The Left has long touted solar panels as a more environmentally friendly source of energy, but a new study suggests that discarded solar panels actually pose a serious risk to the environment.
The study, conducted by Environmental Progress, concluded that discarded solar panels release more toxic chemicals per unit of energy than nuclear power plants:
- Solar panels create 300 times more toxic waste per unit of energy than do nuclear power plants.
- If solar and nuclear produce the same amount of electricity over the next 25 years that nuclear produced in 2016, and the wastes are stacked on football fields, the nuclear waste would reach the height of the Leaning Tower of Pisa (52 meters), while the solar waste would reach the height of two Mt. Everests (16 km).
- In countries like China, India, and Ghana, communities living near e-waste dumps often burn the waste in order to salvage the valuable copper wires for resale. Since this process requires burning off the plastic, the resulting smoke contains toxic fumes that are carcinogenic and teratogenic (birth defect-causing) when inhaled.
The reason for this high waste is that solar panels contain lead, cadmium and chromium; the latter two are carcinogens. Cadmium, which is present in cigarette smoke, can also result in kidney problems.
Read more at:
http://www.dailywire.com/news/18051/study-discarded-solar-panels-pose-serious-aaron-bandler
