IN CASE YOU MISSED IT: A version of article was originally published by ThoroldToday on August 15.
An alkaline battery processing plant recently opened in Thorold South, and now City Council wants to make sure there’s a process in place in the event that lithium batteries are being brought in as well.
As ThoroldToday reported, while the new battery processing plant exclusively deals with alkaline batteries, the owner EVSX has signalled their intent to eventually also process lithium batteries.
“We’ve had problems in the past with lithium batteries that directly affected our community,” said Councillor Henry D’Angela, during Tuesday’s city council meeting. “So if there are any regulations, any promotion of safety, I think it’s very critical.”
Councillor D’Angela pointed to an incident in 2007, when there was a big explosion involving lithium batteries at Clean Harbors Canada in Port Robinson.
That’s why he asked Thorold City Council to throw their approval behind a motion from the Township of Wawa, to ask the provincial government to enact regulations for the importation, sale, storage, and use of non-OEM or ULC certified lithium-ion batteries.
Councillor Jim Handley asked if the battery-processing plant in Thorold South needs to come before council again if they want to start bringing in lithium batteries.
“We’ve approved this battery plant," he said. “What process do we have in place to ensure the citizens that they’re not bringing in lithium batteries without us knowing?”
Fire Chief Terry Dixon said that the city currently has no guidelines in place.
“At this point there is no process in place for lithium batteries and how they manoeuvre them, how they keep them,” Dixon said. “This is part of the whole advocacy to the province. This is a good thing to get the motor running up at the province to get them to put things in place.”
In the end, council decided to support the motion by the Municipality of Wawa, and Fire Chief Dixon will come back to council with a report on guidelines for the use, storage and transportation of lithium-ion batteries.
