HEALTH AND SAFETY: PRELIMINARY COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE SATELLITE POWER SYSTEM (SPS) AND OTHER ENERGY ALTERNATIVES
L.J. Habegger, J.R. Gasper, C.D. Brown · 1980
Government recognized potential health risks from large-scale microwave power systems four decades ago.
Plain English Summary
This 1980 government report examined health and safety implications of satellite power systems (SPS) compared to other energy alternatives. The study focused on microwave power transmission aspects of space-based solar power, evaluating potential health risks alongside conventional energy sources. This early assessment helped establish baseline safety considerations for large-scale microwave power beaming systems.
Why This Matters
This government assessment represents one of the earliest systematic evaluations of health risks from satellite power systems, particularly the microwave power transmission component that would beam energy from space to Earth. The timing is significant - 1980 was when space-based solar power was seriously considered as a solution to energy crises, requiring honest evaluation of microwave exposure risks to populations below transmission paths.
What makes this study particularly relevant today is how it anticipated concerns we now face with 5G and other wireless infrastructure. The satellite power system concept involved continuous microwave beaming at power levels far exceeding today's cell towers, yet the health assessment methodology established here influences how we evaluate EMF risks from emerging technologies. The reality is that government agencies have been aware of potential microwave health impacts for decades, yet public awareness remains limited.
Finding
When the systems are compared directly by total quantifiable deaths per year, systems in a more advanced stage of development generally exhibit higher impact or risk levels. The usefulness of this straightforward comparison, however, is limited by the uncertainties of poorly quantified or unquantified impacts. The quantified impacts of the terrestrial photovoltaic system and the satellite power system are more uncertain than those of the coal and light water reactor systems.
In their words
“When the systems are compared directly by total quantifiable deaths per year, systems in a more advanced stage of development generally exhibit higher impact or risk levels. The usefulness of this straightforward comparison, however, is limited by the uncertainties of poorly quantified or unquantified impacts. The quantified impacts of the terrestrial photovoltaic system and the satellite power system are more uncertain than those of the coal and light water reactor systems.”
Exposure Information
Specific exposure levels were not quantified in this study.
Study Details
To compare the health and safety risks of a fission power system with fuel reprocessing; a combined-cycle coal power system with a low-Btu gasifier and open-cycle gas turbine; a central-station, terrestrial, solar photovoltaic power system; the satellite power system, and a first-generation fusion system.
The assessment approach consists of (1) the identification of health and safety issues in each phase...
Table 1 summarizes the results of this evaluation in terms of expected deaths per year associated wi...
The usefulness of straightforward comparison of quantifiable impacts is limited by the uncertainties of poorly quantified or unquantified impacts. The terrestrial photovoltaic system and satellite power system have higher uncertainty in their quantified impacts compared to coal and light water reactor systems. The SPS and fusion systems have the lowest level of quantifiable impacts but the largest number of unquantifiable issues.
Show BibTeX
@article{health_and_safety_preliminary_comparative_assessment_of_the_satellite_power_syst_g7207,
author = {L.J. Habegger and J.R. Gasper and C.D. Brown},
title = {HEALTH AND SAFETY: PRELIMINARY COMPARATIVE ASSESSMENT OF THE SATELLITE POWER SYSTEM (SPS) AND OTHER ENERGY ALTERNATIVES},
year = {1980},
}