What harm does a battery cause to nature? Small battery and the environment
Just one AA battery thrown into the trash can contaminate approximately 20 square meters soil or 400 liters of water with heavy metals - mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, manganese, lithium. They can accumulate in the body of humans and animals, causing serious harm to health.
For example, mercury is one of the most dangerous toxic substances for humans. It affects the liver and kidneys, nervous system and the brain, causing diseases respiratory system, nervous disorders, disorders musculoskeletal system, deterioration of hearing and vision.
Lead mainly accumulates in the kidneys, it causes nervous disorders and brain diseases, joint and muscle pain, can damage the fetus in the womb, and slow down the growth of the child.
Cadmium is a carcinogen that causes cancer. It accumulates in the thyroid gland, bones, kidneys and liver, negatively affecting the functioning of all organs.
How harmful substances from batteries spread
According to statistics, in Moscow alone over 15 million batteries end up in landfills every year. In waste incineration plants, they burn, releasing dioxins into the atmosphere - toxic compounds that cause cancer and disorders reproductive system, weaken the health of children and slow down their development.
Dioxins also get into the ground and water, then into plants that people consume. They spread over long distances, affecting the entire population, so it does not matter whether a person lives in close proximity to an incinerator or not. They penetrate into the soil, into The groundwater and reservoirs. Boiling water from heavy metals, unlike bacteria, does not save.
Even if the batteries are not burned, their cases in water or soil gradually become corroded and destroyed, after which harmful substances are released into the environment.
How to minimize damage
Various stores and organizations organize collection of batteries, from where they are then handed over to recycling points. You can also find out the addresses of such points in your city and take the batteries there.
When buying batteries, it is better to take those that say “mercury-free” and “cadmium-free”. You can also buy rechargeable batteries that are used repeatedly; one battery can replace a thousand or more regular batteries, which ultimately will not end up in the trash bin.
People concerned about the “health” of our planet pay special attention to waste disposal issues. Moreover, it can be very different: for example, food grade, recyclable, renewable. There are also extremely hazardous waste. These include the most common batteries! The harm they cause is simply enormous, and therefore they have no place among other garbage. We invite you to talk about the damage these little helpers can cause to nature. Let's give and useful tips on recycling and minimizing the harm caused by batteries!
What are batteries
Batteries are an integral part of the life of almost every person. The operation of cell phones, laptops, and various children's toys is based on them. In addition, they ensure the operation of network-powered devices during a power outage.
What is included in used batteries? They contain lead, tin, magnesium, mercury, nickel, zinc and cadmium. All these toxic elements cause irreparable harm – both to human health and the environment!
Statistics
Scientists from different countries calculated: one AA battery, which was thrown out in a forest or park area, can pollute twenty square meters of land or 400 liters of water! But this is not all the consequences. It is also worth mentioning that when burned, batteries release dioxins, which poison the air. These dioxins can travel for kilometers!
Scientists call these objects weapons mass destruction. Environmentalists have been able to calculate exactly what the habit of throwing away food sources can lead to. There is even a specific numerical expression of the damage caused by AA batteries: one such device can cause two trees to not grow, several thousand earthworms that make the soil fertile not to survive, and several families of hedgehogs and moles to die! Although batteries make up only 0.25% of all waste, they account for at least 50% of the toxic metals in trash.
The research results say: in one year Russian family uses 18.8 batteries. That is, on average there are 6.96 batteries per person. And more than 15 million autonomous power supplies end up in landfills in Moscow alone every year! By throwing batteries away with other waste, people don't even realize how much damage they cause to the environment! Destroyed batteries release heavy metals that leach into groundwater.
Contaminated water is used to water plants, animals drink it, and fish live in this water. Along with all this, toxins end up on our table!
Harm to humans
There is no need to be afraid of new batteries. But used power sources are fraught with a lot of dangers! What harm do batteries do to humans? The alkalis included in this device can burn through mucous membranes and skin; cadmium causes significant damage to the kidneys and lungs. The lead contained in used batteries is generally a “record holder” for the number of troubles that it can cause: it kills blood cells, it affects the liver and kidneys, causes irreparable harm to the nervous system and bone tissue! Mercury has negative impact on the respiratory system, and zinc and nickel damage the brain!
All these toxic elements accumulate in the human body, even leading to reproductive and cancer diseases.
Harm to children
Used batteries are especially harmful to children. After all, it is children who actively explore the world, and most often they do this by putting objects in their mouths.
Now imagine what could happen if a baby puts a non-working battery in his mouth. Of course it will start chemical reaction, which can lead to irreparable consequences. In addition, used batteries begin to “leak” over time, that is, dangerous contents leak out, causing chemical burns to the skin.
