AlkalineBa attery yPackSafety y

12/ /27/2010 Rev.0

1.0PURPOSE EANDSCOPE E

Thisproceduredescribesthesafetyreq quirementsthatapplytoa alkalinebatte erypacksund dernormalan nd emergencyconditions.Th hisprocedure eappliestoal llWHOIperso onnelthatde esign,use,sto ore,anddispo ose erypacks. alkalinebatte 2.0GENERAL LBATTERYPR RECAUTIONS Neverrechargeprima arycells.Prim mary(nonrech hargeable)ce ellsshouldno otbeexposed dtoexternale electrical uppliesthatcouldcauseun nintentionalcharging c orfo orceddischar rgingcurrent.Thisabusive e powersu condition ncouldleadto t excessivehydrogen h offgassinganda anexplosion. Wheninstorage,cells sshouldbest toredintheiroriginalpack kagingfromthemanufactu urerandwith hin turerangere ecommendedbymanufact turer. temperat Cellsthat thavebeendamaged d orabused a should dbetreateda asiftheyareleaking.Plac cetheminap plastic bagandcontact c EH&S Sfordisposal(wastepickup p@whoi.edu) ).

YPACKDESIGN,FABRICAT TIONANDHA ANDLING 3.0BATTERY Toincreasethesafetymarginanddecr reasethefailu urerateofba atterypacks,thehazardan nalysisproces ss shouldbeconductedduringthedesign nphaseofbat tterypacks. Batterypackdesignerssho ouldrefertothe erySafetyGuidelineformoredetailedinstructionso onthehazard danalysispro ocess. LithiumBatte Batteries sshouldnotbe b encapsulat tedinanairor o watertight containerwithoutfirstco onsultingthe manufacturerandobs servingthehy ydrogengasprecautions p i nsection4be elow. Designer rsshouldchoo osebatterieswiththelow westpowerou utputneeded dtomeettheapplication requirem ments. Beforedesigningbatterypacks,rev viewthebatt terymanufact turerstechnicalspecificat tionsforthes same b usedinthe ebatterypac cks. typeofcellsthatwillbe olderdirectly ytothecellca aseoroutersleeve. s Solde eronlytosold dertabsthata areapproved dor Donotso recomme endedbythemanufacture er.Cutoneleadatatimet toavoidasho ortcircuit. Batterypack p construc ctionshouldconsider c theneed n forprop perventingan ndheattrans sfer.Donotobstruct thecells sventmechan nism,whichis sdesignedto oreliveexcess sivepressureandprotectagainstcellrupture. Alwaysusethesamesizeandtype eofcellsinseriesandpara allelconnectio ons. Partiallydischargedce ellsshouldno otbemixedwith w freshorf fullychargedcellsinabatt terypack.Alw ways a batteriesatthesametim mesincebatt teriesinserie esthatareindifferentstat tesofdischar rgemay replaceall eventuallydrivetheweakest w batte eryintovoltag gereversalw withprogressiv veriskofleak kageorruptu ure.
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4.0HYDROGENGASGENERATIONFROMALKALINEBATTERIES Duringthenormaluseofalkalinebatteries,hydrogengas(H2)isproducedasaproductofthecorrosionor naturaloxidationprocessofthezincelectrodeintheaqueouselectrolyte.Batterymanufacturesreportthat significantquantitiesofhydrogengascanbegeneratedfromalkalinebatteriesunderabusiveconditions, includingwhenbatteriesaredischargedbelowasafecutoffvoltageandwhenareversecurrentisforced throughbatteries(charging).Forexample,EnergizerhasreportedthefollowinghydrogenproductionforaD sizealkalinebattery:4.2mL(normaluse),130mL(deepdischarge),and21,800mL(abusivecharge). Hydrogengasisexplosiveatconcentrationsbetween4%and75%byvolumeinairatstandardtemperature andpressure.Ifalkalinebatterypacksaregoingtobeusedinairtightorwatertightenclosures,thepotential forhydrogengasgenerationundernormalandabusiveconditionsmustbeevaluatedandsafelycontrolled. Thefollowinglessonslearnedwhereidentifiedduringtheinvestigationofatranspondersphereexplosionand, whereapplicable,shouldbeconsideredduringdesignanduseofalkalinebatterypacksinenclosedequipment andinstruments: o Determinethemaximumpossiblehydrogengasvolumethatcanbeaccumulatedinanenclosed spaceundernormalandabusiveconditionsforbatterypacksthatwillbeenclosed.Reducethe potentialforanexplosiveatmospheretobegeneratedunderallpossibleconditions.Some examplesinclude:reducethepotentialbuildupofexplosivehydrogengaswithenhanced absorbersorgetters,usebatterieswithlesspotentialtogeneratehydrogengas,usechemical catalysttorecombinehydrogengas,andreducethepotentialforshortingordeepdischargewith engineeringcontrols,e.g.,conformalcoatingofelectroniccomponents,engineeredcellcutoff voltage,etc. Eliminatethepotentialforsignificantpressurebuildupwithinthesphere(orothersimilarwater tightenclosure)andsubsequentexplosion.Someexamplesincludemodifyingthedesignofthe stainlesssteelfasteningsystemtoallowsafeventingofthehemispheres(includingeliminationof thestainlesssteelbands)andtheuseofrapidpressurereliefdevices. Eliminatethepotentialforignitionsourceswherethebatterypackisenclosed.Someexamples include:useofnonsparkingintrinsicallysafecomponents,relocatesparkingcomponentsand switchesoutsideofthesphere,andlocatepowerdisconnectswitchesexternaltothesphere Reducetheoxygencontentwithinthespherebyinertingthespherewithnitrogen(maynotbe effectiveduringlossofvacuumorairinfiltrationintosphereorenclosure). Implementamethodtorapidlyidentifypotentiallyexplosiveorotherwisehazardousconditions, suchasanindicatorthatisvisiblefromoutsidethespherethatsignalswaterintrusionor potentiallyexplosivegas. Developproceduralstepstosafelymitigateapotentiallyexplosivesphere,suchasacontainment system,remotedismantlement,controlleddestruction,etc. Coordinatewiththevendorthatdesignsandsuppliesthetransponderstoenhancethedesignand increasethesafetymarginofthetransponderspheresystem(orotherenclosedinstrumentation system).Thevendorshouldbeencouragedtoreviewand,asfeasible,implementtheabove recommendationsrelatedtodesignmodifications.

