Big Apple mayor Eric Adams is mad as a rattle snake on a hot tin roof, concerning what CBS New York refers to as bootleg lithium batteries. And no wonder, with over 220 lithium-ion battery fires in 2022, which caused 147 injuries, and 6 fatalities in the city. Adams just signed new regulations outlawing the pirate lithium-ion battery business. And he gave e-bike and e-scooter manufacturers and sellers just 180 days to get in line.
More About the Crisis that Sparked a Law
CBS New York reviews the history leading up to this, as “a red-hot and deadly crisis and the city is fighting back”. The mayor designed the new regulations to stop fires breaking out in lithium-ion-powered e-scooters and other two-wheelers. “We are super charging safety for our e-bikes and e-scooters,” the Mayor explains.
Now we’ve known for a while that lithium-ion technology should be safe if done correctly. Although it seems the lack of regulation created ‘a happy hunting ground’ for suppliers of pirate lithium-ion battery stock. Apparently, there’s been no single benchmark of quality until now. But that, it seems is about to stop.
UL Certification Underpins Pirate Lithium-ion Battery Ban
An apartment block in the Allerton section of the Bronx tells a sad tale. A boarded-up top-floor apartment with blackened windows marks the spot where a 64-year-old man died, while charging an e-bike overnight as far as we can make out. Now we’re not saying that particular fire involved a pirate lithium-ion battery. Although it did draw a line in the ash.
Big Apple mayor Eric Adams has made up his mind. There will be no such thing as second-hand lithium-ion batteries on his beat in future. And all new ones must have a seal of approval from Underwriter Laboratories (UL) 180 days from now. This should cost suppliers a princely 10 cents per battery. That seems a small price to pay for greater community safety.
More Information
Reducing the Risks of Lithium-ion Batteries
Two Reasons Why Lithium-Ion Batteries Fail
Preview Image: Remains of Electric Scooter