How to reduce the environmental impact of batteries?
There are ways to prevent environmental disaster. For example, the researchers say, you can purchase batteries that can be charged. In addition, there are batteries that do not contain mercury and cadmium, which means that batteries are harmful to environment is significantly reduced.
It’s better to completely abandon the equipment that requires such power sources. It is worth making a choice in favor of devices operating from the network, manually wound or from alternative sources.
How are they doing?
Every year, residents of the European Union consume 160 thousand batteries for household use. In all countries of the European Union, as well as in the United States of America and Canada, there are great amount waste battery collection points. New York has a law that prohibits throwing used batteries in the trash.
Since batteries are scientifically proven to be harmful, manufacturers and large stores in the EU that sell batteries must accept used devices. Otherwise, the authorities oblige the organizations to pay a fine of $5,000. By the way, the recycling fee is initially included in the price of the battery, and the buyer who returns it receives a discount on a new one!
Knowing how harmful batteries are to the environment, the Japanese simply collect these power sources and store them until the optimal technology for recycling them appears!
Disposal in Russia
In our country, everything is not so rosy yet. If a person who knows about the dangers of batteries decides to recycle them, he will have to spend a lot of time searching for a collection point. Even in the capital there are not so many of them, let alone small towns.
Despite the fact that there is no government control in this area, collection points for used batteries are set up by volunteers. Schoolchildren are also involved in recycling. Teachers and children are working on projects about the dangers of batteries.
How to properly dispose of it?
Once again, when changing the batteries in your player, remote control or toy, do not rush to the trash can. Wrap the batteries in paper and be sure to put them in a bag. Don't hoard a large number of batteries, find a collection point and be sure to take them there.
There is another interesting opportunity to recycle harmful batteries: take the initiative and organize a collection of them right in your home! Prepare a box, place a notice next to it - perhaps your neighbors will follow your example. Then you need to call management company– they are the ones who must transport waste batteries to collection points.
What happens to the batteries next?
Once the batteries have been collected, the recycling process begins. It usually consists of several stages. For example, the processing of products with lead extraction consists of 4 stages.
The batteries are loaded into a large container, from where they are transported along a conveyor belt into a concrete well. Above this well there is a large electromagnet that attracts excess scrap metal. The bottom of the well is a mesh, this is how the electrolyte can drain into a special container. Then the separation of materials begins. This is done using water spray, which is supplied at a pressure of several tens of atmospheres. Small cells and plastic are deposited in a separate tank, and large parts of the batteries are placed in a mechanical ladle in caustic soda, turning them into lead paste.
The third stage is melting lead to a liquid state. The final part of the processing process is refining. The result is two components - lead alloys and refined lead. The alloys are usually immediately sent to factories, and specialists pour the refined metal into ingots that are equal in quality to those produced from the mined ore.
Batteries, have firmly entered our lives. The benefits from them are undeniable. But a lot harm from batteries for human health and the environment.
The reason batteries are harmful is the presence of heavy metals in their composition.
Batteries. Types and classification. Standard sizes.
Let's take a look at the battery sizes. They are clearly presented in a fragment of the table below and cover the most common types.
(The full table is shown)
In the first column of the table, batteries are presented by type of electrochemical system. We will look at it in detail below.
The second column categorizes batteries by size and shape. The chemical composition is not indicated.
The third column is the International Electrochemical Commission (IEC) classification. The English abbreviation is IEC.
According to it, the first digit indicates the number of batteries in the battery (if it is one digit, do not put it).
The letter following it indicates the type of battery based on the composition of the cathode, anode and electrolyte - C - lithium, S - silver-zinc, L - alkaline. If there is no such letter, it means salt.
The letters R and F indicate the shape of the battery, and the last numbers in the designation indicate its size in conventional units from 0.3 to 600.
Type electrochemical system batteries are divided into:
Salt - manganese-zinc and carbon-zinc. They use a zinc body as an anode, manganese dioxide as a cathode, and ammonium chloride as an electrolyte. These include zinc chloride with an electrolyte of zinc chloride.
Alkaline (alkaline). They have a manganese dioxide cathode and zinc anode. Alkaline electrolyte - potassium hydroxide. Previously, mercury was used in them to protect against corrosion. Additives containing lead, bismuth, indium or aluminum are now used.
Lithium . They use various lithium compounds as a cathode, which include copper, iodine, lead, sulfur, and manganese.
Nickel zinc . Anode - zinc, cathode - nickel oxide, electrolyte - potassium hydroxide.
Nickel metal hydride . The anode is a hydrogen-metal hydride. Most often it is nickel-lanthanum hydride or nickel-lithium hydride. The cathode is nickel oxide. The electrolyte is potassium hydroxide.
