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Those fumes in the video can't be healthy, right? Why is this person standing there just inhaling that? I would be very concerned about breathing battery-fire

Those fumes in the video can't be healthy, right? Why is this person standing there just inhaling that? I would be very concerned about breathing battery-fire fumes, no? Maybe they are not as toxic as I think? What should one do if this happens? Pouring water might make things worse, right?

pp19dd 7y ago
Hmm. "Although the emission of toxic gases can be a larger threat than the heat, the knowledge of such emissions is limited." from a study titled "Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium-ion battery fires" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577247/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577247/ CDC has some information about HF gas but they don't tend to link it to battery fires. Not sure about any of the amounts but it's just not something you want to burn in a firepit I suppose.
cr0sh 7y ago
I wouldn't breathe it. It probably won't kill you, but it won't be healthy, either. If anything, it would be like breathing the fumes from welding on galvanized steel. Now - maybe you haven't done this; I'd suspect many haven't. Galvanized steel has a coating of zinc, which boils at a much lower temperature than steel melts at. So when you're welding on such steel, the smoke and fumes given off (which even when welding normally should be avoided) are particularly nasty: https://www.bakersgas.com/weldmyworld/2011/12/03/side-effects-welding-galvanized-steel/ https://www.bakersgas.com/weldmyworld/2011/12/03/side-effect... A mild case of it basically feels like a very terrible cold/flu - but it can be deadly in great amounts. I'd suspect (but I'm not sure) that lithium fumes might cause similar symptoms. And just for sake of completeness, because a lot of people aren't aware of it - if you weld, never, ever weld on anything that has been soaked with brake cleaner that contains tetrachloroethylene. It will release phosgene gas, which is deadly in small amounts: https://www.brewracingframes.com/safety-alert-brake-cleaner--phosgene-gas.html https://www.brewracingframes.com/safety-alert-brake-cleaner-... That's from a guy who survived such an accidental exposure - but he's now messed up for life. You can still buy this kind of brake cleaner in some states, but it's not for sale in others (I believe its banned from sale in California). It's not so much that particular chemical, as it is the chlorine makeup of the chemical (the -chloro part); you could probably generate such gas by heating and vaporizing household bleach or pool chemicals that have chlorine in them, if you wanted to. But neither of those are likely to be used around steel and mechanical work like brake cleaner is.
smittywerben 7y ago
My guess (not a chemist, battery enthusiast, or firefighter) is that the lithium exploded, and what remains is a cacophony of MacBook burning plastic fumes. It's not like it's LETHAL, just toxic enough to cause chemical burns, eye irritation, or cancer[0] through single exposure. There are several types of lithium too so I'm not sure what the right one is. The timing of his Reddit post t+5 days without any reported symptoms is probably a good sign. Was probably concerned his house was on fire. [0] http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0710.htm http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0710.htm

pp19dd 7y ago

Hmm. "Although the emission of toxic gases can be a larger threat than the heat, the knowledge of such emissions is limited." from a study titled "Toxic fluoride gas emissions from lithium-ion battery fires" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577247/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5577247/ CDC has some information about HF gas but they don't tend to link it to battery fires. Not sure about any of the amounts but it's just not something you want to burn in a firepit I suppose.

cr0sh 7y ago

I wouldn't breathe it. It probably won't kill you, but it won't be healthy, either. If anything, it would be like breathing the fumes from welding on galvanized steel. Now - maybe you haven't done this; I'd suspect many haven't. Galvanized steel has a coating of zinc, which boils at a much lower temperature than steel melts at. So when you're welding on such steel, the smoke and fumes given off (which even when welding normally should be avoided) are particularly nasty: https://www.bakersgas.com/weldmyworld/2011/12/03/side-effects-welding-galvanized-steel/ https://www.bakersgas.com/weldmyworld/2011/12/03/side-effect... A mild case of it basically feels like a very terrible cold/flu - but it can be deadly in great amounts. I'd suspect (but I'm not sure) that lithium fumes might cause similar symptoms. And just for sake of completeness, because a lot of people aren't aware of it - if you weld, never, ever weld on anything that has been soaked with brake cleaner that contains tetrachloroethylene. It will release phosgene gas, which is deadly in small amounts: https://www.brewracingframes.com/safety-alert-brake-cleaner--phosgene-gas.html https://www.brewracingframes.com/safety-alert-brake-cleaner-... That's from a guy who survived such an accidental exposure - but he's now messed up for life. You can still buy this kind of brake cleaner in some states, but it's not for sale in others (I believe its banned from sale in California). It's not so much that particular chemical, as it is the chlorine makeup of the chemical (the -chloro part); you could probably generate such gas by heating and vaporizing household bleach or pool chemicals that have chlorine in them, if you wanted to. But neither of those are likely to be used around steel and mechanical work like brake cleaner is.

smittywerben 7y ago

My guess (not a chemist, battery enthusiast, or firefighter) is that the lithium exploded, and what remains is a cacophony of MacBook burning plastic fumes. It's not like it's LETHAL, just toxic enough to cause chemical burns, eye irritation, or cancer[0] through single exposure. There are several types of lithium too so I'm not sure what the right one is. The timing of his Reddit post t+5 days without any reported symptoms is probably a good sign. Was probably concerned his house was on fire. [0] http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0710.htm http://www.inchem.org/documents/icsc/icsc/eics0710.htm