With the continued cleaning efforts in Los Angeles neighborhoods marred by forest firesOne of the biggest challenges is the large number of lithium -ion batteries in which the fire caught.
Batteries operate most hybrid cars and electric vehicles, and are used in golf carts, electronic cycles, laptops, mobile phones and wireless ear headphones. It is also found in power banks that provide backup energy during power outages It is increasingly popular in homes.
In the event of damage or high temperature, lithium -ion batteries can ignite or even explode – the remaining heat release a series of reactions that lead to heating the batteries in an indisputable and combustion in an automatic, which is a process that can occur over days, weeks or months.
Real estate in the Pacific area of Palisades and Edadina, where fires with iceadis and iTon It has been destroyed collectively The officials said that at least 12,000 buildings have higher numbers of an average of electric cars.
“This will be … from our estimates, most likely the largest cleaning of the Li -Ion battery in the world history,” said Steve Callanouj, Commander of the Environmental Protection Agency for cleaning fires and Eiton.
But this cleaning process is complicated and consumes a lot of resources.
The California Emergency Services Office has already sent a team of dangerous materials to inspect homes in search of lithium ion batteries and set their locations. The Environmental Protection Agency has what it refers to the battery restoration team, which will supervise the efforts made to collect it. Chris Maires, a technical specialist in Lithium Ion batteries and participant in the cleaning agency of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the assembly can start early on Monday.
He added: “It is very likely that these batteries are not all consumed in the fire, so they are now damaged, which means that they are all dangerous.” Myers explained that the batteries systems in hybrid and electrical cars are well protected, so even the vehicles damaged by fires may still have charged batteries.
Callanouj said that dealing with batteries “requires a great deal of artistic development and care.” The Environmental Protection Agency team must wear flame -resistant clothes under disposable protective suits. The masks cover their faces, and come either with inputable cartridges to filter chemicals or hang on air tanks. The crew closes the area where it works and keeps water at the site in the event of fire.
Before they are sent to the waste facility or recycling, the activation of the combined batteries should be canceled so that it does not carry any charge or very few. To do this, Mairez said, the Environmental Protection Agency is likely to use a process that was developed after the fires of the Mao Forest in 2023, which includes immersion of batteries in a solution of salt water and baking soda. Once the batteries are raised, they can be crushed using a steam journey or shipped to a facility in a special package.
Lithium Ion batteries have become an increasing problem after forest fires, due to the high sales of hybrid and electrical cars, especially in California. The state will require 35% of the new vehicles sold in the state free of emissions by 2026, and that all new vehicles be free of emissions by 2035.
In Los Angeles ProvinceAt least 581,000 emissions – including hybrid cars and electric cars completely – in the past fifteen years, about 99,000 of them were sold in 2024, according to the California Energy Committee. In the Pacific area of Palisades alone, more than 5,500 emissions were sold from 2010 to 2024.
“There are a very large number of electric cars in this region, perhaps much more than other regions,” said Adam Vangerin, the public media official in the Los Angeles Fire Department. “Many of these people also had solar surfaces and solar battery for mural bank banks.”
The most dangerous batteries are those in the cars that were partially burned, instead of fully destroyed them.
He said: “If the electric car has already caught fire and burned, then I will say that the danger is relatively small, because it is assumed that the entire fire has destroyed the battery.”
When authorities begin the enormous cleaning process from Southern California fires, their first priority – which is called by the Environmental Protection Agency “the first stage” – is the removal of dangerous waste such as asbestos, batteries, oils and property coating, as these substances can release toxic fumes.
Kalanouj said that the whole process could take about six months.
Myers said that the battery recovery process will not slow down this schedule, although “the size here is definitely a great challenge.”
With regard to the place of disposal of dangerous waste, Kalanouj said that the Environmental Protection Agency has not yet been decided, and there are a number of available sites.
However, Vangerpeen said that many of the facilities that receive dangerous waste are located outside California, and there may be limits for the amount of waste they want to accept.
Waste should be removed before the authorities can move to the next stage of cleaning: removal of rubble. Vangerin urged the residents to avoid sifting the rubble so that their property is considered safe.
He said, “The population should not go and try to remove dangerous rubble.” “Just your regular home tools can be dangerous and pose dangerous.”
This article was originally published on NBCNEWS.com
