Ecotoxicity Evaluation of Fire-Extinguishing Water from Large-Scale Battery and Battery Electric Vehicle Fire Tests

Abstract

Electrified transport has multiple benefits but has also raised some concerns, for example, the flammable formulations used in lithium-ion batteries. Fires in traction batteries can be difficult to extinguish because the battery cells are well protected and hard to reach. To control the fire, firefighters must prolong the application of extinguishing media. In this work, extinguishing water from three vehicles and one battery pack fire test were analyzed for inorganic and organic pollutants, including particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and soot content. Additionally, the acute toxicity of the collected extinguishing water on three aquatic species was determined. The vehicles used in the fire tests were both conventional petrol-fueled and battery electric. For all of the tests, the analysis of the extinguishing water showed high toxicity toward the tested aquatic species. Several metals and ions were found in concentrations above the corresponding surface water guideline values. Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances were detected in concentrations ranging between 200 and 1400 ng L–1. Flushing the battery increased the concentration of per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances to 4700 ng L–1. Extinguishing water from the battery electric vehicle and the battery pack contained a higher concentration of nickel, cobalt, lithium, manganese, and fluoride compared with the water samples analyzed from the conventional vehicle.

Assessment of Run-Off Waters Resulting from Lithium-Ion Battery Fire-Fighting Operations

“…To assess this, the best method would be to test the particle mix directly. Few studies of this kind are available but, Yang et al has recently shown [8] that particles from NMC cell thermal runaway could cause inhibition on bacterial activities in the range of 25-200 mg/l and severe acute toxicity at 100 mg/l in 5h [8] and Quant et al show the acute toxicity of the runoff water [19].…”

“…However, more globally, published information regarding contamination of fire waters used to tackle li-ion battery fires, regardless of the application, remains quite scarce. Therefore, further investigation is needed to confirm early trends observed [19] and to address those issues on the entire value chain of LIBs.…”

Assessment of Run-Off Waters Resulting from Lithium-Ion Battery Fire-Fighting Operations

“…To assess this, the best method would be to test the particle mix directly. Few studies of this kind are available but, Yang et al has recently shown [8] that particles from the NMC cell thermal runaway could cause inhibition of bacterial activities in the range of 25-200 mg/L and severe acute toxicity at 100 mg/L in 5 h [8] and Quant et al showed the acute toxicity of the runoff water [19].…”

“…However, more globally, published information regarding contamination of fire waters used to tackle li-ion battery fires, regardless of the application, remains quite scarce. Therefore, further investigation is needed to confirm the early trends observed [19] and to address those issues in the entire value chain of LIBs.…”

Prospective hazard and toxicity screening of sodium-ion battery cathode materials

“…Here, at any of the life cycle stages, the wrong treatment of chemicals or accidents may lead to severe impacts on the environment and human health. 21,24 However, it is difficult to identify potentials hazards in early technology development stages (or technology readiness levels -TRL) due to two aspects, as follows: (i) there is no common standard for these assessment methods 4 and (ii) there is often no sufficient data available for a robust assessment of new chemicals. Additionally, there may be a high number of potential material combinations that have to be screened but for which data are only available on a lab-scale level.…”