As wildfires rage in California, researchers warn that flame retardants added to lithium-ion batteries, found in everything from iPhones to electric vehicles, may be ineffective in stopping fires and could release harmful toxins into the air. The study published in Environmental Science & Technology highlights the dangers of these chemicals, which may not significantly slow down battery fires and could contribute to the toxic smoke produced during wildfires.
ArticleBody:As wildfires devastated communities in southern California over the past three weeks, an unknown number of highly combustible lithium-ion batteries found in everything from Apple AirPods to Tesla Cybertrucks were engulfed in flames and released dangerous chemical pollutants into the air. Many batteries, particularly in E-Bikes and other products with plastic recharge battery enclosures, have flame retardants added to their outer coatings in an effort to limit their flammability.
“When you have a wildfire that goes over an urban area, there's just a whole wide mixture of things that are burning,” Jahl said. “The battery enclosures and all the plastic in people's homes, all of that can get mixed into that terrible plume of wildfire smoke.” Ubiquitous batteries are making natural disasters even tougher to fight The sheer amount and growing size of lithium-ion batteries used everyday by consumers are making already deadly natural disaster events more complex.
WILDFIRES BATTERIES FLAME RETARDANTS TOXIC CHEMICALS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Are Your Plastic Kitchen Utensils Harmless?A recent study on the presence of flame retardants in recycled plastic kitchen utensils sparked concern. While a mathematical error in the initial study was corrected, the overall conclusion remains: recycled plastic utensils contain flame retardants. Experts recommend exploring safer alternatives like wood, metal, or silicone.
Read more »
Study Finds Black Utensils Contain Cancer-Causing Chemicals, Then Issues CorrectionA study from Vrije Universiteit warned people to avoid black utensils due to high levels of cancer-causing flame retardants, but the study was later corrected due to a mathematical error. The original study claimed that daily intake of these chemicals from contaminated utensils could approach the U.S. reference dose, but the correction states that the intake remains significantly lower. While the authors apologize for the error, they maintain that the overall conclusion of the study – that black plastic utensils contain concerning levels of flame retardants – remains valid.
Read more »
Pink Fire Retardants Used in California, Alaska Battles Powerful Storms, and MoreThis news article covers a range of current events, including the use of pink fire retardants in California wildfires, power outages in Alaska caused by a powerful storm, the emergence of scammers during disasters, the closure of a Colorado apartment complex linked to a Venezuelan gang, Virginia Governor Youngkin's legislative agenda, the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, and other notable stories.
Read more »
New Research Links Wildfire Retardants to Dangerous Heavy Metal PollutionFearless Independent Journalism
Read more »
Should you throw away your black plastic cooking utensils? Experts weigh inA recent study suggested that black plastic kitchen tools are made from recycled electronic materials that may contain harmful flame retardants.
Read more »
Pink flame retardants are being used to slow California fires. What do we know about them?Aircraft battling fires raging through the Los Angeles area are dropping more than water: Hundreds of thousands of gallons of hot-pink fire suppressant have been dumped ahead of the flames in a desperate effort to stop them before they destroy more neighborhoods.
Read more »