ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT OVERVIEW A. R. Valentino Argonne National Laboratory INTRODUCTION For the Concept Development and Evaluation Phase (CDEP) of the Satellite Power System (SPS) Program, the environmental assessment program component has as its objectives: • to identify the environmental issues associated with the SPS Reference System;1 • to prepare a preliminary assessment based on existing data; • to suggest mitigating strategies and provide environmental data and guidance to other components of the program as required; • to plan long-range research to reduce the uncertainty in the preliminary assessment; • to initiate research on particularly sensitive issues. The key environmental issues associated with the satellite power system concern human health and safety, ecosystems, climate, and interaction with electromagnetic systems. Five tasks have been established to address these issues: Task 1 Microwave Health and Ecological Effects Task 2 Nonmicrowave Health and Ecological Effects Task 3 Atmospheric Effects Task 4 Effects on Communication Systems due to Ionospheric Di sturbance Task 5 Electromagnetic Compatibility In Task 1 the potential effects of microwave energy on SPS workers, the general public, and ecosystems are evaluated. Other possible health and ecological impacts of the satellite power system are examined in Task 2, including the effects of the space transportation system, ionizing radiation in space, occupational risks due to manufacturing, and air and water pollution. Task 3 comprises characterization of potential atmospheric disturbances due to the SPS and assesses climatic impacts, including the effects of rocket effluents on the atmosphere. The impacts of ionospheric disturbances (caused by microwave heating and space-vehicle effluents) on communications systems which use the ionosphere for radio wave propagation are evaluated in Task 4 and in part in Task 3. The direct effects of the microwave power transmission system on communication and other electromagnetic systems are addressed in Task 5. These include direct and scattered power effects, power at harmonic frequencies, and spurious power sources. Specific environmental issues have been identified for each of the five tasks and a preliminary assessment has been performed based on
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