Firefighters’ Clothing Contamination in Fires of Electric Vehicle Batteries and Photovoltaic Modules—Literature Review and Pilot Tests Results

Ewelina Szmytke, Dorota Brzezińska (), Waldemar Machnowski and Szymon Kokot
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Ewelina Szmytke: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Łódź University of Technology, Wolczanska 213 Str., 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Dorota Brzezińska: Faculty of Process and Environmental Engineering, Łódź University of Technology, Wolczanska 213 Str., 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Waldemar Machnowski: Institute of Material Science of Textiles and Polymer Composites, Faculty of Material Technologies and Textile Design, Łódź University of Technology, Żeromskiego 116 Str., 90-924 Lodz, Poland
Szymon Kokot: cfbt.pl Foundation, Poranna 12 Str., 11-041 Olsztyn, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-15

Abstract: The electric vehicle (EV) market, together with photovoltaic (PV) installations continues to develop at a pace. However, there are concerns that EV and PV installation fires may create more harmful substances than other types of fire. PV modules and car battery fires emit a range of carcinogenic and highly toxic compounds that are not yet fully understood and may pose a threat to firefighters’ health. This also raises the question of the impact on firefighters’ clothing and the safe handling and cleaning after such fires. This article presents a literature and standards review of the firefighters’ protective clothing maintenance and cleaning. It also contains test results showing that firefighters’ clothes accumulate harmful substances after fighting these types of fires. Pilot tests for the presence of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and formaldehyde showed that levels exceeded limits in all clothing samples. For example, the cobalt level was 24 times higher than that considered safe in the test carried out with car battery fire. Although it is recognized that liquid carbon dioxide (LCO 2 ) methods of cleaning may be more effective than traditional water washing, further research on cleaning efficiency for clothing containing substances emitted from car battery and PV modules fires is required.

Keywords: firefighter safety; firefighters; PV fire; electrical fire; car battery; electric vehicle; firefighters’ protective clothing; firefighters’ clothing cleaning; liquid CO 2 firefighters’ clothing decontamination (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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