Reducing Environmental Harm From Rechargeable Batteries

 Consumers lack good access to data on the chemical components of rechargeable batteries and the environmental and personal health consequences. The world is migrating away from the internal combustion engine and a huge movement for electrification of vehicles is underway, as a direct response to global warming. It is still more environmentally friendly to ride a regular bike than one with a motor. If someone is riding an ebike instead of walking or using public transit, is that an environmental improvement? The electrification movement is hailed as an environmental coupe, which is true in the reduction of global warming gases and air pollution, but not for all environmental factors. This article digs into the toxic aspects of materials used in electrification of vehicles, bikes, and smart phones.

 Toxic components of Rechargeable Batteries

Rechargeable batteries don’t last forever and disposal of them is not universally secure. The process of creating the batteries that power Priuses, Teslas, ebikes, laptops, and smart phones creates toxic waste. Not all batteries are toxic, but lithium-ion ones are. Toxic chemicals produced include; lithium compounds, nickel compounds, arsenic compounds, and dimethoxyethane. Lithium batteries are not hazardous until they are charged and then they become toxic, which is why there are restrictions on the transportation of lithium-ion batteries. A “dry battery” means a non-lithium carbon electrode battery and is not considered hazardous. (Laura J. Vimmerstedt, 1995) Most smart phones use the lithium-ion battery because it holds a charge the longest, given the increased demands of the data required for these handheld devices. Older models, in particular, the Nokia, used Nickel -Cadmium or Nickel-Metal-Hydride and are not hazardous.

 The tech industry isn’t exactly clean, Silicon Valley has been a superfund site since 1989 from forty years of contamination of the ground water supply by tech manufacturers. Santa Clara County has twenty-three active superfund sites. Trichloroethylene used to clean semi-conductors has been found to increase miscarriage, and create endocrine disruption. (EPA, n.d.)And though the sites are being monitored and cleaned up here, there are myriad locations throughout the U.S. and the world that aren’t.

 Cobalt Mining

Cobalt is a precious metal found in most rechargeable batteries used in devices that need a long-lasting charge. Prevalent use of child labor, lack of any environmental safeguards, and literal enslavement of workers through indentured contracts are all occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). The DRC, formerly known as Zaire which produces the vast majority of cobalt for the developed world. Siddharth Kara exposes the depravity in his latest, Cobalt Red-How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives. (Kara, 2023) Over multiple trips to mining regions of this mineral rich land he was eye witness to unbelievable cruelty and apathy towards human suffering. It seems no matter what the agreements are with purchasers (Tesla, Apple), there are always end runs around compliance. Even if the no-child labor rules are enforced, the reason these children are forced to work at the age of ten or twelve is to provide food for their families, for often they may be the next provider after a parent is maimed or killed when a tunnel wall collapses.

 Remedies for this horror:

1. Workers need to be paid a living wage, not two dollars a day and a dollar for children. The Global Living Wage Coalition indicates a living wage is nine dollars in the DRC. Absolutely no one should be working for free or forced into labor.

2. Public schools should be free for children, because many of these families are unable to afford the six dollars monthly tuition, thrusting their children into the work place. 

3. Safety standards should be adhered to and any abrogation of them subject to heavy fines, deportation and imprisonment of contractors whom do not comply. 

4. Inspections by an independent third-party entity, similar to the global nuclear inspections would help with the clean up of this industry. There are enough profits in this industry to improve this assualt on humanity.

 Sources of Cobalt Outside of Africa

Given the fact 60% of the world’s Cobalt supply is in the Congo and controlled by the Chinese, the rest of the world is racing to shore up supply lines and develop alternatives. Russia and Australia are the next largest producers. Canada, the Philippines, and Cuba all produce a similar amount. The United States has a single cobalt mine in Idaho, which opened in October of 2022 and will contribute 10% of the global supply. The entire mine is underground and high tech. However, since the volume generated by this mine will initially be so small the processing of the cobalt ore will take place off shore in Sao Paulo, Brazil. This company is owned by Australian mining corporation, Jervois Global. (Kirk Seigler, 2022) Though the US has cobalt minerals in several locations, only the Idaho mine is active. (Burger, 2018)

 Cobalt-free Batteries

Researchers at the University of California Irvine in cooperation with four national labs have found a way to make a rechargeable cobalt-free lithium-ion battery. Huolin Xin and his colleagues were able to show that with an amalgamation of other metals, including titanium, magnesium, and manganese the battery could withstand high temperatures from repeated charges and remain stable. This research was funded by the US government, Department of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. (Bell, 2022) Transitioning away from dependence on cobalt to power devices is smart. Creating a cleaner battery from manufacturing to distribution is smartest.

 The next time you hear an ebook reader tell someone who is reading a hardcover or paperback book that they are more environmentally friendly because they didn’t kill a tree (which are farmed and are a renewable resource), remember how many children die for the minerals in those devices. And this is the healthpolicymaven signing off encouraging you not to sign blanket releases when you agree to inpatient medical procedures. Do stipulate that for which you agree and decline.

 Healthpolicymaven is a trademark which has been in continuous use since 2007. Roberta Winter is the author of  a guidebook to the healthcare system, Unraveling US Healthcare-A Personal Guide, published by Roman & Littlefield in 2013. This column provides no healthcare advice and opinions here are her own.

 References

Bell, B. (2022, September 21). Cobalt-free Cathode Could Lead to Safer, Longer-lasting Batteries for Electric Vehicles. (B. N. Laboratory, Ed.) Brookhaven National Laboratory.gov. Retrieved March 27, 2023

Burger, M. S. (2018). Cobalt Deposits in the United States: US Geological Survey Data Release. doi:doi.org/10.5066/P9V74HIU

EPA. (n.d.). Superfund Sites in Reuse in California. Retrieved March 23, 2023, from United States Environmental Protection Agency: https://www.epa.gov/superfund-redevelopment/superfund-sites-reuse-california

Kara, S. (2023). Cobalt Red-How The Blood of The Congo Powers Our Lives. In S. Kara, Cobalt Red-How The Blood of The Congo Powers Our Lives. St. Martin's Press. Retrieved March 28, 2023, from https://www.amazon.com/Cobalt-Red-Blood-Congo-Powers-ebook/dp/B09Y462D6Z

Kirk Seigler, E. W. (2022, October 8). In Idaho, America's first, and only, cobalt mine in decades is opening. (NPR.org, Ed.) NPR.org. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from https://www.npr.org/2022/10/08/1127310649/in-idaho-americas-first-and-only-cobalt-mine-in-decades-is-opening#:~:text=%22Idaho's%20is%20the%20only%20cobalt,important%20asset%20for%20the%20country.%22

Laura J. Vimmerstedt, S. R. (1995, September). Current Status of Environmental, Health, and Safety of Lithium Ion Electric Vehicle Batteries. Golden, CO: US Department of Energy. Retrieved March 27, 2023, from chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://afdc.energy.gov/files/pdfs/