The owner of a lithium battery recycling facility that exploded in flames says he can no longer afford the cost of the clean-up and has warned the site is a ticking time bomb.
Inferno burned for five hours
The inferno three months ago burned for five hours, fuelled by 80 tonnes of batteries, and smothered Perth’s southern suburbs in toxic smoke. The Li-ion Energy yard, in Maddington, was completely destroyed in what was WA’s worst ever lithium-ion fire, yet the danger remains.
Despite clean-up efforts, another fire ignited at the site three weeks ago.
“They’re batteries, they’ve got a tendency of self combusting,” business owner Justin Manton told 7NEWS. “(Another fire or explosion) could be just as bad if not worse as the original as there’s more batteries remaining than there was burnt in the first fire.”
Owner calls for government help
Manton said he has been working to make the site safe since the emergency but with no income he can no longer afford to do so. He wants the government to step in.
“The WA government, the agencies have stood by and watched us do it and now we’ve completely collapsed, hence this interview now to let people know they’re still not doing anything about it,” Manton said.
He believes the batteries, which were manufactured in France and then used in EV buses in NSW, are faulty.
“As soon as I told them that these batteries were defective and they could explode, and they have exploded, they should have taken it over straight away,” Manton said. “As far as I’m concerned, they’re remiss in their duty of care.”
Health and safety risks
UWA Centre for Energy director Dongke Zhang said the threat from a fire is dangerous to health and potentially could be so severe it “can kill people”.
At this stage, the batteries will remain stacked under tarps at the yard while the WA government tries to come up with a solution, 11 weeks on from the fire. In a statement, it said it is working to develop a long term disposal plan for the hazardous material.
“I can guarantee there’s a high risk,” Manton said. “I’ve been here for both explosions and I know it’s going to happen again if nothing gets done soon to remove these.”
