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Solar-panel manufacturers dumping toxic waste in China

Posted at 4:54 PM on 10 Mar 2008

Solar panels may look bright and shiny, but they have a dark underbelly: production of polysilicon for panels gives off a highly toxic byproduct called silicon tetrachloride. In China, where factories are rushing to alleviate a polysilicon shortage that's cramping the global solar-panel industry, the bubbly white liquid is often just dumped in nearby villages. "The land where you dump or bury [silicon tetrachloride] will be infertile. No grass or trees will grow in the place," says a material-sciences expert at Hebei Industrial University. "It is poisonous, it is polluting. Human beings can never touch it." While silicon tetrachloride can be recycled -- with significant investment cost, time, and energy consumption -- many Chinese factories are cutting corners, and environmental agencies seem to largely be looking the other way.

source: The Washington Post

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Comments: (8 comments)

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The ugly side of solar panels

http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2008/03/the-ugly-side-o.ht ...

"New research shows, albeit unintentional, that generating electricity with solar panels can also be a very bad idea. "

by jabailo at 6:46 PM on 10 Mar 2008

Yeah but...

...it's not like solar panels are the only things that use polysilicon. In fact, I'm pretty sure solar panels only make up a small portion of the total usage of polysilicon currently.

They were dumpin' the byproducts in China long before the solar boom.

by Tasermons Partner at 9:50 PM on 10 Mar 2008

O come on!

This is not a problem of technological feasability but of social irresponsibility. The articles I've looked at indicate that Si tetrachloride can be dealt with, it just requires a further process that is currently expensive.

If people would get their thumbs out and properly clean up their waste, this wouldn't be an issue. This isn't like nuclear energy which produces a waste no tech can deal with (that is, render less harmful) or coal energy which is actually impossible to clean up if spilled.

The headline of this story shouldn't be "Solar Power is Evil" as much as "China is cutting corners again to exploit another market".

If you continue to do what you've always done you'll continue to get what you've always got. - Yogi Berra

by Matt at 5:01 AM on 11 Mar 2008

supposed to be ironic? just business as usual.

yeah, a bit misleading. I see the irony but to the manufacturers there and anywhere there is no irony or anything special, it is a product and this is how it is made. I am not the least bit surprised or any more outraged by this than any other product coming from china. In fact this falls under the 'd'uh' category of news about the obvious and expected. I assume that this kind of practise is happening so it is only news if and when I hear otherwise.

Stop buying this crap from China. I'm not waiting around for governments to do the right thing. I'll vote with my wallet which means I buy much less overall and when I do I pay a bit more for much better quality and/or better stewardship.

by Vikingsson at 7:06 AM on 11 Mar 2008

Conservation is the Only Option

Try reading the article. It states Si tetrachloride is destined for solar cells. Supposedly, solar cells accounted for 30% of polysilicon production in 2006. I imagine it is much greater today.

Also note that it requires a lot of energy to recycle it:
"But the high investment costs and time, not to mention the enormous energy consumption required for heating the substance to more than 1800 degrees Fahrenheit for the recycling, have discouraged many factories in China from doing the same."

Also note the world shortage of Si tetrachloride. The shortages of resources needed to produce solar panels is only going to get worse.

There are no great solutions for generating energy in the quantities needed to replace fossil fuels. The solution is conservation.

by racc at 10:09 AM on 11 Mar 2008

and the kool aid is sweet

Conservation has always been the best and easiest solution but is the one that our overlords don't want us to do for the most part. "That will hurt the economy". For fsck sakes even days after 9/11 we were told to go shopping to keep the evil doers from winning. It is too late on many fronts.

I could be labeled a bad consumer or even a bad citizen because I choose to buy much less than the average person and like to keep my purchases for much longer before buying new. Solar is still out of my price range except on a small scale. But I'm not about to buy from China just to save a few bucks.

I can't make China do the right thing but I can do right by not buying their poison or drinking the Bush brand kool aid.

by Vikingsson at 11:13 AM on 11 Mar 2008

We Will Consume Less

We don't have much of a choice but to consume less. With the cost of both energy and food rising dramatically, people will have less money to buy other stuff with.

China is doing far better than us on many fronts. They are dramatically expanding high-speed rail and rapid transit. The US is far behind and getting further behind everyday with useless infrastructure that is dependent on cheap energy.

by racc at 11:42 AM on 11 Mar 2008

Something else

There is this big fuss about China,and with very good reason.China doesn't give a squat about the rest of the world.They just want to dominate the economic world and in the process alter manufacturing bases world wide.Thus,giving them more control financially world wide and then they can make even more changes.They will become entrenched like ticks and even harder to make them move in any direction.
Something that many people are unaware of is that the world and the U.S.in particular have been dumping toxic waste in Africa for decades.We do it because they are destitute,mostly,and will take whatever pays money.The waste is not sequestered it is just dumped in a hole.That does not help the water supply,or the soil,or the people and animals.The money,of course goes to the top people in government in the country and not the population in general.I mean Hey! It's only a third world country.Right!
Hell,China is dumping their toxic waste in streams and the rural countryside in their own country.People in the countryside are getting cancer of the stomach and intestinal tract because they are drinking water from streams that are polluted.Ya know the kicker?The people know that the water is polluted but they have to drink it because that is the only water available.
Quite the world we live in hey!Big Business,doesn't care about the little people,only the bottom line.It doesn't matter what country you live in.It is the same equation all over the world.

Why not ask why!?

by usandthem at 10:47 AM on 23 Mar 2008

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