all told to “go green” and save the environment by investing in solar panels. Rapid investment in solar energy infrastructure ignored the hidden environmental cost that comes from the manufacture and eventually the waste generated by broken or outdated solar components.

Right now, the solar energy industry is touting a breakthrough that promises to revolutionize clean power generation, but beneath the glossy headlines about efficiency gains and waste reduction lies a secret. Researchers at Oregon State University have published findings in the journal Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells showing that CIGS solar devices – composed of copper, indium, gallium, and selenium – can now be manufactured using inkjet technology, drastically decreasing waste and significantly improving efficiency. But while the industry celebrates this innovation, the uncomfortable reality is that solar panels, including these new CIGS devices, are producing tons heavy metals and toxic waste that threatens human health and the environment.

Key points:

• CIGS solar technology reduces manufacturing waste and improves efficiency through inkjet production.
• However, solar panels contain highly toxic chemicals including cadmium telluride, copper indium selenide, and lead.
• Studies on rats show these chemicals cause lung inflammation, fibrosis, and abnormal growths.
• Silicon tetrachloride, a byproduct of crystalline silicon production, kills plants and animals.
• Toxic chemicals enter the environment during manufacturing and disposal of solar panels.

The breakthrough that changes nothing about the toxicity problem

Chih-hung Chang, a professor at Oregon State University’s School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, announced the development with enthusiasm that masks a deeper concern. “This is a promising development that could greatly expand our options in the field of solar energy,” Chang said in the study. “Until now, it has not been possible to manufacture functional CIGS solar devices with inkjet technology.”

The innovation does reduce waste during production and improves how solar cells perform. But the study, published in Solar Energy Materials and Solar Cells, focuses entirely on manufacturing efficiency while ignoring the elephant in the room. These CIGS devices still contain copper, indium, gallium, and selenium—elements that when combined form compounds with documented toxic effects on living tissue.

According to cancer biologist David H. Nguyen, the toxic chemicals in solar panels include cadmium telluride, copper indium selenide, cadmium gallium diselenide, copper indium gallium diselenide, hexafluoroethane, lead, and polyvinyl fluoride. Silicon tetrachloride, a byproduct of producing crystalline silicon, is also highly toxic. These chemicals are a problem at the beginning of a solar panel’s life during construction and at the end of its life when it is disposed of. These two intervals are times when the toxic chemicals can enter into the environment.

Animal studies reveal pulmonary devastation

The Journal of Occupational Health published a study by Akiyo Tanaka and colleagues that examined the pulmonary toxicity of copper indium gallium diselenide in rats. The researchers injected CIGS particles into the airways of rats three times a week for one week, then examined lung tissue for up to three weeks afterward. The scientists used low, moderate and high doses of CIGS. All doses resulted in lungs that had spots that were inflamed, meaning they were damaged. Lungs also had spots that produced excessive fluid. These spots worsened as time went on after the one week of exposure.

The study concluded bluntly: “The present results clearly demonstrate that CIGS particles caused subacute pulmonary toxicity and that dissolution of CIGS particles in the lung was considerably slow when repeated intratracheal instillations were given to rats.”

Another study published in Toxicology and Applied Pharmacology by Daniel L. Morgan and colleagues compared the toxicity of copper gallium diselenide, copper indium diselenide, and cadmium telluride in rats. The results were alarming. Inflammatory lesions in the lungs consisting of an influx of macrophages, lymphocytes, and PMNs were most severe in cadmium telluride treated rats. Pulmonary interstitial fibrosis was observed in cadmium telluride treated rats at all time points. The study concluded that “CdTe presents the greatest potential health risk because it causes severe pulmonary inflammation and fibrosis and because it is readily absorbed from the lung may potentially cause extrapulmonary toxicity.”

The same study showed that moderate to high doses of inhaled copper indium selenide increased the weight of a rat’s lungs and increased lung fibrosis. Lungs exposed to CIS produced high amounts of fluid. Another study of CIS on rats revealed that inhaling CIS caused rats to develop abnormal growths in their lungs.

The global waste crisis nobody wants to discuss

The toxic chemicals in solar panels are not just a laboratory concern. They are being deployed across millions of acres worldwide. Solar on farmland has the potential to make farmland unusable. When solar panels are mounted over large spaces of land mass, they are producing not only energy but tons of toxic waste containing cadmium telluride, copper indium selenide, and lead.

The production of crystalline silicon involves a byproduct called silicon tetrachloride. Silicon tetrachloride is highly toxic, killing plants and animals. Such environmental pollutants, which harm people, are a major problem for people in China and other countries. Those countries mass produce clean energy solar panels but do not regulate how toxic waste is dumped into the environment. The country’s inhabitants often pay the price.

The industry wants consumers to believe that these new CIGS devices represent a clean energy solution. But clean energy cannot be defined solely by what comes out of a solar panel. It must also account for what goes into the panel and what remains when the panel dies. The Oregon State University study may have reduced waste in manufacturing, but it has not eliminated the fundamental toxicity of the materials themselves.

The question remains whether any solar technology can truly be called clean when it relies on materials that cause lung inflammation, fibrosis, and abnormal growths in living tissue.

Sources include:

X.com

ScienceDirect.com

Pubmed.gov