If that separator is breached, the electrodes come in contact, and things get very hot very quickly. The batteries are also filled with a flammable electrolyte, one that can combust when it heats up, then really get going once oxygen hits it. Not scary enough? That liquid is mixed with a compound that can burn your skin. So why even use them? Lithium-ion batteries are incredibly efficient. They stuff freakish amounts of energy in a tiny package, one that can keep a phone or laptop running all day.
Li-ion power cells are also a very mature technology. If you're making a camera, car, plane, or fitness tracker, including a Li-ion cell is generally a plug-and-play step in the manufacturing process. But unlike most mature tech, they seem to get more volatile as time goes on.
That's because we demand higher-capacity batteries in slimmer packages at cheaper prices. With all these exploding batteries, the no-brainer diagnosis is something must be wrong with the ways the battery is built. The initial recall involved phones with batteries made by Samsung itself, ones that didn't have enough space between the battery's protective pouch and electrodes inside.
That squeeze bent the electrodes in some batteries, causing them to come into contact and short-circuit. However, the research on the impact of lithium pollution in the Yangtze River Basin has not yet been reported to date. Shanghai, at the estuary of the Yangtze River, is the leader of the Chinese economy. Shanghai is one of the biggest consumer electronics market in China. Besides, Shanghai is actively promoting the popularization of electric vehicles these years [ 13 ].
The facts above increase substantially the use of lithium batteries, which accumulates the lithium pollution in this area. Due to the discharge of large quantities of lithium resources, lithium pollution is growing rapidly and imposing a severe threat to the environment and humans [ 14 ]. Though the low concentration of lithium has no harmful effect on the environment, at higher levels lithium may cause considerable damage to the aquatic and terrestrial environment [ 15 ].
For example, a small dose of lithium has a significant inhibitory effect on the proliferation and growth of aquatic organisms including Pimephales promelas , Ceriodaphnia dubia , and Elimia clavaeformis [ 16 ].
Also, lithium in water can accumulate in plants and cause damage to plant growth and development [ 17 , 18 ]. Lithium can be enriched in animals by food chains, and high concentrations of lithium can also cause severe damage to animals [ 19 ].
For instance, rats were treated with small doses of lithium for 7 weeks every alternate day [ 20 ]. The epithelium lining of renal tissue was injured, and some significant changes were observed in the glomerular region in the corticomedullary region [ 20 ]. Besides, high concentrations of lithium could cause severe damage to humans, including the nervous system including coarse tremor and hyperreflexia , kidney including sodium-losing nephritis and nephrotic syndrome , and endocrine system including hypothyroidism [ 21 , 22 , 23 , 24 ].
However, the effects of lithium on the cardiovascular system have not been studied yet. As one of the most important organs in our body, the heart is the first organ that functions in the embryo development. It is exposed to an open environment that contains various types of harmful factors, such as nicotine, alcohol and drugs. Notably, the cardiomyocytes that contracts in the heart, lacks regeneration capability [ 25 ]. Therefore, each damage to the cardiomyocytes could accumulate constantly during the lifetime.
Moreover, the damage to cardiac contractility might be irreversible. Therefore, cardiotoxicity becomes the most important cause for the recall of prescription drugs [ 26 ]. It accounts approximately half of all drugs withdrawn in the last two decades [ 26 ]. For example, the obesity treatment drug sibutramine and the antidiabetic drug rosiglitazone were both recalled due to their cardiotoxicity effects in [ 27 , 28 ].
However, the effects of lithium on cardiomyocytes remain to be determined. Our research detected that lithium concentrations in the Yangtze River and rivers in Shanghai are relatively high, and it is possible to cause harm to human health through food chains [ 29 ]. Then we found that lithium not only significantly inhibited cell viability and cell proliferation of human cardiomyocytes, but also promoted cell apoptosis.
The water samples were obtained from the places shown in Fig. The concentration of lithium in water samples was detected with K-Lite8F Cornley, Meizhou, China according to the manual.
To evaluate the effects of lithium batteries on water, two disabled Apple 6s plus batteries and two disabled Huawei P20 pro batteries were used in this study. Each battery was placed in a beaker, soaked in ultrapure water, and then the battery is punctured with a clean needle, then added ultrapure water to 2 L.
After 3 days, the polluted water was filtered by filter paper. The concentration of lithium in these samples was detected with K-Lite8F Cornley as well. Lithium enrichment in Shanghai water environment. The absorbance at nm was subsequently recorded with SpectraMax M5 plate reader Molecular Devices. Cells were counterstained with Hoechst for 5 min, then were washed with and imaged in PBS. At last, the images were taken using fluorescence microscopy Nikon.
GraphPad Prism 7. To investigate the potential pollution of lithium in China, we evaluated the electric vehicle market in Surprisingly, China accounts for more than half of the global market Fig. At the same time, the electric vehicle market in China is growing rapidly these years Fig. Shanghai is one of the most active cities to promote the development of electric vehicles. The number of electric vehicles was more than , in in Shanghai, making it the largest electric vehicle city that time Fig.
The previous results suggest that Shanghai could become a region with lithium pollution, therefore we detected the lithium concentration in different water environments Fig.