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5.0EMERGENCYPROCEDURES 5.1HydrogenGasinEnclosedSpace Ifhydrogengasmayhaveleakedfromabatterypackandhasaccumulatedinanenclosedspace,thehydrogen gasmustbesafelyventedandprotectedfromignitionsources.Asapplicableandifsafetoperform,the followingstepsshouldbeconsideredforsafelymitigatingthiscondition: o o o o o Donotinspectthedeviceorventthehydrogengasnearanypotentialignitionsources. Isolatethedevice/instrumentfromanyexternalandinternalelectricalorsignalconnections. Ifsafetoperform,ventthedeviceinawellventilatedlocationthatissafelyawayfrompotential ignitionsources. Ifthehydrogengascannotbesafelyvented,remotedismantlementorremotedestructionofthe devicemayneedtobeconsidered. Note:thesestepsshouldonlybeperformedbypersonnelthatareknowledgeableofthe device/instrumentinquestionandunderstandtheassociatedhazards.

5.2LeakingCells Damagedcellscanleakelectrolyte.Foralkalinebatteries,theelectrolyteconsistsofaconcentratedaqueous solutionofpotassiumhydroxidetowhichzincoxideisaddedtoretardcorrosionofthezinc.Theelectrolyteis alkaline(basic)andcancausesevereirritationanddamagetotheskinandeyes.Note:cellsmaycontain concentratedpotassiumhydroxideata35%concentrationandtheleakagevolumeoftheelectrolytecouldbe 220mLpercell,dependingoncellsize. Skincontactwiththeelectrolytecancausecausticskinburnsandshouldbeavoided.Wearproper personnelprotectiveequipment(gloves,safetyglasses,labcoat)beforeneutralizingorcleaningupan electrolytespill.Ifskincontactoccurs,immediatelyflushwithcleanwater. Spilledelectrolyteshouldbeneutralizedbeforebeingcleanedup.Spilledelectrolytefromalkaline batteriescanbeneutralizedwithanapprovedcausticneutralizer,suchasSpillXCCausticNeutralizerthat isavailableinthegreenwallmountedspillkits. PlaceallcleanupmaterialsanddamagedcellsinasealedplasticbagorsealedcontainerandcontactEH&S fordisposal(x3347orwastepickup@whoi.edu).Cleanupmaterialsthatcannotbeneutralizedshallbe managedashazardouswasteifthepHofthecleanupmaterialsisgreaterthan12.5.

5.3AlkalineBatteryFires Intheeventofanyfire(includinganalkalinebatteryfire),activatethenearestfirealarmandcallx2911(508 2892911fromcellphone)toreportthefire. Afteractivatingtheevacuationalarm,fightthefireonlyifitissmall,youaretrainedtouseaportablefire extinguisher,andyoufollowtheseprecautions: o o o o Donotattempttoputoutafireifitisbetweenyouandtheexit. AnABCfireextinguishercanbeusedtoextinguishasmallfire,attheincipientstagethatinvolves alkalinebatteriesandordinarycombustiblematerials,e.g.,wood,paper,plastic,etc. Ifyouneedmorethanoneextinguisherthefiremaybeoutofcontrolevacuate. Note:thermaldegradationofalkalinecellsmayproducehazardousfumesofzincandmanganese, hydrogengas,causticvaporsofpotassiumhydroxideandothertoxicbyproducts.Donotfighta fireifyouwillbeexposedtosignificantsmokeevacuate. Page3of4

 6.0WASTEMANAGEMENTANDTRANSPORTATION Singlecellsofalkalinebatteriesthatarespentandnotleakingcanbedisposedasnormaltrash.Spentalkaline batterypacksthatarenotleakingshouldbemanagedasuniversalwastebyfollowingthesesteps: o o Priortodisposalallelectricalleadsfromthebatterypackshallbesafelyisolated(taped). SpentbatterypacksmustbegentlyplacedintheproperUniversalWastedrumthatislabeledfor alkalinebatteries.Donotthrowbatterypacksintheuniversalwastedrum,whichcouldcausecell leakageorrupture. FurtherdetailscanbefoundintheWHOIUniversalWasteGuidelineontheEH&Swebsite.

Spentalkalinebatterycellsandpacksthatareleakingshouldbesafelyneutralizedbeforedisposalreferto section5.2aboveandcontacttheEH&Sofficeforassistance(x3347orwastepickup@whoi.edu). Batteriesshouldbetransportedinamannerthatpreventsshortcircuitorotherabusiveconditions.Contact theWHOIDistributionManagerforquestionsaboutproperlyshippingbatteries.

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