Human life is constantly in motion, in fact, as well as scientific and technological progress. A huge number of modern inventions require autonomous energy sources - accumulators and batteries. But sooner or later, every battery goes out of service and needs to be thrown away. Few people know how strong the effect of these little things on the environment and human health.

A battery is an autonomous source of electricity for powering devices. Batteries can be of different sizes and types. However, they can also be disposable and rechargeable.

According to scientists from the protection agency environment It has become clear to the United States that batteries account for more than 50% of toxic emissions from all household waste. At the same time, batteries account for 0.25% of all emissions. Used batteries contain mercury, cadmium, magnesium, lead, tin, nickel, zinc.

If people throw batteries in the trash, then as a result, they end up in city dumps. And since landfills (where they exist) are not equipped with filtration protection against harmful impurities and heavy metals, therefore, all these super-harmful substances enter the groundwater.

Meanwhile, the harmful substances that are contained in used batteries, getting into the human body (and this happens necessarily), accumulate in it, so even a small amount of them indicates a specific danger. For example, cadmium affects the work of every organ in the body, blocks the work of enzymes, and can provoke lung cancer.

It should be added that one battery pollutes 400 liters of water and 20 m2 of soil with harmful components.

Disposal of used batteries in the EU

More than 160,000 batteries for household use are produced annually in the European Union market. More than 45% of them end up in city landfills. There are only two factories in Europe that can recycle batteries. This is due to the high cost of processing. That is why most of them are sent to a safe burial.

Tips for using batteries to reduce their environmental impact

1. It is recommended to give preference to such equipment that does not require the use of batteries: products that operate from the mains, from alternative energy sources or from manual winding.
2. Buy batteries that can be recharged.
3. You need to buy batteries with the inscription "without cadmium", "without mercury".
4. Batteries must not be disposed of in the general waste bin. They need to be stored in places for their subsequent disposal. If it is not possible to take the batteries to collection points, it is recommended to save them in a closed plastic container, preferably not in the house, until better times.
5. Finding like-minded people will help clean up the planet and also create accountability for the collected cargo. Moreover, it will appear great opportunity take the batteries for recycling.

Nikita Volkov "A small battery and its great harm to the environment" specially for the Eco-life website.

Batteries have firmly entered our lives. Their benefits are undeniable. But a lot and harm to batteries for human health and the environment.

The cause of harm to batteries 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 the fragment of the table below and cover the most common types.

(Full table is given)

In the first column of the table, batteries are presented by type of electrochemical system. We will consider it in detail below.

In the second column, the batteries are classified by size and shape. The chemical composition is not specified.

The third column is the classification of the International Electrochemical Commission (IEC). 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 according to 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 digits in the designation indicate its size in arbitrary units from 0.3 to 600.

Type electrochemical system Batteries are divided into:

Salt - manganese-zinc and coal-zinc. They use a zinc case as an anode, manganese dioxide as a cathode, and ammonium chloride as an electrolyte. These include chloride-zinc with an electrolyte of zinc chloride.

alkaline (alkaline). They have a manganese dioxide cathode and a zinc anode. The alkaline electrolyte is potassium hydroxide. Previously, they used mercury to protect against corrosion. Now additives containing lead, bismuth, indium or aluminum are used.

Lithium . As a cathode, they use various lithium compounds, which include copper, iodine, lead, sulfur, manganese.

Nickel zinc . The anode is zinc, the cathode is nickel oxide, and the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide.

Nickel metal hydride . The anode is 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 . The anode is zinc, the cathode is mercury oxide, and the electrolyte is potassium hydroxide. Additives against the recovery of metallic mercury. The harm of batteries containing mercury is obvious.

Nickel-cadmium . The anode is cadmium oxide hydrate, the cathode is nickel oxide hydrate, and 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 to batteries containing cadmium.

Their application 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 the 1st group of unconditional carcinogens.

Its toxic effect is manifested even at low concentrations. Has the ability to accumulate in the body.

Cadmium poisoning causes:

cardiopathy- myocardial damage.

emphysema- stretching of the alveoli and a violation of the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Osteoporosis- decrease in bone strength.

Anemia- a decrease in the concentration of hemoglobin 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-oncological and oncological diseases of the 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 decrease in the formation of glycogen in it, a decrease in testosterone levels but. With a high content of cadmium in the blood hearing is affected.

Poisoning occurs when it enters the body through the 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 (subsequently falling into tap water), mineral fertilizers (accumulates in plants), exhaust gases (polluting the air), industrial and household waste ( including non-recycled batteries).

About 1000 tons of cadmium are produced annually in the world, of which only about 10% is utilized.

A significant part of cadmium enters the body with tobacco smoke, since tobacco is prone to the accumulation of cadmium from the soil.

Given the above factors, adding cadmium from a depressurized battery in the house, then poisoning is quite likely.

mercury -zinc. The harm of batteries containing mercury has significantly decreased 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 clocks and other appliances. 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 the production. This may be indicated by the inscription - "Mercury - 0%".

But not only mercury and cadmium are used in the production of batteries.

The harm of batteries also lies in the fact that other heavy metals and their compounds are also used as additives in them, in small quantities. These additives are used to slow down the oxidation of the 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 declared safe.

Additives include such metals and their compounds:

Chromium . Toxic in its purest form. Chromium compounds cause dermatitis and can cause oncological diseases.

Bismuth . Under normal conditions, it is slightly toxic. But in the presence of certain substances (lactic acid or glycerol), bismuth compounds can cause severe poisoning.

