Environmental, health and safety assessment of photovoltaics

The environmental, health, and safety (E, H and S) concerns associated with the fabrication, deployment, and decommissioning of photovoltaic (PV) systems in terrestial applications are identified and assessed. Discussion is limited to crystalline silicon technologies. The primary E, H, and S concerns that arise during collector fabrication are associated with occupational exposure to materials of undetermined toxicity or to materials that are known to be hazardous, but for which process control technology may be inadequate. Stricter exposure standards are anticipated for some materials and may indicate a need for further control technology development. Minimizing electric shock hazards is a significant concern during system construction, operation and maintenance, and decommissioning

Toxic Materials Used in Thin Film Photovoltaics and Their Impacts on Environment

Photovoltaic industry has proved to be a growing and advantageous source of energy as it can be renewable, sustainable, reliable and clean. Significant improvements have been made in materials used and the production processes to reduce the costs, and to avoid possible issues induced by some hazardous materials. However, some health and environment challenges last, which must be overcome to make this technology a source of truly clean energy. This chapter provides an overview on the major environmental impacts of thin film technology associated with the use of toxic materials and the chemicals in the manufacturing processes. A summary of Environmental, Health and Safety issues associated with some thin film technologies like copper indium gallium diselenide (CIS/CIGS), cadmium telluride (CdTe) and amorphous silicon (a-Si) is done, in order to investigate potential infections induced by the environmental release of trace elements, usually coming from chemical vapor inhalation and eventually accidental spills during the manufacturing processes, on the health of humans and animals. Potential solutions will be provided to prevent some environmental issues

NCER Funded Awards in the Electronics Sector

This project was supported by the National Center for Environmental Research (NCER), a division of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The impacts of NCER funded research in the electronics sector were determined by performing qualitative and quantitative assessments of its effect on academia, industry, and the environment. This report describes how the assessments were done, specifically background research, data collection and analysis, discussion, conclusions, and recommendations for future NCER funded research

Nanoparticles in wastewaters: hazards, fate and remediation

The increasing use of nanoparticleswill inevitably result in their release into the aquatic environment and thereby cause the exposure of living organisms. Due to their larger surface area, high ratio of particle number tomass, enhanced chemical reactivity, and potential for easier penetration of cells, nanoparticles may be more toxic than larger particles of the same substance. Some researchers have been showing some relations between nanoparticles and certain diseases. However, the doses, surface shapes, material toxicity and persistence of nanoparticles may all be factors in determining harmful biological effects. In order to better evaluate their risks, potential exposure route of nanoparticles has to be taken into consideration aswell. Finally, a brief summary of techniques for nanoparticle removal inwaters andwastewaters is presented, but it seems that no treatment can absolutely protect the public from exposure to a large-scale dissemination of nanomaterials

Clean & Green: Best Practices in Photovoltaics

Outlines the impact of using toxic compounds in manufacturing solar panels compared to the effects of fossil fuels and nuclear power; best management and operations practices for protecting workers and the environment; and considerations for investors

Greening Consumer Electronics: Moving Away From Bromine and Chlorine

Presents case studies of seven electronics companies that have engineered environmental solutions that eliminate the use of most brominated and chlorinated chemicals that generate toxic materials. Discusses global standards and regulations

Nanoscale Zero Valent Iron for Environmental Cadmium Metal Treatment

In the course of developing methods to treat heavy metal contaminants in wastewater, nanoscale zerovalent iron (nZVI) has been found to be an alternative approach. This nanoparticle has been used to remove metals such as Cr6+, Cu2+, Pb2+, Ba2+, As3+, As5+, and Co2+ from aqueous solutions. Iron nanoparticles are useful for decontamination purposes due to their smaller size, surface area-to-weight ratio, and capacity to remove groundwater contaminants. The large specific surface area of the iron nanoparticles further fosters enhanced reactivity for the transformation of environmental pollutants. Because of their smaller size, nanoscale-based iron materials are much more reactive than conventional iron powders, and they can be suspended in slurry and pumped straight to the contaminated site. The ZVI is often applied for the remediation of wastewater or groundwater with several kinds of reducible contaminants, which are near its surface reduction potential. This chapter seeks to present the efficiency of zerovalent iron nanoparticles (nZVI) to remedy the cadmium ion pollution in water as well as the use of the remediation product in photoelectrochemical devices

Review of Electronic-nose Technologies and Algorithms to Detect Hazardous Chemicals in the Environment

Novel mobile electronic-nose (e-nose) devices and algorithms capable of real-time detection of industrial and municipal pollutants, released from point-sources, recently have been developed by scientists worldwide that are useful for monitoring specific environmental-pollutant levels for enforcement and implementation of effective pollution-abatement programs. E-nose devices are ideal instruments for measuring and monitoring carbon and greenhouse-gas emissions due to their sensitivity to a wide diversity of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). A large number of e-nose instrument types, based on a wide diversity of technologies and operational mechanisms, are available to monitor gaseous and particulate pollutants released into the atmosphere, or liquid and dissolved organic pollutants released into municipal and industrial waste-water systems. Some commonly used e-nose technologies include conducting polymers (CP), metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS), quartz crystal microbalance (QCM), and surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensors. Potential pollution-detection applications of e-noses range from atmospheric pollutant (gas-leak) detection of carbon emissions from biofuel production plants and fossil-fuel production sources in the oil and gas industry to VOC-releases from numerous other industries. E-nose technologies are potentially capable of monitoring all phases of industrial manufacturing processes to minimize production of pollutants and maintain efficient, clean production lines. E-nose devices are also useful in designing more environmentallyfriendly