[External] Re: 10g residential CPE

Mon Dec 28 19:30:53 UTC 2020

On 12/28/20 16:57, Mel Beckman wrote:

> It’s not just the lithium load in the environment that is of concern. 
> As early as 2018 the US EPA had collected data on the incidence of 
> so-called “hot fires” caused by lithium batteries in the waste stream. 
> So far, nobody has been killed. But it’s only a matter of time before 
> someone is, given that there are no thermal protection measures built 
> into the cells themselves, only into a functioning product. But the 
> industry has dismissed self-extinguishing batteries as too impactful 
> on weight/performance ratio.
>
> https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-03/documents/timpane_epa_li_slides312_ll_1.pdf 
> <https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2018-03/documents/timpane_epa_li_slides312_ll_1.pdf>

Certainly, poor handling as part of disposal of spent Li-Ion batteries 
is likely not well appreciated. Worse when you are dealing with 
stationery storage like residential, commercial and utility applications.

It's a terrible idea to handle Li-Ion battery disposal without 
expertise, understanding and training. The fact is that for the 
pervasiveness and proliferation of Li-Ion technology,  its safety is not 
a very well understood in many respects, with physical handling being, 
perhaps, the least appreciated.

Mark.