Open AccessUnderstanding and managing health and environmental risks of CIS, CGS, and CdTe photovoltaic module production and use: A workshop
Author(s) -
P.D. Moskowitz,
Ken Zweibel,
M. Dephillips
Publication year - 1994
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Reports
DOI - 10.2172/29441
Subject(s) - nuclear decommissioning , national laboratory , renewable energy , photovoltaic system , production (economics) , cadmium telluride photovoltaics , environmental science , engineering , waste management , nanotechnology , materials science , engineering physics , electrical engineering , economics , macroeconomics
Environmental, health and safety (EH&S) risks presented by CIS, CGS and CdTe photovoltaic module production, use and decommissioning have been reviewed and discussed by several authors. Several EH&S concerns exit. The estimated EH&S risks are based on extrapolations of toxicity, environmental mobility, and bioavailability data for other related inorganic compounds. Sparse data, however, are available for CIS, CGS or CdTe. In response to the increased interest in these materials, Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) has been engaged in a cooperative research program with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the Fraunhofer Institute for Solid State Technology (IFT), the Institute of Ecotoxicity of the GSF Forschungszentrum fair Umwelt und Gesundheit, and the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) to develop fundamental toxicological and environmental data for these three compounds. This workshop report describes the results of these studies and describes their potential implications with respect to the EH&S risks presented by CIS, CGS, and CdTe module production, use and decommissioning