What is really happening when Satellites “burn up during re-entry”? Is there any debris left? Is it toxic? Can anyone get hurt?

Question

Apparently instead of once in a while at a predictable time/path, now satellites are going to be dropping from the sky all the time?

https://gizmodo.com/spacexs-next-gen-starlink-satellites-have-started-falli-1850299668

Has anyone verified that is safe for the planet and people below?

Almost seems like someone throwing toxic sludge into the ocean and saying “well the ocean is huge and it’s only a little toxic so no big deal” until it’s done thousands of times over and over and it’s only trivial to them because they can’t see the final damage?

In: 5

Answer 1

Toxic debris can and does end up on the ground. A Russian spy satellite [sprinkled radioactive debris across northern Canada ](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosmos_954) in 1977.