It took a while for baby boomers to finally settle down to wearing seat belts in cars, and life jackets on small pleasure craft. Some members of the new gen are still getting their minds around these, but they now have to buckle down to safe loose battery storage too. The Fagen Wasanni blog warned this is no laughing matter, after a friend’s house apparently caught fire.
What a Lack of Safe Loose Battery Storage Can Do
Even a spent battery contains sufficient energy to short circuit and cause a fire. Nine-volt ones have the greatest potential, because their terminals are on the same side. The Fagen Wasanni writer’s friend overlooked the basics of safe loose battery storage, when they allowed a nine-volt and an AAA battery to touch terminals in their recycling bin.
The family home was not a pretty sight after the fire brigade extinguished the fire. They lost many of their possessions, and needed to move out while their home underwent repair. Claiming under their insurance was frustrating. We don’t know whether they eventually received compensation for their loss.
Lithium batteries present the greatest risk, because they can catch fire after they short circuit, or otherwise fail. New batteries are securely and safely packaged to avoid incidents like this. However, when we break open a fresh pack we forgo this protection. Taping over the terminals mitigates the danger. However, this is not always as easy as it sounds.
Only One Way to Safely Prevent This Happening
How often don’t we see spent batteries piled loose in a container on a store counter, or in a bin at the recycling collection point? The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency says we should store all batteries in individual plastic bags, unless we tape over their terminals first.
Safe loose battery storage like this sounds like a real pain, and it surely is. However, having a fire in your auto glove box, or your office desk drawer could be worse. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency‘s advice may be unrealistic on a practical level. Therefore, this is a safety issue the industry still needs to resolve.
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