Health and Safety Issues of New Energy Technologies

Abstract

The demand for electricity is growing, and the generation of electricity is being transformed as renewable sources are increasingly replacing burning of fossil fuels to reduce emission of greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Solar electric and wind‐generated power are two of the fastest‐growing renewable sources, while other technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells are also being adopted. Microgrids are feasible to better distribute renewable generation for smaller communities. But electricity storage at night must be used to take advantage of daytime generation. Storage with lead‐acid batteries has been matched and surpassed by batteries with higher energy densities and other desirable characteristics, such as lithium‐ion and vanadium redox flow batteries. These new energy technologies provide benefits but also pose chemical and other hazards during steps of their life cycles. Industrial hygienists and others are being challenged to understand and manage risks of new energy technologies that can affect workers and members of the communities. This chapter provides a basic introduction to these technologies to assist professionals in anticipating, recognizing, evaluating, and controlling the potential health and safety risks. For this quickly evolving field, it is important to review in depth available references and stay abreast of risk assessment, engineering, policy, and management developments affecting new energy technologies.