As wildfires rage in Southern California, an unknown number of lithium-ion batteries, found in everyday devices like AirPods and Tesla Cybertrucks, are fueling the flames and releasing toxic chemicals into the air. Researchers argue that flame retardants added to these batteries may not be effective in preventing fires and could be making the situation worse by releasing harmful toxins.
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 LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES FLAME RETARDANTS TOXIC CHEMICALS ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
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