Baumgart André, Haluza Daniela, Prohaska Thomas, Trimmel Simone, Pitha Ulrike, Irrgeher Johanna, Wiedenhofer Dominik
Institute of Social Ecology University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna Vienna Austria.
Department for Environmental Health, Center for Public Health Medical University of Vienna Vienna Austria.
J Ind Ecol. 2024 Dec;28(6):1857-1870. doi: 10.1111/jiec.13571. Epub 2024 Oct 16.
The rollout of electric vehicles and photovoltaic panels is essential to mitigate climate change. However, they depend on technology-critical elements (TCEs), which can be harmful to human health and whose use is rapidly expanding, while recycling is lacking. While mining has received substantial attention, in-use dissipation in urban areas has so far not been assessed, for example, corrosion and abrasion of vehicle components and weather-related effects affecting thin-film photovoltaic panels. Therefore, the question arises to which extent TCEs dissipate during use and which potential non-occupational human health impacts could occur. We assessed the available information on urban in-use dissipation and human health concerns and conducted exploratory modeling of in-use technology stocks, in- and outflows, and in-use dissipation of neodymium, dysprosium, lanthanum, praseodymium, cerium, gallium, germanium, and tellurium contained in 21 vehicle and renewable energy technologies, for Vienna, Austria. In prospective scenarios, TCE dynamics in a trend-continuation vis à vis official city policy plans and a more ambitious transition scenario were then assessed. We find that electrifying the vehicle fleet without demand-reduction is the main driver of TCE consumption, effectively doubling cumulative end-of-life outflows to 3,073 [2,452-3,966] t and cumulative in-use dissipation to 9.3 [5.2-15.7] t by the year 2060. Sufficiency-based measures could reduce demand and in-use dissipation well below levels with continued trends, thus highlighting the need to combine decarbonization with demand-reducing measures. These results help assess potential future in-use dissipation dynamics and inform discussions about potential public health hazards associated with exposure to TCEs accumulating in the urban environment.
电动汽车和光伏板的推广对于缓解气候变化至关重要。然而，它们依赖于技术关键元素（TCEs），这些元素可能对人体健康有害，其使用正在迅速扩大，但回收利用却很缺乏。虽然采矿受到了大量关注，但城市地区的使用过程中的耗散情况迄今尚未得到评估，例如车辆部件的腐蚀和磨损以及影响薄膜光伏板的与天气相关的影响。因此，问题在于TCEs在使用过程中会在多大程度上耗散，以及可能会发生哪些潜在的非职业性人体健康影响。我们评估了有关城市使用过程中耗散和人体健康问题的现有信息，并对奥地利维也纳21种车辆和可再生能源技术中所含的钕、镝、镧、镨、铈、镓、锗和碲的使用过程中的技术存量、流入和流出以及使用过程中的耗散进行了探索性建模。在前瞻性情景中，然后评估了相对于官方城市政策计划的趋势延续和更雄心勃勃的转型情景下的TCE动态。我们发现，在不减少需求的情况下使车辆车队电动化是TCE消费的主要驱动力，到2060年，有效使累积报废流出量增加一倍，达到3073[2452 - 3966]吨，累积使用过程中的耗散量达到9.3[5.2 - 15.7]吨。基于充足性的措施可以将需求和使用过程中的耗散量大幅降低到持续趋势下的水平以下，从而突出了将脱碳与减少需求措施相结合的必要性。这些结果有助于评估未来潜在的使用过程中的耗散动态，并为有关与城市环境中积累的TCEs接触相关的潜在公共健康危害的讨论提供信息。
