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Solar power boom fuels increase in hazardous waste sent to dumps

Associated press -- SAN FRANCISCO - Homeowners on the hunt for sparkling solar panels are lured by ads filled with images of pristine landscapes and bright sunshine, and words about the technology's benefits for the environment — and the wallet.

What customers may not know is that there's a dirtier side.

While solar is a far less polluting energy source than coal or natural gas, many panel makers are nevertheless grappling with a hazardous waste problem. Fueled partly by billions in government incentives, the industry is creating millions of solar panels each year and, in the process, millions of pounds of polluted sludge and contaminated water.

To dispose of the material, the companies must transport it by truck or rail far from their own plants to waste facilities hundreds and, in some cases, thousands o

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Submitted Feb 11, 2013 By: Italianman

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sarasotasingle Sophomore Author Sarasota Posts:201 Points:236,130 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 8:14:33 PM Ignore sarasotasingle Report Abuse Hmm..
joko0 Champion Author New Jersey Posts:1,975 Points:566,590 Joined:Oct 2008	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 2:01:07 AM Ignore joko0 Report Abuse Interesting
goldseeker Champion Author West Virginia Posts:19,550 Points:2,719,790 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 12, 2013 1:02:14 AM Ignore goldseeker Report Abuse So what. It may not be perfect, but it is better.
wshokie12 Champion Author Winston-Salem Posts:1,325 Points:217,535 Joined:Aug 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:18:04 PM Ignore wshokie12 Report Abuse Old
gocatgo Champion Author South Carolina Posts:15,653 Points:2,530,555 Joined:Apr 2006	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:17:41 PM Ignore gocatgo Report Abuse Every used lube oil is considered a hazardous material and takes special handling. The same can be said of fuel products. Nothing new here folks just move along.
judgemobile Champion Author Ohio Posts:7,575 Points:2,446,110 Joined:Nov 2005	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:14:24 PM Ignore judgemobile Report Abuse more proof government should STAY OUT of private sector.
boatfloyd Champion Author Jacksonville Posts:1,723 Points:388,950 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:12:23 PM Ignore boatfloyd Report Abuse Not good.
regout Champion Author Quebec Posts:2,955 Points:832,705 Joined:May 2010	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:11:54 PM Ignore regout Report Abuse Anything again.
tedjm1 Champion Author New York Posts:5,609 Points:800,300 Joined:Dec 2006	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:11:02 PM Ignore tedjm1 Report Abuse Huh?
moregas1966 All-Star Author Columbus Posts:705 Points:139,555 Joined:Dec 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:09:11 PM Ignore moregas1966 Report Abuse alwas some
jrschl Champion Author Louisville Posts:2,972 Points:681,740 Joined:Jun 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:08:04 PM Ignore jrschl Report Abuse Funny how to get nice, clean, green, shiny things, all of the toxic and dirty byproducts are swept under the rug. Never to be mentioned, again.
yyc2yow All-Star Author Ottawa Posts:658 Points:571,310 Joined:Dec 2009	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:07:22 PM Ignore yyc2yow Report Abuse ALWAYS SOMETHING
N5EXY Champion Author Austin Posts:5,497 Points:1,511,355 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:06:45 PM Ignore N5EXY Report Abuse And I thought that was a sonic boom or the Korean nuke test - - -
Ray_10589 Champion Author New York Posts:4,951 Points:1,183,960 Joined:May 2009	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:06:00 PM Ignore Ray_10589 Report Abuse good and bad ....
jjfisher All-Star Author Toledo Posts:547 Points:749,460 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:01:58 PM Ignore jjfisher Report Abuse What is the golden answer?
sydb7 Champion Author Atlanta Posts:3,557 Points:1,919,755 Joined:Mar 2003	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 10:00:50 PM Ignore sydb7 Report Abuse There has got to be a better way!
TA33 Champion Author Massachusetts Posts:1,492 Points:322,765 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:58:50 PM Ignore TA33 Report Abuse Every product has a downside.
