VIDEO: Firefighters Tackle Blaze at Battery Recycling Facility in Walsall, UK

Credit: ‏@ExpressandStar Some 50 firefighters were called to a serious fire at the G&P Batteries battery recycling facility in Walsall, UK yesterday. According to West Midlands Fire Service the incident involved a stack of lithium batteries in a building of around 100 metres by 30 metres on Willenhall Road, Darlaston. The blaze is the second to occur at the facility in the last two weeks. The building involved in the latest incident was said to have been used for storing the end-of-life batteries prior to recycling. A number of reports said that loud explosions were heard at the scene, and that one person is being treated following the incident. The Fire Service said that it sent 10 crews, including 50 firefighters to tackle the blaze. In doing so the crews relayed water from the nearby Walsall Canal in an effort to protect the surrounding buildings. According to a report by the Express and Star, Neil Spencer, a spokesman for the Fire Service, said: “This is a severe fire in a battery waste recycling plant involving lithium batteries.” The Environment Agency Midlands said that its officers were attending G&P Batteries with the Fire Service to check for any environmental impacts from the battery fire. Michael Green, managing director of G&P Batteries was reported to have said: “Some guys were working on some of the waste batteries which suddenly began to smoke and then burst into flames. “We had a similar incident two weeks ago. We work with materials that do carry a risk but we try and make sure that risk is kept to a minimum.” Following the fire on 14 January this year, Green commented: “At the height of the blaze, exploding batteries could be heard in the local area, which made the incident seem worse than it actually was. The efforts of the fire brigade meant the blaze was soon under control.” A video of the firefighters tackling the blaze can be seen below. [youtube:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gM4qPAee5Gg|Read More VIDEO: Huge Fire at Recycling Facility Threatens Air Traffic in Birmingham A huge fire at recycling facility which contains 100,000 tonnes of paper and plastics is sending a smoke plume 6000 feet (1800 metres) into the air and threatening travel to and from Birmingham airport in the UK’s West Midlands. It is now believed that the fire was caused by a Chinese lantern. VIDEO 15,000 Tonne Tyre Blaze at Yorks Recycling Facility Visible from Space A serious fire at a recycling facility containing around 15,000 tonnes of tyres in Sherburn-in-Elmet, North Yorkshire has created a toxic plume of black smoke that is visible from space. The Lithium Battery Recycling Challenge Growing popularity of hybrid cars is driving the global demand for lithium but what about when these cars reach the end of their lives? Can Li-ion batteries be easily recycled? Aswin Kumar looks at the economics of recycling and current trials that are underway. Fine Grinding Project to Boost UK Battery Recycling A new research project, being conducted by a consortium including includes G&P Batteries, is intending to extract and recycle metals from end-of-life portable batteries is using a patented fine grinding technology to reduce the ‘black mass’ solid inner core of alkaline batteries into a powder form.]