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Health and safety considerations in solar and biomass deployment. A report on aspects of the TASE project

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5720428

As an element of the Technology Assessment of Solar Energy, the fuel requirements for biomass energy systems and the material requirements for solar energy systems were developed for high and low growth scenarios. The low growth scenario projected 3 quads each for biomass and solar systems (1 quad = 10/sup 15/ Btu); the high growth scenario projected 5.7 quads for biomass and 8.5 quads for solar energy, all for the year 2000. This paper presents general conclusions and supporting data regarding public and occupational health and safety aspects of such incremental growth. It is shown that uncontrolled biomass combustion and, in particular, use of residential firewood, present risks that should be considered in developing energy policies that would encourage these technologies. In contrast, no extraordinary or unique hazards were found in assessing solar technologies.

Research Organization:
Brookhaven National Lab., Upton, NY (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
AC02-76CH00016
OSTI ID:
5720428
Report Number(s):
BNL-33613; ON: DE83018289
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English