National Association of Safety Professionals (NASP) issued an advisory on March 3, 2026, regarding managing lithium-ion batteries in business. They recommend treating them as a ‘regulated hazard’. Their safety plan includes controlled charging, managed storage, trained employees, and a response plan built around thermal runaway realities.
Lithium-Ion Battery Incidents Are Different
Lithium-ion battery safety incidents in business are different, NASP believes, because fires can reignite after they appear safely extinguished. And also because they may release large volumes of flammable and toxic gases.
The triggers for these incidents are numerous too, NASP continues. These causes include damage, overheating, improper charging, manufacturing defects, or exposure to incompatible conditions.
It follows that a business that stores large quantities of lithium-ion batteries, faces a multiplied risk that can develop without warning. These quantities might include tools, spares, returned packs, or warehouse inventory.
Common Risk Areas in a Business
Businesses don’t need to be charging-factories to face these safety risks. Just one faulty battery may be all they need. Here are a few ‘hot spots’ where battery fires may break out:
- Popular spaces in offices and workshops with multiple charging points.
- Bulk battery storage areas where there may be damaged packs.
- Employees charging damaged batteries ‘because they still work’.
- Employees using the wrong chargers, or ‘daisy chain’ power strips’.
- Energy storage systems with inadequate spacing or ventilation.
Common Warning Signs for Businesses
Supervisors and safety representatives should check lithium-ion batteries regularly for cracked cases, swelling, bulging, or deformation. If batteries are hot, hissing, popping, or venting gas, this should trigger an emergency response.
Other warning signs include a sweet / solvent odor, or visible vapor in the air. Supervisors and safety representatives should quarantine overheating power supplies and chargers, especially where they note scorch marks or melted connectors.
More Information
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