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Panels leach lead into wells

Narrative dossier · Health & Safety Fears · 31 instances captured this month

8
All narratives

“Solar panel coatings leach lead and cadmium into well water and garden soil.”

Health & Safety FearsFalseFirst seen August 11, 2022·Originated with Citizens for Responsible Energy

The highest-emotion claim in the catalog because it targets private wells and children's gardens. Almost always paired with a photo of a cracked panel.

31instances this month+27%

Instances this month

31

+27% month over month

Counties affected

8

Top: Yates County (6 items)

Repeaters identified

4

2 organizations · 2 individuals

Cited rebuttal sources

3

Rebuttal published to counter-measures

Factual Rebuttal(3 cited sources)The verified response used by the counter-measures team, with the primary sources it rests on.The verified response used by the counter-measures team, with the primary sources it rests on.

Verified response

The crystalline-silicon modules used in every NYS utility-scale array contain no cadmium and no free lead — lead appears only in solder alloys, fully encapsulated between tempered glass and a polymer backsheet. EPA toxicity characteristic leaching procedure testing of crushed c-Si modules passes the hazardous-waste threshold. Two NYSDOH well-monitoring programs at operating arrays have found no exceedance of any drinking-water standard.

Cited sources

  1. 1TCLP results for crystalline-silicon PV modulesUS EPA / NREL joint review·2022Crushed c-Si modules pass the RCRA toxicity threshold for lead; cadmium not detected in c-Si construction.
  2. 2Groundwater monitoring at operating solar sitesNYS Dept. of Health, Bureau of Water Supply Protection·2024No exceedance of lead, cadmium, or antimony MCLs in 46 sampling events across 9 arrays.
  3. 3Health and safety impacts of solar photovoltaicsNC State Clean Energy Technology Center·2023Documents encapsulation and finds leaching risk negligible even for damaged modules under rainfall conditions.

Propagation Timeline(6 events)How the claim entered the New York record and moved between channels, hearings, and local legislation.How the claim entered the New York record and moved between channels, hearings, and local legislation.

  1. Aug 11, 2022OriginClaim introduced with a cracked-panel photoHandout at a Yates County planning board meeting shows a broken module captioned “this is what leaches.”
  2. Nov 29, 2022AmplificationMerged with cadmium telluride confusionSpeakers begin citing CdTe thin-film hazard data for projects using c-Si modules.
  3. May 16, 2023MediaGrange bulletin reprints itTwo county grange newsletters carry a version aimed at well owners and vegetable growers.
  4. Oct 3, 2023HearingDrives a well-testing demand at hearingWilton board asked to require pre- and post-construction testing of 140 private wells.
  5. Feb 27, 2024RebuttalNYSDOH monitoring results released46 sampling events across nine arrays show no MCL exceedance; results posted to the county site.
  6. May 18, 2024AmplificationClaim persists despite resultsNine new instances captured after publication, six of them reposts of the original 2022 handout image.

Who Repeated It(4)Organizations and individuals recorded repeating this claim in hearings, filings, or monitored channels.Organizations and individuals recorded repeating this claim in hearings, filings, or monitored channels.

Actor inventory
  • Citizens for Responsible EnergyFront group · originator15repeats
  • Stop Sullivan SolarLocal group · image reposts7repeats
  • Dr. Alan ReddickLaundered Academic · retired toxicologist11repeats
  • Dale FerraroMercenary · itinerant intervenor6repeats

Deployed Against(2 projects)Projects where this claim appeared in the hearing record or in monitored local channels.Projects where this claim appeared in the hearing record or in monitored local channels.

All projects
Wilton Solar ProjectSaratoga CountyOpen
Silver Creek SolarChautauqua CountyOpen

Captured excerpt

“Every one of those panels has lead in it. First hard hail we get, it's in the water table and it's in my grandkids' garden.”

WGVA 1240 AM — morning call-in·May 28, 2024

Spread by County(8)Captured items for this narrative by county. Hover the map for county detail.Captured items for this narrative by county. Hover the map for county detail.

  • Yates6
  • Saratoga5
  • Seneca4
  • Cayuga4
  • Chautauqua4

Counter-Messaging Kit(3 audiences)Ready-to-deploy responses tailored per audience, with the local messenger best positioned to deliver each one.Ready-to-deploy responses tailored per audience, with the local messenger best positioned to deliver each one.

Full playbook

Talking point · Town board

Ask which module chemistry the applicant is using

Every utility-scale array in New York uses crystalline silicon, which contains no cadmium. The hazard data being read into your record is from a different technology. NYSDOH has 46 sampling events at nine operating arrays with no exceedance.

Best messengerCounty health department sanitarian