Though the concentration of lithium in Yangtze River 1. The concentrations of lithium in other water environments were much higher than in the Yangtze River Fig.
Lithium concentration in the water that was contaminated by lithium batteries was very high Fig. These data indicated that the water environment in Shanghai could be polluted by lithium batteries. Additionally, we observed that Li 2 SO 4 at concentrations of 2. Thus, these data suggested that lithium may exert adverse effects on cardiomyocytes to inhibit cell viability. Lithium suppresses the cell viability of human cardiomyocytes. Similarly, 2. Then we evaluated the cell proliferation ability by cell counting.
Consistently, the lithium repressed the AC16 cell proliferation significantly Fig. Lithium suppresses the cell proliferation of human cardiomyocytes. Nuclei were counterstained with DAPI.
Consistently, we observed that 2. These data suggest that lithium might promote the cell apoptosis of human cardiomyocytes. Lithium triggers the cell apoptosis of human cardiomyocytes.
TP53 is an apoptosis marker. Cyclin E is a proliferation marker. The balance between drug efficacy and cardiotoxicity becomes crucial for clinical trials [ 26 ]. Here, we demonstrated that a high concentration of lithium, treatment of bipolar affective disorder, could not only suppress the cell viability of human cardiomyocytes, but also promote cell apoptosis.
Adult cardiomyocytes losing proliferation ability, lack efficient repair when they are injured [ 25 ]. Therefore, the slight damage to cardiomyocytes could be accumulated year by year. Importantly, the effects of lithium are long-duration accumulation. For instance, lithium-induced nephropathy seems to be a very slowly progressive disease, and the average period from the initiation of lithium to the presence of end-stage kidney disease is a least 20 years [ 21 ].
The toxicity of lithium on the central nervous system and renal has been studied extensively. However, the researches about the chronic poisoning of lithium on the heart remain far from enough. Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the large-scale clinical investigation to detect the damage of lithium to the heart. It is a fact that the roles of lithium on humans are confusing. It is an important medication option treatment for patients with bipolar disorder [ 34 ].
However, the plasma lithium level must be carefully monitored and kept to a narrow range 0. In addition to acute poisoning, chronic poisoning is the most common side-effect, including reduced urinary concentrating ability, hypothyroidism and weight gain [ 36 ].
At the cellular level, lithium reduced cell growth of cancer cells in a dose-dependent manner [ 37 ]. Besides, lithium could induce brain iron accumulation and promotes neurodegeneration [ 38 ]. These findings, together with our work, suggest the toxicity that we need to pay attention to.
In contrast to these defects, low-dose lithium is very important for animals. For instance, it plays an especially important role during early fetal development [ 39 ].
In humans, lithium deficiency is associated with increased rates of suicides, homicides and other crimes [ 39 ]. Besides, low-dose lithium could protect neurons via inhibiting cell apoptosis [ 40 , 41 , 42 ]. Taken together, it is of interest to investigate the roles of low-dose lithium on cardiomyocytes in vitro. Usually, the lithium we intake daily is less than 3 mg, and it might be good for health [ 39 ].
Importantly, the lithium level in drinking water, almost negligible at 30 years of age, increases sharply tap water in Shanghai 0. The company resells items that are in good shape and dismantles others for further recycling or disposal.
An improperly tossed battery caused a five-alarm fire at a recycling plant in Queens in early , and a number of garbage trucks across the country have fallen prey to fires from stray batteries tossed onto the pile as they drive through neighborhoods.
Lithium batteries have also been the culprits behind exploding or spontaneously combusting consumer devices in recent years, including e-cigarettes, hoverboards and Samsung Galaxy Note smartphones. Some owners lost their lives or were severely burned when their products suddenly caught fire while they were using them. The batteries also pose concerns for airlines, with the fear they could be crushed if dropped under a seat. And what should consumers know about handling and disposing of their lithium-battery containing items safely and responsibly?
The rechargeable ones, called lithium ion batteries, or the disposable ones, called lithium batteries, are in everything from smartphones to robotic vacuum cleaners to earbud headphones.
An iPhone or laptop would not exist without these batteries, explained M. Stanley Whittingham, a distinguished professor in chemistry and materials science and engineering at Binghamton University. He was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry for his pioneering research that led to the development of the lithium-ion battery.
More: Nobel Prize winner: Dr. Stanley Whittingham talks award, impact, batteries. At a facility like Sunnking, where electronics of all types are piled across a vast ,square-foot warehouse, employees have to be meticulous in identifying battery-containing devices and funneling them to safe areas for reuse or disposal. They also use plastic tools instead of metal ones to pry batteries from smartphones and tablets to reduce the likelihood of battery puncture.
When Whittingham worked to develop the lithium-ion battery 45 years ago, he faced challenges with the battery catching fire when it was opened. Sunnking mobile electronics repair technician Ben Hayes works in a corner of the Sunnking facility, where his desk is full of stacks of smartphones. He must carefully remove adhesives, screws and panels, all while watching for signs of the battery going rogue. Electronic device manufacturers in New York state required to offer recycling options at no cost to consumers businesses or nonprofits with more than 50 employees have to pay, partially in an effort to keep metals and other materials from getting into area waters and soil.
DO bring lithium battery-containing devices to a collection site or event, or your local electronics store.
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