Batteries contain many heavy metals and electrolyte solution, these heavy metals and electrolyte solution have a certain degree of toxicity, what happens if you break a battery these heavy metals and electrolyte solution will penetrate into the soil and groundwater, causing great harm to the ecological environment, and these heavy metals in nature is not self-degradation, can only occur migration, once migrated to the Once migrated into the water or soil, it will cause water and soil pollution, so that the water and soil can not be reflected in their own purification capacity.
Lithium batteries are absolutely harmful to the human body, the most harmful is the electrolyte solution, the electrolyte is an organic volatile liquid, and has obvious corrosive, prolonged inhalation of volatile gas damage to the respiratory tract, causing respiratory diseases. The lead in lithium batteries can cause osteoporosis, produce a pungent smell, and inhalation in excess can damage human health, causing thyroid dysfunction, endocrine disorders, and neurological and immune system problems. The plastic casing also produces toxic substances containing chlorine, which is even a class 1 carcinogen. The cadmium in lithium batteries is a very toxic heavy metal, and when you breathe in these toxic substances you may suffer from bone softening, anaemia, emphysema and possibly paralysis, but of course I am not saying that this is serious, but just to show you the dangers of lithium batteries
If you carry out external violence to destroy the battery, lithium batteries in a full state, the negative electrode has lithium ion embedding reaction into lithium metal deposition on the surface of the negative electrode, the solvent is oxidized; will be with the lithium battery temperature, lithium metal and solvent, embedded lithium carbon and solvent reaction occurs one after another, the battery fire, explosion. Then it will produce these toxic gases, plus some metals will pollute the river banks and river pasture, food, soil through the food chain and into the human body and slowly accumulate in the bones and kidneys, it will replace the calcium in the bone, so that the bones are seriously softened or even bone broken, the metal toxicity is potential
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You can see that if you forcefully destroy, the current lithium battery will not explode, in line with the standards of lithium iron products, due to its chemical properties, as well as the addition of flame retardants after the protection, knife cut should not occur after spontaneous combustion. However, some toxic gases will not be released.
Summary
What happens if you break a battery will produce a large amount of toxic gases, which can lead to metal poisoning and leave a legacy of illness when inhaled in excess.