69Bonne Champion Author Gary Posts:1,155 Points:474,125 Joined:Sep 2005	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:58:44 PM Ignore 69Bonne Report Abuse Nothing is easy.
ClassicWheeler All-Star Author Montgomery Posts:660 Points:309,100 Joined:Apr 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:58:30 PM Ignore ClassicWheeler Report Abuse Seems to be that we are not trying to resolve anything here. When are we going to be more serious about our situation and stop trying to short change the people and brown-nose the government?
SpankyMI Champion Author Kalamazoo Posts:2,713 Points:760,255 Joined:Jan 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:57:55 PM Ignore SpankyMI Report Abuse Not another case of unexpected consequences! When will it end?
thomas41546 Champion Author Tennessee Posts:3,768 Points:2,258,665 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:54:10 PM Ignore thomas41546 Report Abuse one step forward, two steps back
clermont40miles Champion Author Cincinnati Posts:10,576 Points:1,772,940 Joined:Apr 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:53:46 PM Ignore clermont40miles Report Abuse The greens will see nothing, hear nothing and say nothing. That is because they KNOW nothing. Green is red.
billwho All-Star Author El Paso Posts:519 Points:252,715 Joined:Jan 2010	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:52:42 PM Ignore billwho Report Abuse I must be living in a bubble. Have never heard of any toxic material connected to solar panels. How green is green?
Buddy2264 Champion Author Tampa Posts:11,659 Points:2,360,945 Joined:Oct 2005	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:50:54 PM Ignore Buddy2264 Report Abuse Might be true, but I would be more worried about all the nuclear fuel rods stored at nuclear plants with no place to recycle them, YET!
SavALot Champion Author Virginia Beach Posts:8,474 Points:1,712,585 Joined:Apr 2005	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:49:00 PM Ignore SavALot Report Abuse this stuff doesn't just disappear... out of sight out of mind is not necessarily a good thing
30mpg80 Champion Author Lexington Posts:10,035 Points:1,487,855 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:48:06 PM Ignore 30mpg80 Report Abuse "Producing solar is still significantly cleaner than fossil fuels. Energy derived from natural gas and coal-fired power plants, for example, creates more than 10 times more hazardous waste than the same energy created by a solar panel, according to Mulvaney." in the full article, not as sensational as the first few paragraphs.
suzmar Champion Author Texas Posts:2,212 Points:872,740 Joined:Jun 2006	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:46:38 PM Ignore suzmar Report Abuse Another wonderful by-product of "green" energy, just like ethanol causes more problems than it solves.
UseLessGasFolks Champion Author Iowa Posts:5,451 Points:1,296,825 Joined:Jul 2007	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:45:59 PM Ignore UseLessGasFolks Report Abuse As long as it is properly disposed of thats fine.
hemiMI Veteran Author Michigan Posts:260 Points:406,710 Joined:May 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:44:32 PM Ignore hemiMI Report Abuse Nice try.
libertyut Champion Author Utah Posts:1,350 Points:291,625 Joined:Mar 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:44:17 PM Ignore libertyut Report Abuse leave it to the liberals to make it worst then what we got.
nsdp Champion Author San Antonio Posts:1,117 Points:47,315 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:39:37 PM Ignore nsdp Report Abuse If they want to count the fuel used to haul the waste away then let's do the same for all fuels used to mine coal and bring NG to your home. NG first because it is easier. Got to FERC Form 2 for any gas pipeline and you will see that on average 15% of all natural gas (about 3 trillion cubic feet) is used for compressor fuel or is lost and unaccounted for each year. Then let's compare Western Region (Wyoming ,Montana, Colorado Utah) coal. From the ICC annual reports for railroads Western coal uses an average of 4 gallons per ton for transportation to power plants. Now going to the 10-K's of the producers you will find that they buy 1-1.5 gallons of diesel per ton mined. So at 578 million tons, the US used just under 3.6 billion gallons of diesel for extraction and shipping western coal. That figures to be about 90 million barrels of crude at a marginal cost of $110/barrel Or about $9.5 billion dollars worth of foreign crude. And they talk about solar waste. [Edited by: nsdp at 2/11/2013 11:41:04 PM EST]
