During the fourth weekend of March, violent hailstorms struck Houston and the surrounding counties leaving significant damage. In Fort Bend County, one of the counties surrounding the greater Houston area, a solar farm was significantly damaged by golf ball size hail.
According to ABC 13, a local news station, testing is being conducted around the solar farm. Most large solar farm panels are made with a compound known as Cadmium Telluride.
Experts are saying that nearby residents should not be concerned by the potential of toxic chemicals, as it is unlikely that it escaped from the cracked solar panels, however, the EPA or Environmental Protection Agency lists Cadmium Telluride as toxic. Their website states that it can cause kidney heart, skin, and lung problems. Ramamoothy Ramesh, a physics professor from Rice University, stated, “that it’s possible you dented the solar panel, but they have a lot of protection layers on top of that.”
CdTe or Cadmium Telluride is used to make thin film solar cells and is found in approximately 8% of all solar cells. Although the TCEQ or Texas Commission on Environmental Quality was testing the area, according to experts even if the Cadmium Telluride escaped from a dented solar farm, CdTe is water insoluble and is unlikely to leach into local water supplies.
If you or someone you love has suffered injuries or the loss of a family member due to a chemical release, contact an attorney at Abraham, Watkins, Nichols, Agosto, Aziz & Stogner by calling 713-222-7211 or call toll-free at 1-800-870-9584.