At around 3:45 p.m., a fire broke out in a bucket containing lithium batteries awaiting incineration in a hazardous waste treatment centre. Before the operator on duty was able to pour absorbent sand into the bucket, a battery began to leak, then ignited and exploded. The fire spread to a nearby bucket. Another operator moved the pallet containing the buckets outside the shed to prevent the fire from spreading. The operators were able to control the fire with dry chemical extinguishers designed for metal fires (class D) and then triggered the alarm to warn the site’s emergency services. The site’s emergency firefighters were able to place the still incandescent batteries into a metal container, and then put them into the furnace chute. The incident ended around 4 p.m. The powder from the extinguishers was recovered and placed in buckets for subsequent processing in the rotary kiln.

The batteries had arrived at the site packaged in trays, which were themselves packaged in cartons. These batteries are considered manufacturing scraps, devoid of any protective plastic film and without protection on the terminals. Due to the number of batteries contained in a box (120 batteries/carton representing an excessively high calorific load) and the size of the boxes, unpacking is necessary before introduction into the furnace. The batteries are then packed in a cylindrical plastic bucket in batches of 60. The operator was newly assigned to the job and had just filled a bucket when he observed the fire starting in it. The most likely hypothesis is that a battery had short-circuited, causing it to heat up and ignite.

The event was attributed to the operator who had not followed the repackaging procedure. The operating procedure stipulates that stripped batteries (i.e., without a protective plastic film) must be handled carefully and removed from their tray owing to the risk of overheating that could lead to an explosion.

Following the accident, the operator informed the technicians of the procedure. The existing buckets were replaced with buckets of larger diameter enabling several battery cases to be carried without having to remove them from their trays.

A fire involving lithium batteries contained in a bucket had already occurred at this site in 2011 (ARIA 40306).