At 02:13 PM 6/16/99 -0600, you wrote: >Barry King wrote: >> >> I don't know if Lithium bearing batteries are considered hazardous. >> Certainly most consumers don't know the difference, so I suspect >> regulations treat NiCd and Li-ion the same. >> >For shipping and disposal, lithium batteries are considered hazardous >goods, but only if the lithium contents exceeds a certain amount per >cell. The "C" cells that we use are OK to ship, but need paperwork. >"AA" (or is that "AAA"?) cells don't contain enough lithium and button >cells aren't even in the picture. > >BTW, lithium cells are *extremely* explosive when heated. Years ago, we >saw a film produced by Electrochem that showed a "D" cell being heated >in an environmental chamber. When it exploded, it blew out the >chamber's ventilation grill, leaving it across the room. Hi... We've got a low power data logger that may need to see service in hazardous environments... Do you have any sources for documented failure modes for the various types of batteries? The manufacturer's--probably for liability reasons--don't seem to want to part with real information. We want to use standard alkaline and non-rechargeable lithium 9-volt batteries but need some real information with the name of a test lab or manufacturer on it as the author/responsible party. I have been told NiCd are ruled out completely due to their known explosive failure modes on heating or very rapid discharge (self heating). I have also been told that standard lithium's do not have this problem. I do know that the rechargeable lithiums have some not-nice failure modes, and have heard stories about meltdowns in laptops--which could be VERY not-nice if it happens in your lap. Kelly ******************************************************************************** **** All legitimate attachments to this email will be clearly identified in the text. William K. Borsum, P.E. OEM Dataloggers and Instrumentation Systems < & <