JLG X20JPLUS - 5.Lithium Battery Fire

180
BoomLiftModels X20JPLUS
MAINTENANCE
MUX20JP021602
•Evenifthisisquiteunlikely,theremaybefiresasaconsequenceoftheexplo‐
sion.Thewaystheseemergenciesarefacedaredescribedinthefollowingpara‐
graph.
•Theexplodedcellmaybehot.Allowittocooldowntoambienttemperature
beforehandlingit(seeProcedureforhandlinghotcells).
•W
earsafetyequipment:coat,gloves,maskandfilters.
•Incaseofexplosiontheareaaroundthecellwillbecoveredbyablackcarbo‐
naceousmaterialwhichcontainsmetallicpartsofthecell.Coverthecarbonace‐
ous residues with a 50/50 mixture of soda and vermiculite or other absorbent
material.Avoidcont
actbetweenthemetallic residuesandchargedcells,as this
conditionmaycauseashort‐circuit.
•Place the contaminated material in a sealable plastic bag and remove the
excessair.Sealthebag.
•Placeacupofvermiculiteinasecondbag,placethefirstbaginthesecondand
sealit.
•Cleantheareawi
thplentyofwaterandkeepcleaningwithwaterandsoap.
•Disposeofthehazardousmaterialinaccordancewiththelocallegislati onin
force.
FORTHEFIRSTAIDINTHEEVENTOFCONTACTWITHTHE
ELECTROLYTESEETHEPREVIOUSPARAGRAPHʺPROCEDUREFORHAN‐
DLINGVENTEDCELLS(P. 177)ʺ.
12.18.1.5.Lithiumbatteryfire
Allmetalsmayburnincert
ainconditions,whichdependoncertainfactorssuch
as:physicalstate,presenceofoxidisingatmospheresandseverityofthe sourceof
ignition.Alkalimetalssuchaslithiummayburninnormalatmospheres.Inaddi‐
tion,lithiumreactsexplosivelywithwatertoformhydrogenandthepresenceof
smallqu
antitiesofwatermaysetfiretothematerialandthehydrogengasthatis
released.Once metal fires startthey are  veryhard toextinguishwithordinary
equipment.Thisispartlyduetothestrongheatproducedbytheburningmetal,
whosetemperaturemayreach1 000°C. In addition,lithiummayreactwithcert
ain
materialscommonlyusedinfireextinguishers,likewaterandCO2.Specialextin‐
guishersarerequired,designedforcontrollingandextinguishinglithiumfires.In
particular,graphi te ‐basedextinguishers(Lith‐x)areused.Usuallytheseextingui‐
shersworkbyformingacrustoralayerofmaterialonthe surfaceoftheburning
metal.Lith‐x,whi
chisacommongraphite‐basedagent,maybeusedwithanex‐
tinguisherorspreadoverthefire.In theeventoflithiumfire,theroommayfill
withadensewhitesmoke,mostlyformedbylithiumoxideandothermetaloxi‐