Latest news with #thermalRunaway
Yahoo
16-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Experts grapple with unexpected hazard in aftermath of LA wildfires: 'Just like pushing over that first domino ... it can spread'
The wildfires that swept through Los Angeles County earlier this year were tragic, but in the wreckage lay a challenge for federal environmental officials that went beyond the initial conflagration: damaged lithium-ion batteries. Fires left more than 13,500 houses and garages in ruins across the region, and once the fires were extinguished, the urgent need to manage potentially explosive batteries left in the debris was just beginning, according to an extensive report by Tech Xplore. California leads the country in EV adoption, with about five times more electric cars than any other state, which means that, along with all the batteries from household electronics and smartphones, there were plenty of oversized vehicle packs to contend with. The National Fire Protection Association said that "Perhaps no other technology is associated with such a confounding variety of hazards in one package." When these types of batteries are damaged, they can go into thermal runaway — an unstoppable reaction where cells rapidly heat up and begin to spew toxic and flammable gases. They can burn with extraordinary heat and even "reignite like a trick birthday candle days or weeks later," as the NFPA put it. "Just like pushing over that first domino ... it can spread," said Chris Myers, the co-chair of the EPA's national lithium-ion battery emergency response task force, per the report. "We were pushed into a situation where we had to figure it out," Myers added. Environmental workers recovered more than 16 times more batteries in the L.A. fires than they did when wildfires ravaged Maui in 2023, as Tech Xplore detailed. When the Biden administration was tasked with cleaning up damaged batteries, they had to develop new technology, as there were no battery recycling facilities on the island. This led them to create a new two-step method for safer remediation, in which stored power is removed and the batteries are then crushed for safer transport. First, batteries were dipped in a brine solution made of table salt and baking soda for three days to draw out their power reserves. This was followed by crushing them between a steel plate and a drum roller. What would you do if natural disasters were threatening your home? Move somewhere else Reinforce my home Nothing This is happening already Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Months later, the EPA switched to grinding machines made by an industrial fabricator in New Jersey, which were able to munch through debris eight times faster than their earlier method. After their months-long efforts, the now safely transportable debris was loaded onto trucks and sent off to the Grassy Mountain waste disposal facility in Utah, the report concluded. Lessons were learned and new systems developed to deal with this hazardous debris, which should prove useful as we move toward more sustainable methods of energy generation and storage. Companies continue to improve recycling and recovery technologies to keep ecosystems safe and reduce the need to mine new materials. Challenges remain, but these innovations pave the way toward a cleaner, safer future. Join our free newsletter for weekly updates on the latest innovations improving our lives and shaping our future, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
South China Morning Post
07-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Asia-Pacific air passengers unaware of lithium battery risks, poll finds
Despite several high-profile incidents, travellers in the Asia-Pacific area routinely bring devices powered by lithium-ion batteries on flights and still have little understanding of the potential risks, a poll has found. Advertisement The survey indicated that a quarter of respondents reported storing these batteries in their checked luggage, and alarmingly, 28 per cent admitted to having no knowledge about the associated dangers. However, 76 per cent of passengers said that an airline's battery safety measures would likely influence their decisions when booking future flights, while 69 per cent were willing to pay more for a typical domestic flight if it included enhanced battery safety protocols aimed at reducing the risk of thermal runaway events. Conducted by the standards development organisation UL Standards & Engagement (ULSE) between February 25 and March 20, the survey polled 3,478 travellers from 10 Asia-Pacific countries. It found that 88 per cent travelled with smartphones, 42 per cent with laptops, and 43 per cent with power banks. Despite the widespread presence of these devices, only 29 per cent of respondents correctly identified which personal electronic devices were powered by lithium-ion batteries, while 28 per cent confessed to knowing nothing about them. Advertisement The poll also revealed that 24 per cent of passengers reported storing spare rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in checked luggage, while 22 per cent did the same with power banks. Both practices violate aviation regulations.
