Lithium Battery Damage and Fires
29 CFR 1926.150 · 29 CFR 1926.151 · This talk in Spanish
Why it matters
Every cordless tool made the job site a lithium battery farm, and lithium fails differently: a dropped, punctured, or overheated pack can go into thermal runaway, torching itself with a flame you cannot put out by unplugging. Packs cooking in hot truck cabs and charging overnight in trailers have burned both. Today: spotting a dying pack, charging smart, and what to do when one starts venting.
Hazards
- ⚠ Thermal runaway after drops, punctures, and crushing
- ⚠ Swollen, hissing, or hot packs kept in service
- ⚠ Charging on combustible surfaces and unattended overnight
- ⚠ Packs baking on dashboards and in sealed hot cabs
- ⚠ Cheap knockoff batteries and chargers without protection circuits
- ⚠ Water on a lithium fire making it worse in early stages
Controls and safe practices
- ✓ Inspect packs: swelling, cracks, rattles, or heat at rest means out of service, into a safe outdoor spot, not the gang box.
- ✓ Charge on noncombustible surfaces, away from exits, and not unattended overnight in trailers.
- ✓ Use the manufacturer battery and charger; knockoffs skip the protection that prevents runaway.
- ✓ Keep packs out of hot cabs and direct sun; heat is the enemy even without damage.
- ✓ A venting or smoking pack: move people away, get it outside or isolated if safe, let it burn out on dirt or use an ABC extinguisher for surrounding fires.
- ✓ Do not stack loose packs with metal in totes; terminals short against tools.
- ✓ Dispose of dead packs through the supplier or recycler, never the dumpster.
Crew discussion questions
- How many lithium packs live on this crew, and where do they charge?
- Who has seen a swollen pack, and where is it now?
- Where would we put a venting battery from inside the trailer?
- Are any knockoff batteries or chargers in our boxes?
Applicable OSHA standards
29 CFR 1926.150, 29 CFR 1926.151
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