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The consumer watchdog wants tighter regulation for products with lithium-ion batteries after a spate of fires caused by faulty and dodgy items. <\/p>\n
Lithium-ion batteries are found in almost anything cordless and rechargeable, ranging from mobile phones and laptops to children\u2019s toys, electric toothbrushes and solar panels.<\/p>\n
There have been more lithium-ion battery fires in the first eight months of this year than in all of 2022, with Fire and Rescue NSW responding to 165 incidents in the year to August, compared to 114 last year.<\/p>\n
Most fires were caused by battery power suppliers, such as power generators, followed by e-bikes and e-scooters, battery chargers, and power banks.<\/p>\n
This month, a battery in a golf-cart style buggy exploded at a St John Ambulance facility in Burwood in Sydney\u2019s inner west, while a few days earlier, five cars were destroyed after a lithium-ion battery from one of the electric vehicles exploded at Sydney Airport. In a separate incident on the same day, FRNSW said an EV caught fire after hitting debris in Penrose.<\/p>\n
In August, a 54-year-old man died after a lithium-ion battery stored inside his Punchbowl apartment exploded. It is suspected his death was caused by inhaling toxic fumes.<\/p>\n
The batteries are a priority for the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, with 231 reports received in the six years between March 2017 and 2023 and an estimated 89,000 products recalled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe number of products containing lithium-ion batteries is vast and rapidly evolving with new technology,\u201d an ACCC spokesperson said.<\/p>\n
The ACCC plans to release a study on consumer product safety issues associated with lithium-ion batteries next month and is calling for national regulation on extra-low voltage products such as lithium-ion batteries.<\/p>\n
UNSW electrical engineering expert Dr Matthew Priestley said consumers needed to be wary of poorly made lithium-ion batteries found in knock-off or cheap products.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a counterfeit regime of batteries, particularly for things like power tools and consumer electronic goods. Overseas companies will try and manufacture the product to look quite similar to a reputable brand, but they\u2019ll do it in a cost-effective way. Generally, that\u2019s by cutting corners with safety,\u201d he said. \u201c[People] don\u2019t realise how unsafe a poorly manufactured lithium-ion battery can be.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lithium-ion batteries catch fire by overheating. While quality products, such as phones, have switch-off systems once the battery gets too hot, others don\u2019t.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs the battery reaches this temperature, it enters what we call thermal runaway \u2026 the temperature becomes self-sustaining and just continues to heat up to greater and greater temperatures until a battery fire comes,\u201d Priestley said.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s not just the fire risk that\u2019s a concern, but the toxic emissions the batteries release, which look like steam or vapour.<\/p>\n
Priestley said if it reaches that stage, the safest thing to do is leave the house and call emergency services.<\/p>\n
Fire and Rescue NSW is leading a research program to examine best practice fire brigade response to lithium-ion battery-related fires and end-of-life lithium-ion battery hazard management, while UNSW is developing a short course aiming to educate tradespeople, the public, and other key stakeholders about the risks associated with high-energy battery systems.<\/p>\n
Fire and Rescue NSW warned that the \u201chighly flammable\u201d batteries can catch fire when overcharged, or using non-compliant charging equipment; exposing them to extreme temperatures; damaging the product by dropping it, or exposing it to vibrations; and due to system faults and defects.<\/p>\n
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