Toxicity evaluation and environmental risk assessment of hazardous materials for photovoltaic panels in Italy

The rapid expansion of photovoltaic (PV) systems is generating increasing volumes of end-of-life (EoL) modules, raising concerns about hazardous material release and environmental risk. This study evaluates crystalline silicon (c-Si) PV waste in Italy using an integrated approach combining inductively coupled plasma (ICP) analysis, EN 12457–2 leaching tests, and screening-level risk assessment based on predicted environmental concentration (PEC) and hazard quotient (HQ). ICP results showed that Ag (∼515 mg kg⁻¹), Al (∼178 mg kg⁻¹), and Zn (∼148 mg kg⁻¹) dominate the metal inventory, while Pb (∼18.09 mg kg⁻¹), although present at lower levels, remains environmentally critical. Leaching tests indicated limited mobility of regulated metals under near-neutral conditions, with Pb (0.025 mg kg⁻¹), Cu (0.315 mg kg⁻¹), and Zn (0.410 mg kg⁻¹) well below European Union landfill acceptance criteria. Corresponding HQ values were below unity (HQ < 1), indicating low environmental risk at the module level and confirming that risk is governed by metal mobility rather than total concentration. However, when scaled to projected PV waste generation in Italy (∼4.52 million tonnes by 2050), even low release rates may result in cumulative environmental loading. These findings highlight the need to complement compliance-based evaluation with system-level risk assessment and support the development of recycling-oriented strategies to ensure safe and sustainable PV waste management.