Lithium-ion batteries powering green tech pose health and environmental risks due to PFAS, flame retardants, and harmful chemicals in production and disposal.
Lithium-ion batteries are a linchpin of the clean energy transition. They power electric vehicles and allow us to harness wind and solar power even when the sun isn’t shining or the wind isn’t blowing. [emphasis, links added]
They are also used widely in electronics most of us use daily, from smartphones to earbuds. Demand is anticipated to grow exponentially over the next decade.
Unfortunately, lithium-ion batteries themselves aren’t so clean. Even aside from much-discussed environmental issues with lithium and cobalt mining, these batteries are manufactured with harmful chemicals that end up in our environment, homes, and bodies.
One of the most concerning chemical classes is per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, nicknamed “forever chemicals” due to their extreme persistence in the environment.
PFAS are associated with cancer, decreased fertility, endocrine disruption, immune system harm, adverse developmental effects, and other serious health problems.
Some newer PFAS first claimed to be safe have been determined later to be harmful to our health.
Despite this, PFAS is used in batteries as electrolytes and in battery components as binders or separators. And PFAS can leach from batteries during manufacturing, use, and disposal or recycling.
Indeed, recent peer-reviewed research led by scientists at Texas Tech University and Duke University confirms that the use of PFAS in lithium-ion batteries is leading to significant air and water pollution.
Another growing problem is the use of harmful flame retardants in the plastic enclosures around batteries.
Because the fire risks of this technology are very real, flammability standards are being implemented that aim to reduce them. Although most of these standards do not specifically require flame retardants, they are usually the least expensive and easiest way to meet flammability tests.
Notably, there is no proven fire-safety benefit in adding flame retardants to enclosures in real-world scenarios.
Flame-retarded plastic is unlikely to slow or stop highly energetic lithium-ion battery fires and can make such fires more toxic and dangerous.
In addition to a lack of proven effectiveness, flame retardants are known to pose serious health risks, including cancer, neurological harm, and reproductive issues.
Flame retardants can migrate from products with batteries during use, contaminating homes, workplaces, and the broader environment.
At the end of their useful life, flame-retarded plastics can contaminate the recycling stream and impede the circular economy.
They can end up in black plastic soup spoons and our soup, according to a recent study led by the organization Toxic-Free Future.
Their disposal, either by burning or in landfills, leads to toxic emissions and can be harmful to the global environment and human health.
The good news is that many of these chemical uses are replaceable.
Read rest at Forbes
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