Dangers Associated with Lithium-Ion Batteries

When a clean -up approach in the Los Angeles area begins, one of the largest tasks in areas that are suffering from mountain fire are many lithium -ion batteries involved in flames.

The battery supplies power to most plug -in hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles, and is used in golf carts, E -bikes, laptops, mobile phones, and wireless earphones. They can also be found in power banks that provide backup energy during the stop. More and more popular at home。

If damaged or overheated, lithium -ion batteries may ignite or explode. The remaining fever causes a chain reaction to burn the remaining fever in order to burn processes that can occur over a few days, weeks, or months in an incapacitated and natural process.

Officials have stated that Pacific Parisseed and Altadena facilities, which collectively destroyed at least 12,000 structures of Parisard and Eaton, had more electric vehicles than average.

“This is … from our estimation, it is probably the largest lithium -ion battery pickup and clean -up, and it has happened in the world history,” said the Case Commander of the Environmental Protection Agency's Parisado and Eaton Fire Cleanup. Steve Karanog said.

However, the clean -up process is complicated and consolidated.

The California Emergency Service Bureau has already dispatched a dangerous product team to find out where lithium -ion batteries and flags are posted. The EPA is referred to as a battery recovery team that supervises the efforts to collect them. CHRIS MYERS, a technical specialist in the lithium -ion battery involved in the EPA cleanup, said the collection process can be started early on Monday.

“It's dangerous because all of these batteries are not consumed by fire, so it's all dangerous now because it's damaged,” he said. Myers explained that the battery system for hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles is well protected, so even a vehicle damaged by a fire may have charged batteries.

Calanog said, “a lot of technical sophistication and care are needed,” to handle the battery. The EPA team needs to wear a flame -resistant clothing under a disposable protective suit. The mask covers the face, comes with an inserted cartridge, excludes chemical substances, or attached to the air tank. The crew blocks the operating area and stores water on the premises in case of flame.

Before you can send them to waste or recycled facilities, the collected batteries must be eliminated so that they are not kept in charge or very small. Therefore, according to Myers, the EPA may use the process developed after the 2023 Maui Wildfire. If the battery loses the charge, you can crush it with a steam roller or ship it to a special packaging facility.

Especially in California, lithium -ion batteries have been piled up after the wilderness, given the rise in the sale of hybrid vehicles and electric vehicles. In the state, 35 % of the new vehicles sold in the state will be excreted by 2026, and all new vehicles will be excreted by 2035.

In Los Angeles CountyAccording to the California Energy Committee, at least 581,000 vehicles, including plug -in hybrids and complete electric vehicles, were sold in the past 15 years. Even in Pacific Parisade alone, more than 5,500 zero emission vehicles were sold from 2010 to 2024.

“There are so many electric vehicles in this area. There are probably much more electric vehicles than in other areas,” said Adam Vangelpen, a spokeswoman at the Los Angeles Fire Department. “Many of these people also had solar roofs and solar batteries for wall power banks.”

YUZHANG LI, a professor of UCLA's chemistry and bio molecular engineering, stated that the most dangerous battery was not completely destroyed, but a partially burned car battery.

“If the electric vehicle is already burning out, I think the risk is relatively minimal because all fires have destroyed the battery,” he said.

When the authorities start a huge amount of cleaning from the fire in Southern California, the top priority that the EPA calls “phase 1” is to remove harmful waste such as asbestos, batteries, oil, paint, etc. because the material can be released. That is. Toxic smoke.

According to Calanog, it can take about six months for the entire process.

Meyers said that the battery recovery process would not slow down the timeline, but said, “The scale here is certainly a big challenge.”

Regarding the place to dispose of harmful waste, Calanog stated that EPA has not yet been determined and many sites are available.

However, Vangelpen said that many facilities that receive harmful waste are outside California, and that the amount of waste they want to accept may be limited.

You need to clear waste before the authorities clean up, that is, before debris removes. VANGERPEN has urged residents to avoid sifting the roof Rub until the property is considered safe.

“Residents should not try to remove dangerous debris,” he said. “Normal household supplies are dangerous and may bring risks.”