Health and environmental hazards of CdTe photovoltaic module production, use and decommissioning

Conference · Wed Feb 01 04:00:00 EST 1995

OSTI ID:10118975

Moskowitz, P D ^[1]; Steinberger, H ^[2]; Thumm, W ^[3]

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1. Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
2. Fraunhofer Institut fur Festkorpertechnologie, Munchen (Germany)
3. GSF-Institute of Ecological Chemistry, Oberschleissheim (Germany)

Health and environmental (H&E) risks presented by CdTe photovoltaic module production, use and decommissioning have been reviewed and discussed by several authors. Several H&E concerns exit. The estimated risks are based on extrapolations of toxicity, environmental mobility, and bioavailability data for other inorganic cadmium compounds. Little information, however, is available about CdTe itself. In response to the increased interest in CdTe, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has been engaged in a cooperative research program with the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), the Fraunhofer Institute for Solid State Technology (IFT), and the GSF Institute of Chemical Ecology to develop fundamental toxicological and environmental data for CdTe. This paper describes the results of these studies, and their potential implications with respect to the H&E hazards presented by CdTe module production, use and decommissioning.

• Research Organization: Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: AC02-76CH00016
• OSTI ID: 10118975
• Report Number(s): BNL--61324; CONF-941203--21; ON: DE95006688
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

14 SOLAR ENERGY
140600
143000
CADMIUM TELLURIDE SOLAR CELLS
DECOMMISSIONING
ENVIRONMENTAL EFFECTS
HEALTH AND SAFETY
HEALTH HAZARDS
PHOTOVOLTAIC POWER SYSTEMS
PRODUCTION