teafortwo Champion Author Washington Posts:22,112 Points:1,385,965 Joined:Feb 2009	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:37:43 PM Ignore teafortwo Report Abuse This message brought to you by your friends at BP and the Oil, Gas & Coal industries .... :0\
BREW9 All-Star Author Tampa Posts:886 Points:2,912,955 Joined:Jun 2004	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:34:51 PM Ignore BREW9 Report Abuse wow
hyeglenn Champion Author Fresno Posts:1,075 Points:600,655 Joined:Apr 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:33:38 PM Ignore hyeglenn Report Abuse There is always a bad side to everthing that is good. WHAT!
JamesCalvin Champion Author Lancaster Posts:3,186 Points:519,555 Joined:Nov 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:28:35 PM Ignore JamesCalvin Report Abuse Not all that glitters is gold, apparently!
MDTDriver Champion Author California Posts:9,729 Points:2,155,620 Joined:Jul 2006	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:27:07 PM Ignore MDTDriver Report Abuse There is always a negative about any eco use!
HailstormCA Champion Author San Diego Posts:7,855 Points:1,472,020 Joined:Nov 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:27:05 PM Ignore HailstormCA Report Abuse Duh!? And they've got mercury in them thar florescent s.
wayoung56 Champion Author Alabama Posts:2,805 Points:819,310 Joined:Oct 2006	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:26:50 PM Ignore wayoung56 Report Abuse So NoBama's push for "clean" solar is actually another plot to poison the environment and kill more Americans...
lowspeed All-Star Author Akron Posts:726 Points:201,280 Joined:Aug 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:24:56 PM Ignore lowspeed Report Abuse everthings gonna have waste
blazerbob91 Champion Author Milwaukee Posts:6,145 Points:1,883,670 Joined:Aug 2005	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:23:59 PM Ignore blazerbob91 Report Abuse Thats the dirty side of solar.
agent0077 All-Star Author Colorado Posts:699 Points:481,045 Joined:Jul 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:22:55 PM Ignore agent0077 Report Abuse waste is always a problem
EvPv Champion Author Maine Posts:1,038 Points:265,700 Joined:Feb 2011	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:22:52 PM Ignore EvPv Report Abuse I do not support government backing of ANY energy source, from wind to solar to coal to oil. However..... It is interesting how far down this paragraph was: "The roughly 20-year life of a solar panel still makes it some of the cleanest energy technology currently available. Producing solar is still significantly cleaner than fossil fuels. Energy derived from natural gas and coal-fired power plants, for example, creates more than 10 times more hazardous waste than the same energy created by a solar panel, according to Mulvaney."
us4usa Champion Author Missouri Posts:5,991 Points:1,113,265 Joined:May 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:20:23 PM Ignore us4usa Report Abuse That gives Uncle Sam something new to tax, Solar Hazardous Waste???
Zackny Veteran Author New York Posts:387 Points:75,780 Joined:Jan 2013	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:18:01 PM Ignore Zackny Report Abuse ok
brprven All-Star Author Dallas Posts:654 Points:286,085 Joined:Jun 2012	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:17:57 PM Ignore brprven Report Abuse Just great
Dragnet Champion Author Arizona Posts:15,406 Points:2,908,760 Joined:Jul 2004	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:16:20 PM Ignore Dragnet Report Abuse Seems like the work of algore again.
Z51Corvette Champion Author Austin Posts:8,490 Points:1,672,145 Joined:Jan 2008	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:07:48 PM Ignore Z51Corvette Report Abuse I read this one earlier... gross! Now I have to eat, lol!
Lukus Champion Author Halifax Posts:8,288 Points:1,675,505 Joined:Nov 2007	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:07:36 PM Ignore Lukus Report Abuse OK
mfeldstein Champion Author Ottawa Posts:8,176 Points:1,931,455 Joined:Feb 2007	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:06:14 PM Ignore mfeldstein Report Abuse Complex, eh?
Lakepirate13 Veteran Author New York Posts:316 Points:47,150 Joined:Jan 2013	Message Posted: Feb 11, 2013 9:01:54 PM Ignore Lakepirate13 Report Abuse This sory must have been by an oil baron.