Vanadium . When exposed to toxic doses of vanadium, local reactions of the skin, mucous membranes of the eyes, and respiratory tract are possible. Allergic reactions, leukopenia, anemia can be caused. The toxic dose is 0.25 mg, the lethal dose is 4 mg.

Indium . Soluble indium compounds affect internal organs, cause eye and skin irritation. The maximum allowable 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 in batteries, hydroxides of active metals are used as an electrolyte - alkali. It's caustic, aggressive chemical compounds cause damage to living tissues (and not only living ones) when exposed to them from leaking batteries.

Why is all this being said?

We cannot visually determine the harm of batteries, their danger, because we do not know what, from the above, is invested by the manufacturer in our battery.

Batteries must not be stored in open form and must be disposed of after use. Just dispose of it. Do not burn, because when burned, toxic substances are not destroyed, but are sublimated or remain in the ash, adding pollution to our environment and aggravating harm to batteries.

And pollution will return to us with water, food and inhaled air.

Batteries of various capacities and sizes are an integral part of life modern man. Some people know, and many guess, that batteries contain various metals that, interacting with each other, provide people with the work of numerous devices.

But the axiom of life says that "everything has a beginning, and everything has an end." That is, sooner or immediately (joke) the batteries become unusable and are thrown into the trash. This is what smart people do, and illiterate stunners throw away batteries "anywhere", causing significant harm to nature by their actions.

Battery damage to the environment

Domestic and foreign scientists have calculated that one AA battery thrown away in a park area / in a forest can pollute 20 m2 of territory with heavy metals. In this case, the harm of batteries to the environment has a specific numerical expression: two trees will not grow on polluted 20 m2, several thousand earthworms (they make the earth fertile), several families of hedgehogs and moles will not be able to live.

Here are such sad studies of the harm to the environment from batteries.

We will feel the harm of batteries for humans when heavy metal salts formed after the decomposition of the battery case get into groundwater, which can go to a filter station.

In capitalist countries, used batteries are not thrown into general trash cans, as we do, but into separate containers. Then the now useless batteries are recycled without causing any harm to nature. Probably, the size of their states makes their governments take care of the environment.

For example: 30% of the territory of the Netherlands is below sea level, because these lands were reclaimed by people from King Neptune. They are not flooded sea ​​water only due to a well-thought-out system of dams and canals.

And we have such expanses that some people think something like this: one thousand km2 more, one less - what nonsense.

Harm of batteries for children

Children must explore the world, and they do this, often by densely stuffing objects into their mouths. Now imagine that a child put an ownerless, even non-working battery into his mouth. Naturally, it will start chemical reaction saliva and battery composition, which is no good for little man cannot end.

Therefore, smart parents never throw any objects that can harm children within their reach. And batteries included.

After all, often used batteries begin to “leak”, that is, they leak chemical composition, which can harm the skin of an adult, not to mention the skin of a child.

The main task of smart parents is to prepare their child for the strict rules of modern adult life. Parents should teach children to communicate with adults and peers, give the basics of psychology, teach skills that will be useful to their children during the “long journey”. Girls are taught to be “guardians of the family hearth”, and boys are taught to be providers and protectors of their relatives and families.

This is called - to develop models of behavior in various life situations.

Everyone knows, especially the heads of various departments, that there must be an evacuation plan during a fire and other emergency. And many forget to acquaint their children with the "evacuation plan" in various life situations.

Therefore, many people spend their whole lives looking for their place in life and do not find it. So they remain to live with the unloved and go to the hated job.

The use of batteries for children lies in working portable gadgets. Everything.

Looking at an ordinary finger-type battery, you will almost always see this sign on it:

It means: “Do not throw away, must be handed over to a special recycling center”.

And this sign on the battery is not without reason!

It is estimated that one AA battery, carelessly thrown into the trash can, can contaminate with heavy metals about 20 square meters land, and in the forest zone it is the habitat of two trees, two moles, one hedgehog and several thousand earthworms!
Batteries contain many different 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.

Why are heavy metals in batteries dangerous?

Lead. Accumulates mainly in the kidneys. It also causes brain diseases, nervous disorders.

Cadmium. It 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, deterioration of vision, hearing, disorders of the motor apparatus, diseases of the respiratory system. Children are the most vulnerable. Metallic mercury is a poison. According to the degree of impact on the human body, mercury belongs to the 1st hazard class - “extremely hazardous substances”. Regardless of the routes of entry into the body, mercury accumulates in the kidneys.

A battery carelessly thrown into the trash bin ends up in a landfill, where every summer it ignites and smolders with other garbage (and burns at all in waste incineration plants), releasing clouds of DIOXINS with clouds of smoke. Even the smallest doses of these toxic compounds (their action is 67,000 times stronger than cyanide) humanity owes oncological and reproductive diseases. And also poisoning, slow development and poor health of children ...
Dioxins enter our body not only with smoke, but with rainwater they enter the soil, water and plants. Further - along the chain - directly to our table with food and drink.

So it doesn't matter if you live next to a waste incineration plant in Rudnevo, next to a landfill on Dmitrovka, or in a 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 decay period.

Poisonous substances from batteries, in any case, penetrate into the soil, into groundwater, enter our sea and our reservoirs, from which we drink water, not thinking that harmful chemical compounds (from your own battery, thrown out for a week back into the garbage chute) do not disappear with boiling, they are not killed - they are not microbes.

Statistics
According to the results of a study of 3,800 households in Russia, on average in 2011, 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 the landfills of 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!

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