Mercury-zinc . Anode - zinc, cathode - mercury oxide, electrolyte - potassium hydroxide. Additives against reduction of metallic mercury. The dangers of batteries containing mercury are obvious.
Nickel-cadmium . The anode is cadmium oxide hydrate, the cathode is nickel oxide hydrate, the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide with the addition of LiOH. The harm of batteries containing cadmium is also obvious.
Battery damage.
The harm of batteries is due to the presence of heavy toxic metals and their compounds in them.
The most significant harm is caused by batteries containing cadmium.
Their use in Lately limited, but due to good performance they continue to be produced. In everyday life, these are batteries, including those for power tools (drills, screwdrivers), watch batteries, etc.
Cadmium
belongs to a number of toxic (immunotoxic, neurotoxic) metals. Its compounds belong to group 1 of unconditional carcinogens.
Its toxic effect occurs even at low concentrations. Has the ability to accumulate in the body.
Cadmium poisoning causes:
Cardiopathy- myocardial damage.
Emphysema- stretching of the alveoli and disruption of the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Osteoporosis- decreased bone strength.
Anemia- decrease in hemoglobin concentration in the blood.
Deficiency of calcium, zinc, iron, copper, selenium in the body.
Organ damage occurs first genitourinary system in the form of prostatopathy (adenoma, pre-cancer and oncological diseases prostate gland) and nephropathy - damage to the parenchyma and glomerular apparatus of the kidneys.
There is also a decrease in activity digestive enzymes, defeat liver decreased formation of glycogen in it, decreased testosterone levels A. With high levels of cadmium in the blood hearing is affected.
Poisoning occurs when it enters the body through gastrointestinal tract and respiratory tract.
Of course, all these horrors are unlikely in everyday life and are typical for industries in which people are engaged in the manufacture of batteries or dyes.
But the fact is that a huge amount of cadmium enters the environment, for example, through wastewater(later getting into tap water), mineral fertilizers (accumulating in plants), exhaust gases (polluting the air), industrial and household waste(including non-recycled batteries).
Every year, about 1000 tons of cadmium are produced worldwide, of which only about 10% are recycled.
A significant portion of cadmium enters the body with tobacco smoke, since tobacco is prone to the accumulation of cadmium from the soil.
If you take into account the listed factors and add cadmium from a depressurized battery in the house, poisoning is quite likely.
Mercury -zinc. The harm caused by batteries containing mercury has decreased significantly today since they are no longer produced in most countries. But their arrival to us from the countries where they are produced cannot be ruled out. Because of their efficiency in operation, they are used to power watches and other devices. Such a power source, left unsealed in the house, can become a source of contamination.
The manufacturer sometimes indicates that mercury is not used in production. This may be evidenced by the inscription - "Mercury - 0%."
But it's not just mercury and cadmium that are used in battery production.
The harm of batteries also lies in the fact that other heavy metals and their compounds are used as additives in them, in small quantities. These additives are used to slow down the oxidation of electrodes, increase the conductivity of the electrolyte, or to slow down the deposition of pure reduced metal on the electrodes.
Such additives are also present in lithium and nickel-metal hydride batteries, which are declared safe.
Additives include the following metals and their compounds:
Chromium . Toxic in pure form. Chromium compounds cause dermatitis and can cause cancer.
Bismuth . IN normal conditions slightly toxic. But in the presence of certain substances (lactic acid or glycerin), bismuth compounds can cause severe poisoning.
Vanadium . When exposed to toxic doses of vanadium, local reactions of the skin, mucous membranes of the eyes, respiratory tract. Allergic reactions, leukopenia, and anemia may be caused. Toxic dose is 0.25 mg, lethal - 4 mg.
Indium . Soluble indium compounds are damaging internal organs, cause irritation to the eyes and skin. The maximum permissible concentration of indium in the air is 0.1 g/m3.
Lead. The toxicity of lead is well known.
In addition to heavy toxic metals and their compounds, batteries use hydroxides as electrolytes. active metals — alkalis. These are caustic, aggressive chemical compounds cause damage to living tissues (and not only living ones) when they come into contact with leaking batteries.
Why is all this being said?
We cannot visually determine the harm of batteries, their danger, since we do not know which of the above is included by the manufacturer in our battery.
Batteries must not be stored in open form, and after use they must be disposed of. Just recycle it. Do not burn, because when burning toxic substances are not destroyed, but sublime or remain in ash, adding pollution to our environment and exacerbating harm from batteries.
And pollution will return to us through water, food and inhaled air.
Looking at a regular AA battery, you will almost always see this sign on it:
It means: “Do not throw away, must be taken to a special recycling point”.
