The fantastic and glorious benefits of the solar power industry have been touted through years by all forms of media. However, everything is not as it appears. The picture is not always as rosy as painted. The solar power industry is taking shape on a large scale across the world with the awareness of environmental concerns and inflating conventional energy prices. Huge investments are being made in the sector, especially in developing countries like India and China, but the industry is mainly dependent on lead batteries.
Recent research findings state that these batteries used in solar power can potentially release up to 2.4 million tonnes of lead in the environment in developing countries like India and China alone.
These countries already have their fair share of lead pollution from battery production, smelting, and mining. The solar industry in these countries is still heavily dependent on batteries as the grid power system infrastructure is incompetent.
Lead pollution causes severe and critical effects on humans, such as damage to the kidneys, reproductive system, central nervous system, and heart. Many lead battery production facilities have closed down in China due to incidents of mass lead pollution.
In the coming years, the lead industry will expand along with the rise of the solar industry. The solar industries have to take steps to ensure that the lead batteries used by them are strictly following the control norms to minimize lead pollution. This lead pollution is expected to increase in all developing countries.
