Hazards of Alkaline Batteries? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Boris_yo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2021, 10:50:06 am
content: Hello,When I was cleaning backyard I noticed around 7lbs of alkaline batteries scattered around. Some were burned.I know alkalines are toxic for environment and should not be disposed as normal garbage. But how dangerous are these to human species? Since I reside on first floor, I wonder if alkalines posed a danger to my health all that time.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2021, 10:56:33 am
content: They are pretty benign, not a huge environmental issue either (still, it's not an excuse not to recycle properly).They consist of Zinc and manganese dioxide. Both used as dietary supplements!And then the alkaline itself, NaOH or KOH, which is not toxic but as a strong base, is highly corrosive so can cause skin burns, which you would have noticed back then when handling them. Diluted down enough (like 1:1000), you can eat it no problem.There might be some trace amounts of substances I don't know about but I'm pretty sure environmental regulations have not allowed large amounts of anything really dangerous in decades.There is no health danger even if you handled leaked batteries or even if you cut one open to examine it. Now if some are burned then this opens doors for all nasty things that are produced when burninganythingbut I doubt much remains as long as you don't inhale the smoke.

author: Boris_yo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2021, 01:14:27 pm
content: Quote from: Siwastaja on October 20, 2021, 10:56:33 amStill won't be problem for people with asthma?

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2021, 03:20:59 pm
content: AFAIK there are no compounds irritating to respitory system but of course I'm not a doctor neither a chemist.Burning anything, including wood and gasoline, releases harmful particulates and gases of course but most are released as smoke.Really, I wouldn't be worried the slightest about this. Said otherwise, there are gazillion of more probable problems around you, every day, including exhausts from cars.

author: ChristofferB
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2021, 09:51:01 pm
content: I believe all batteries has to state on them if they contain lead, mercury or cadmium. Those are the big nasties in batteries. the manganese is a borderline heavy metal, and not super good, however it exists mainly as manganese dioxide which is insoluble in water and therefore hard to get into the body.If in doubt, wear gloves.As for the asthma thing, that's impossible to say. I agree with Siwastaja, I wouldn't worry too much.

author: ledtester
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 20, 2021, 11:43:31 pm
content: Quote from: Siwastaja on October 20, 2021, 10:56:33 amMy city - a major metropolitan area in the US - used to collect alkaline batteries but now tells residents to just put them in the trash.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 21, 2021, 11:11:33 pm
content: As others have said, the components of alkaline batteries are not particularly hazardous. The strong potassium or sodium hydroxide (lye, drain cleaner) electrolyte can give a serious burn but diluted with water is innocuous.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2021, 09:55:34 am
content: Manganese is an important micronutrient and one of the arguments to eat nuts and whole grain.Yet, at the same time, it's labelled "toxic heavy metal". This group of toxic heavy metals is really interesting, many are important nutrients present in healthy foods and sold as dietary supplements. Lead and mercury are quite exceptional for two reasons, first they have no positive effects so are unnecessary, and secondly quite small amounts can be really dangerous.For manganese, WebMD says 11mg/day orally, or 55 µg/day by IV, is the safe upper limit. For inhalation, they just warn against long-term inhalation.So basically, if you eat the batteries, or grind them into a fine powder and breath that in for long periods of time, you may get manganese poisoning. Normally, manganese poses little danger to general public.On the other hand, eating batteries is really dangerous because of the corrosive KOH, combined with the fact the battery causes corrosive electrolysis within the body.

author: Kleinstein
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 22, 2021, 10:52:17 am
content: Quote from: ledtester on October 20, 2021, 11:43:31 pmOlder alkaline cells included some mercury and maybe lead, but this is a long time ago. They also collected batteries a little longer to also avoid accidential disposal of NiCd cells in the normal wast stream. NiCd cells by now are getting rare, though there are still a few old one around that still work.

author: Boris_yo
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2021, 02:35:35 am
content: Quote from: KleinsteinI still have cordless screwdriver / drill set from 2011 that works on NiCAD batteries and use it rarely. I wonder if NiCADs degrade over time in a discharged state and not being used and if they start releasing unhealthy fumes and leak...

author: NiHaoMike
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2021, 02:49:48 am
content: The most common failure mode for NiCd batteries is the self discharge increasing to the point they do not hold a charge for long. In applications where they're constantly being trickle charged, they do tend to last a very long time.Lithium ion batteries also tend to last "forever" if not abused, although the internal resistance increases over time. The oldest one in my collection is about 20-25 years old and still works great powering a solar charged flashlight.

author: james_s
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2021, 02:53:20 am
content: Quote from: Boris_yo on October 25, 2021, 02:35:35 amThey certainly do degrade over time, and it's possible for them to leak but the leaked electrolyte is similar to that used in the alkaline batteries. NiCd cells do contain cadmium which is fairly toxic but it is a metal and won't be leaking out.

author: Siwastaja
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 25, 2021, 04:07:52 pm
content: If you see NiCd cells that leak, I would be careful with them. Even though the cadmium shouldn't leak out, it's quite toxic even in small amounts. So just in case, use disposable gloves, put cells in plastic bags, wash hands, get them recycled properly.But even leaked NiCd cells are't going to pollute the air with cadmium dust.

author: David Hess
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: October 26, 2021, 02:10:43 am
content: Quote from: NiHaoMike on October 25, 2021, 02:49:48 amDendrites form which eventually puncture the separator and short out the cell. High temperature and low leakage NiCd cells have a thicker separator, reducing capacity, but being tougher they last longer.I finally gave up on my old set of cordless tools because it was less expensive to buy new lithium battery based cordless tools than to replace the old NiCd batteries, although I could still do that.