Ignition and fire-related incidents caused by lithium-ion batteries in waste treatment facilities in Japan and countermeasures

Abstract

Ignition and other fire-related incidents have been increasing at municipal waste treatment and small waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) recycling facilities in Japan. To understand the current status of lithium-ion battery (LIB)-caused ignition and other incidents and to provide information necessary for countermeasures, we conducted interviews at municipal treatment facilities, did real-time monitoring at a treatment facility, and surveyed LIB mixed in non-combustible waste. Several treatment facilities had more than 0.1 ignition and other incidents per tonne of non-combustible and bulky waste collected in FY2020. These accidents were attributed to LIBs in 80–90 % of the cases, primarily because of physical impact on the LIBs during the crushing/shredding stage, even though LIB-containing small WEEE accounted for only about 0.3 % of the total weight of non-combustible waste. The best way to prevent the occurrence of such LIB-caused ignition and other incidents is to avoid crushing/shredding LIB-containing small WEEE.