What does “Safe” mean when talking about Lithium-ion Batteries?
In our first Blog post “Fear of an EV Fire is Unjustified” we asked “Are Electric Vehicles as ‘Dangerous’ as some people say?“
And then we asked the wider question … are LITHIUM-ION BATTERIES really UNsafe? … and you will remember that the answer was a resounding – er- maybe? …. yes and no sort of answer.
Statistically they are safe – Underwriters Laboratory estimate that –
Less than 1 Li-ion battery in 1 Million – actually catches fire,
– so there is no need to feel that you are living on a knife edge.
The answer we gave was ‘yes AND no’, but we explained that it is NO if the batteries are well made and well cared for, and maybe YES if they are cheaply made, damaged, or mistreated.
A good Electric Vehicle will be very safe by any standards, but a low cost E-scooter, with a broken charger can be VERY UNSAFE.
SO OBVIOUSLY “YES and NO” ISN’T AN ANSWER
We need to go back a little –
WE NEED TO MAKE SENSE OF WHAT WE MEAN BY – ‘SAFE’
Let’s take one minute to separate ‘SAFE’ into two logical elements – which become obvious as soon as you see them!
Question #1 What can possibly go wrong? …. this is called the HAZARD –
What ARE the hazards? What happens if things go wrong?
If you are in the ‘Safety Business’ (managing safety), or you climb tall factory chimneys, or put out fires, or jump out of aeroplanes, you know the two parts of the story…. you stay alive because you ask the question….
What is the HAZARD? – what could go wrong?
A fall of 20m (65 feet) from a ladder is the HAZARD. This can happen.
THIS IS the HAZARD – in this case the Uncontrolled Transition from ‘UP there’ to ‘DOWN here’ – is just sort of – THERE ‒ WAITING – all the time! Hazards are there all the time. Ladders are HAZARD-ous by nature!
– If your 12 year old daughter climbs the ladder in a thunderstorm to get her drone back, is she ‘SAFE’?
– If a professional construction worker climbs the ladder, in fine weather wearing a harness and connected to a fall arrestor, is he SAFE?
YOU can answer those questions yourself, now …..
The HAZARD is the same for both of them…. The ladder is ‘waiting for someone’ and it doesn’t care who!
Question #2 How likely is it that things could go wrong? This is the RISK
What chance that it could actually go wrong?
It is the RISK that tells the story about how safe they are….
What chance that things could go wrong?
>> Being SAFE has nothing to do with the HAZARD <<
Being safe is all about the RISK and how you can make things safer by –
MANAGING the RISK
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