And this sign on the battery is worth it for a reason!
It is estimated that one AA battery, carelessly thrown into the trash, can contaminate about 20 square meters of land with heavy metals, and in a forest zone this is the habitat of two trees, two moles, one hedgehog and several thousand earthworms!
Batteries contain many various metals— mercury, nickel, cadmium, lead, lithium, manganese and zinc, which tend to accumulate in living organisms, including the human body, and cause significant harm to health.
What are the dangers of heavy metals in batteries?
Lead. Accumulates mainly in the kidneys. It also causes brain diseases and nervous disorders.
Cadmium. Accumulates in the liver, kidneys, bones and thyroid gland. It is a carcinogen, meaning it causes cancer.
Mercury. Affects the brain, nervous system, kidneys and liver. Causes nervous disorders, blurred vision, hearing, musculoskeletal disorders, and respiratory system diseases. Children are the most vulnerable. Metallic mercury is poison. According to the degree of impact on the human body, mercury belongs to the 1st hazard class - “extremely hazardous substances”. Regardless of the route of entry into the body, mercury accumulates in the kidneys.
A battery carelessly thrown into the trash ends up in a landfill, where every summer it ignites and smolders along with other garbage (and even burns in waste incineration plants), releasing clouds of DIOXINS with clouds of smoke. Even minimal doses of these toxic compounds (their effect is 67,000 times stronger than cyanide) cause cancer and reproductive diseases to humanity. And also poisoning, delayed development and poor health of children...
Dioxins enter our body not only through smoke: with rainwater they enter the soil, water and plants. Next — along the chain — straight to our table with food and drink.
So it doesn’t matter whether you live next to the incineration plant in Rudnevo, next to the landfill on Dmitrovka or in pine forest on Rublevka.
For dioxins, seven miles is not a detour.
And they have plenty of time for such trips – due to the huge period of decay.
Toxic substances from batteries, in any case, penetrate into the soil, into groundwater, end up in our sea and in our reservoirs, from which we drink water, without thinking that harmful chemical compounds (from your own battery, thrown away for a week back to the garbage chute) do not disappear with boiling, are not killed - they are not microbes.
Statistics
According to a study of 3,800 households in Russia in 2011, on average there were 18.8 batteries per family or 6.96 batteries per person.
It is estimated that more than 15 million batteries end up in landfills in Moscow alone every year.
Throughout the civilized world, used batteries are collected and disposed of separately from household waste.
It's okay not to throw poison into the ground!
These are comfortable and important elements our everyday life - batteries, or household batteries(“finger”, “little finger”, etc.) are by no means harmless for the environment and for you and me, respectively. It is not for nothing that you can see a sign on the batteries, meaning that they should not be thrown into a regular trash can, but should be taken to a special recycling point. The reason for this is the content of heavy metals in them (mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, manganese, lithium). Scientists have calculated that one (!) small battery thrown into a trash can can pollute approximately 20 square meters of soil or 400 liters of water. Heavy metals can accumulate in the body of humans and animals, causing serious harm to health.
For example, mercury is one of the most dangerous toxic substances for humans. It affects the liver and kidneys, nervous system and brain, causing diseases of the respiratory system, nervous disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, hearing and vision impairment.
Lead mainly accumulates in the kidneys, it causes nervous disorders and brain diseases, joint and muscle pain, can damage the fetus in the womb, and slow down the growth of the child.
Cadmium is a carcinogen that causes cancer. It accumulates in the thyroid gland, bones, kidneys and liver, negatively affecting the functioning of all organs.
How are harmful substances released from batteries?
Do not think that the landfill is far away and the harm from batteries does not affect us. Everything is connected to everything. When garbage is burned at landfills (spontaneously), dioxins end up in the ground and water, then in the plants we eat (mushrooms, berries). They spread over long distances, affecting the entire population, so it does not matter whether a person lives in close proximity to an incinerator or not. They penetrate into the soil, groundwater and reservoirs. Boiling water does not remove heavy metals, unlike bacteria.
Even if the batteries are not burned, their cases in water or soil gradually become corroded and destroyed, after which harmful substances are released into the environment.
How to minimize damage?
When buying batteries, it is better to take those that say “mercury-free” and “cadmium-free”. You can also buy rechargeable batteries that are used repeatedly; one battery can replace a thousand or more regular batteries, which ultimately will not end up in the trash bin.
And, of course, it must be recycled! In our city there are special enterprises that accept batteries from the public (for a small fee) for recycling.
As part of the environmental women's race "Running Lena", free acceptance of batteries will be organized from the partner of KS Almazcreditservice. Bring your own batteries, let's reduce your negative impact on the environment!
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