Safety—a neglected issue when introducing solid biomass fuel in thermal power plants? Some evidence of an emerging risk

ABSTRACT: The paper examines recent evidence from Denmark and abroad with climate change projects that aim to reduce global carbon dioxide emissions by converting coal fired thermal power plants to solid biomass fuel. The paper argues that projects appear to be pursued narrow-mindedly with insufficient attention paid to safety and points to evidence of media-shifting-that the ‘resolution’ of a problem within the environmental domain creates a new problem in the workplace safety domain. The paper argues that biomass pellets qualify as an emerging risk for which proper control strategies have yet to be developed.