For years, in a small town in southwest Ohio, researchers were setting batteries on fire. They hoped to determine what makes lithium-ion batteries — the ones found in everything from cell phones to electric vehicles — combust suddenly and without warning.
But a WYSO investigation found that community members weren’t informed about the tests, and they now have questions about the chemicals that they were exposed to. Reporter Adriana Martinez-Smiley joined The Ohio Newsroom to explain.
How did a town like Piqua become one of only a handful of places in the entire United States where these tests were conducted?
“Interestingly, Bowling Green State University created that bridge between Piqua in the two companies that were pursuing lithium-ion battery testing, DNV and Energy Safety Response Group. Now, BGSU had an agreement with the city of Piqua that allowed DNV access to a testing facility in town. But the Piqua Fire Department then applied for multiple open burn authorizations for lithium-ion battery fires. And since these authorizations don't include things like inspections or data reporting to the OEPA, like what you might see in manufacturing or polluter permits, that's how the operation was able to go under the radar for so long. Though I will say, even though I've spent months looking over documents, the incentive for the city to allow this testing still isn't very clear."
What were the citizens told about the testing?
“They weren't told anything, really, because the way the program was permitted was through an open burn authorization in the state of Ohio. This type of authorization doesn't obligate the authorized parties to offer any notice to the community of the work that they're doing. But over the years, there have been scatterings of police reports from residents concerned about smoke they've been seeing coming from the facility. They didn't really get any answers to what was going on, though, until the Ohio EPA came to shut down the operation."
What are the health risks that the citizens you talk to are concerned about?
“So I spoke to a professor who researches lithium-ion batteries. And what he told me is that there are a whole bunch of chemical compounds dangerous to human health, that can come from these batteries. His biggest concerns would have been exposure to hydrogen fluoride and heavy metals like aluminum, cobalt and lead, because these could have been emitted in the air after each of these tests. Hydrogen fluoride can cause cell and tissue damage, and heavy metals can have different effects depending on the specific metal. But they can bio-accumulate over time, which can open the door to a whole host of potential health effects.”
The Ohio Environmental Protection Agency shut the operation down and Piqua City Commissioners banned the burning of batteries on city owned property in May. Is that the end of the story?
“It definitely isn't. Now residents are looking into completing their own testing outside of the air, soil and water testing that the city of Piqua already ordered. Alicia Lane, one of the residents who's been an outspoken critic of the battery testing program, invited out environmental scientist Scott Smith. People might know him for his environmental testing in East Palestine following the train derailment. And he's actually made a commitment to the community that he will test for chemicals. Residents are also looking for environmental regulation reform, like they don't believe lithium-ion batteries should be allowed to be burned through an open burn authorization. And I know for me, I really only have more questions about the whole situation.”