Battery blazes in rubbish trucks risk health and environment

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2025-12-01 11:58

New Zealand

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Toxic chemicals are released when lithium-ion batteries (from devices like e-bikes and vapes) catch fire inside rubbish trucks, according to NZ researchers who deliberately started these fires under controlled conditions. For example, the amount of carbon monoxide released from a burning truck was over 30 times higher than it's acceptable for workers to be exposed to in one day. After the fires had been extinguished, the water that ran out of the truck contained fluoride and metals, like aluminium and lead, at levels far above safety standards for the environment. As lithium-ion batteries become more common, the researchers called for regulations for putting out such fires, to make sure workers, the public, and the environment are kept safe.