Hazmat call at Tampa children's clinic highlights lithium-ion battery dangers

TAMPA, Fla. - Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital will reopen its outpatient facility on Bruce B. Downs Boulevard in Tampa on Monday. Hillsborough County firefighters were able to contain smoldering lithium-ion batteries that were leaking hydrogen on Thursday.

Appointments were canceled on Thursday and Friday while the building was secured by firefighters who worked for hours to remove a bank of thirty batteries, which weighed 100 pounds each.

The batteries were a backup supply for an MRI machine and may have been damaged by a power surge that hit the day before.

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Lithium-ion batteries are prevalent because they're efficient.

Three were taken to the hospital, that have all been released, while 10 had minor injuries. The clinic evacuated 80 people when the batteries were discovered.

"The danger multiplies with the number of batteries," said Yogi Goswami, a University of South Florida professor of engineering.

Thursday's incident is the latest dangerous incident involving lithium-ion batteries. Firefighters in New York City responded to more than 200 e-scooter fires, which killed six people. In 2022, the FAA says there were 62 incidents aboard planes.

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The US is funding battery research to find even safer alternatives.

Experts warn that as soon as a battery starts feeling hot or expanding in size to stop using it immediately.

Tesla batteries have also caught fire, though the federal government says it happens rarely.

"I don't want to cause a lot of concern in people's minds, because most batteries are safe batteries," said Goswami.

Lithium-ion batteries are so prevalent now because of how efficient they are in generating power relative to their small size and weight.

Experts say that if a battery starts feeling or expanding it should stop being used.

University of Florida professor Katerina Aifantis points out lithium-ion batteries have exploded during hurricanes, and argues more research is needed to find an even safer form of portable, highly efficient energy.

"The US is funding battery research at the moment," she said. "Usually though, what they like to fund is the next technology."

Hillsborough County Fire Rescue used a pallet lift to move the bank of batteries out of the clinic in Tampa. They then rendered the hydrogen inert with a neutralizing agent.