The Greens need to reveal their plan for dangerous damaged solar panels, says Hanson
MEDIA RELEASE
The Greens Party needs to reveal its plans to solve the side-effects of the green agenda, as heavy metals leaching from solar panels damaged by hail are now a potential threat to water supplies, One Nation senator Pauline Hanson said.
Solar panels, which can contain the dangerous heavy metal Cadmium Telluride, are among household and business items smashed during the severe hail storms – particularly on the Sunshine Coast where some locals reported stones as big as cricket balls.
“It’s all well and good for the Greens to push an agenda for renewable energy, but they fail to provide any solutions for when things go bad, like we are seeing with the solar panels in the ferocious storms on the Sunshine Coast and parts of Brisbane,” Senator Hanson said.
“Cadmium is a dangerous heavy metal – it can be toxic if swallowed or breathed in – and the Greens seem to conveniently ignore that fact when solar panels are smashed and these poisons can escape.”
Senator Hanson also raised the concern that prime agricultural land in Queensland was making way for solar farms – including a five-million panel project in Kilcoy, as well as farms near Warwick and land at Collinsville.
“It’s a concern that farmers are stopped from clearing land so they can grow crops, but governments will allow companies to come in and cover those fertile sites with thousands of solar panels that don’t seem to live up to the hype,” Senator Hanson said.
“Not only do we compromise our ability to grow food, but any damage to those panels could risk heavy metal contamination of the soils and waterways, so there’ll be no going back.”
“What do the Greens suggest we do when any of these glass panels crack and the poisons leach out? Do they have solutions to the contamination of household and business water tanks, our waterways, and our farmland?”
Senator Hanson said panels also posed serious disposal challenges when they came to the end of their useful life.
“These are not easy items to throw away. They are not suitable for general landfill due to these poisons,” she said.
Storm warnings were also issued on the weekend for near Rockhampton, Moreton Bay and parts of Brisbane.
Poisoning from Cadmium Telluride can cause various reactions, from basic flu-like symptoms through to breathing problems, and kidney and liver complications. Alternate silicon-based solar panels have similar issues with lead leaching, although cadmium is suggested to be 10 times more hazardous than Lead.
“The renewable and sustainable power mantra is unreliable and has too many holes in it, and the potential leaking cadmium issue has further highlighted that shortcoming,” Senator Hanson said.
“The Greens need to be more proactive in addressing the problems surrounding their obsession with so-called green energy, because sometimes in the long run it’s not that green at all.
“Coal-fired power is still the cheapest, the most reliable, and really the environmentally safest source of power, and until we face the facts on renewables, or find some magic improvements, it remains the best option for Australia.”
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