by Charles Miller

A news article on the website of the BBC in London caught my attention yesterday. It was reported that back in February the Hezbollah terrorists in Lebanon had abandoned using cell phones and switched to pocket pagers that could not be tracked. Then at 3:30pm on last Tuesday thousands of them exploded. Someone had loaded an ounce or two of pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) in the pagers and remotely detonated them. The finger of blame was quickly pointed at the Israeli Mossad, while one blog poster suggested the Chinese manufacturer of the pagers put the explosives there so they could "deactivate" the merchandise if the buyer failed to pay for the shipment. In either case this is a devastating psychological blow to terrorists who will never again look at a cell phone or pager without seeing a grenade.

With that as background I was not taken aback when a lady phoned me asking whether or not she should be concerned for her safety when she carried her smart phone in a pocket. I responded by telling her she should be concerned if she is a terrorist or one who supports them, but failing that there is probably little reason to worry. I am not sure she appreciated my sense of humor.

Putting politics and all kidding aside, the fact of the matter is that rechargeable lithium-ion batteries in smartphones, pagers, and other portable devices do not have a history of exploding. They do sometimes overheat, they can catch fire, sometimes they swell up breaking the glass of a smartphone or tablet, but exploding with enough force to do great harm is almost unknown... at least until last Tuesday. The fact that several thousand pagers in Lebanon all exploded during the same hour is not a coincidence, in other words it was not the batteries. Exploding is atypical of rechargeable batteries so I do not believe there is cause for most of us to be concerned.

Rechargeable lithium-ion batteries do have the potential to be dangerous when it comes to the risk of fire. The electrolyte used in lithium-ion batteries is highly flammable. Fortunately, the phenomenon called "thermal runaway" is most likely to occur while charging, not during normal use. If a fire occurs it releases toxic gases and can be extremely difficult to extinguish. This is at its most dangerous when the huge battery of an electric vehicle is involved.

So what should the consumer know? First and most important is to never use any charger other than the one recommended by the manufacturer of your laptop, smartphone, or tablet. Using the wrong charger often damages the battery while much less often it causes a fire.

Second, knowing that a rechargeable battery is potentially a fire risk, be mindful of charging it while near combustibles such as a wooden table or bookshelf. Sleeping with your smartphone under your pillow is probably a bad idea.

Finally, keep your rechargeable batteries in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight and heat sources. Any battery that is swelling or bulging, or feels hot to the touch or one that is emitting an unusual odor could be an eminent fire risk. Any such battery should be disposed of immediately and properly.

In the previous paragraph I did not mention smoke as being something to look for. If you see smoke your battery is already on fire so you should get it to where it can burn out safely then get away from the device immediately.

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Charles Miller is a freelance computer consultant with decades of IT experience and a Texan with a lifetime love for Mexico. The opinions expressed are his own. He may be contacted at 415-101-8528 or email FAQ8 (at) SMAguru.com.

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