The Scary Truth About Lithium Battery Fires: How to Safely Handle Your Business Batteries

Oct 28, 2024

By: Clint Parsons, Director of Strategic Partnerships, SEAM

There’s a creeping menace threatening businesses everywhere—lithium-ion batteries. While they silently power our world, from smartphones to electric vehicles, when they reach end of life, they can turn into ticking time bombs, ready to explode at any moment.

These batteries, like the stuff of nightmares, can catch fire unexpectedly, and it’s happening more often. Recently, a fire in Brooklyn ignited from a lithium-ion battery, causing severe damage​. In Los Angeles, a truck carrying lithium batteries overturned, sparking a dangerous blaze that shut down a freeway​. Cities across the country are reporting an increase in fires caused by improper handling and disposal of these batteries​.

So, how can you prevent your business from becoming the next headline in a fire-fueled disaster? It all starts with proper handling, storage, and disposal of these power-packed devices.

How to Handle Your Used Batteries Before They Turn on You

Lithium-ion batteries don’t need much provocation to turn dangerous, but there are steps you can take to prevent their volatility:

  1. Store them with caution: Keep batteries in a cool, dry place, far from anything flammable. Heat and humidity can trigger dangerous chemical reactions inside the battery.
  2. Inspect before you stash: Damaged or leaking batteries are much more likely to cause fires. If you notice any bulging, cracks, or leaks, it’s best to get them to a certified recycler immediately.
  3. Package for safety: When preparing batteries for storage or transport, make sure they don’t touch each other or metal objects. Using clear packaging tape to cover the terminals, along with non-conductive padding, like bubble wrap or cardboard, can help keep them from short-circuiting.
  4. Properly label your shipments: If you’re sending these batteries off for recycling, make sure your package is properly labeled. Handlers need to know they’re dealing with potentially hazardous materials.

Why You Need a Certified Partner to Help Banish the Danger

You wouldn’t trust an amateur to banish a ghost, so why trust just anyone with your hazardous batteries? Partnering with a certified IT Asset Disposition (ITAD) provider ensures your lithium-ion batteries are managed safely, both protecting your business and the environment.

Certified providers follow strict protocols for packaging, shipping, and recycling, ensuring that batteries are stored securely and disposed of properly. Damaging or puncturing a battery, or letting it sit to the point of bloating, increases the risk of fire and serious safety hazards. The risks of working with non-certified vendors can be explosive—literally. Improper handling can lead to environmental hazards, regulatory fines, or even fires long after the batteries leave your facility.

Don’t Let Old Batteries Linger

Lithium-ion batteries are valuable while they’re in use, but once they’ve run their course, the longer they sit, the more dangerous they become. Improper storage increases the risk of fire, making it a ticking time bomb waiting to go off. Holding onto them for too long without proper disposal could lead to financial loss or worse—a serious safety hazard.

At SEAM, we’re the only certified ITAD provider in North and South Dakota, offering the expertise needed to handle your batteries with care. Whether it’s safely packaging them for recycling or ensuring proper disposal, we take the worry out of managing your hazardous materials.

Don’t wait until it’s too late—reach out to SEAM to make sure your lithium-ion batteries don’t turn into your worst nightmare.

Clint Parsons is the Director of Strategic Partnerships at SEAM, specializing in building partnerships with businesses of all sizes. He ensures clients effectively navigate secure data destruction, responsible recycling, and maximize the resale value of their IT equipment while staying compliant with evolving regulations. 

SEAM provides IT recycling and data destruction services including onsite shredding and hard drive wiping to South Dakota, North Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, and Nebraska.

Schedule a pickup or contact us for more information.