Solar Energy Firms Leave Waste Behind in China

[hoon]

In China, a country buckling with the breakneck pace of its industrial growth, such stories of environmental pollution are not uncommon. But the Luoyang Zhonggui High-Technology Co., here in the central plains of Henan Province near the Yellow River, stands out for one reason: It's a green energy company, producing polysilicon destined for solar energy panels sold around the world. But the byproduct of polysilicon production -- silicon tetrachloride -- is a highly toxic substance that poses environmental hazards.

"The land where you dump or bury it will be infertile. No grass or trees will grow in the place. . . . It is like dynamite -- it is poisonous, it is polluting. Human beings can never touch it," said Ren Bingyan, a professor at the School of Material Sciences at Hebei Industrial University.

washingtonpost.com

Interesting, and not something you hear of with solar.

[sparky]

I had no idea. That's quite scary.

[geodome]

silicon tetrachloride can be converted to fumed silica and hydrogen chloride in a closed loop manufacturing proccess, so there should be no need to dump silicon tetrachloride into landfill. This would not happen in the developed world - just another reason to buy your solar panels from a certified supplier. ISO 9000 and ISO 14000

[macgardener]

Scary and sad.
It seems to me that there is a worrying imbalance in the response to the environmental problems facing us. Well-meaning people are making changes they are led to believe are beneficial for the environment. In some cases it turns out these have detrimental effects elsewhere. Others put it all in the too hard basket, is it a lack of information or too much information or just overwhelming confusion about the best thing to do. Others are put off taking environmental issues seriously by what they see as the rantings of ideologically sound loonies. Some issues somehow become fashionable while other equally important issues are overlooked. People jump on the bandwagon to cash in on the situation. Some probably have good intentions and can see the win-win potential of new and growing business opportunities that are good for the environment. Others don't see anything other than the potential to profit from something that is currently trendy, and the deeper significance of what they are doing is of no importance to them.
If someone took a good look at the big picture I wonder if our progress would be compensating at all for the damage we are doing? I think we've got a long way to go before we are all heading in the right direction with the right attitude and sufficient urgency.

My family talked about installing solar panels last year but delayed making a decision as it's very expensive, the government rebates keep changing and the situation with our house is unclear. I'm glad we hadn't made a decision yet. We wouldn't have known all the right questions to ask. I would hate to think that our attempt to do something good and worthwhile could have been responsible for the poisoning of a community far far away.