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Podcasts Take Two
The toxic side of solar energy
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Feb 19, 2013
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The toxic side of solar energy
Solar power is often hailed as one of the cleanest available sources of energy, but that claim may not be entirely true.
Photovoltaic cells are displayed on an assembly line at MPO Energy plant in Averton, western France, on January 7, 2013.
Photovoltaic cells are displayed on an assembly line at MPO Energy plant in Averton, western France, on January 7, 2013.
(
AFP/AFP/Getty Images
)

Solar power is often hailed as one of the cleanest available sources of energy, but that claim may not be entirely true.

Solar power is often hailed as one of the cleanest available sources of energy, but that claim may not be entirely true.

Numbers provided by the California Department of Toxic Substances Control show that solar panel manufacturers in the state produced more than 46-million pounds of hazardous waste between 2007 and 2011.

For more on this, we're joined now by Dustin Mulvaney, a San Jose State professor who studies waste created by solar industry.