Lithium Battery Storage Facility Explosions, Toxic Hydrogen Fluoride, Time to Rethink Batteries
Time to rethink a whole lot of things! Has America's Key Vegetable Supply, "Salad Bowl", Been Contaminated?
Photo credit to: Status Coup News
IS IT TIME TO MOVE AWAY FROM LITHIUM BATTERIES? SERIOUSLY.
More and more they are being shown to be dangerous, terribly prone to fires, along with very concerning environmental impacts from mining, and potential land grabs in order to secure mining rights (and great wealth - at what cost to humanity and the earth?).
Let me just start with a pretty significant question. How is Clean Energy, Green Energy, and Lithium mining at all congruent in values and impacts?
A worthy question to consider, before buying a Tesla or other electric/hybrid vehicle, or even bikes and scooters. You think?
Here’s one social media comment I found of import.
This is the Three Mile Island moment for the entire lithium-ion battery industry
(Moss Landing fire).
We HAVE to leave behind this dangerous technology
and the earth-killing lithium extraction that it depends on.
Prayers for the people of the central California coastal region.
Before I get into the TOXIC FALLOUT from the Moss Landing BESS fire, here is another recent fire in the news.
✳ Massive E-Bike Fire in Poland: Danger of Stockpiled Batteries
Thanks to StacheD Training for reporting on this.
On February 5, 2025, a massive fire broke out in a historic train repair hall in Gdańsk, Poland, sending a thick black cloud of smoke over the city. The facility housed 1,500 Mevo city bikes, including 1,300 e-bikes, along with additional spare lithium-ion batteries.
As the fire spread, thousands of lithium-ion cells ignited, leading to explosions and intense firefighting challenges. Over 150 firefighters battled the flames, while authorities warned residents to stay indoors due to the toxic smoke.
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🌟 TOXIC FALLOUT, While the Los Angeles Infernos Raged in Southern California, Another Disaster Unfolded Nearby in the Monterey, California Area
✳ Fire at one of world's largest lithium battery facilities in Northern California forces evacuations
Why are toxic lithium battery plants even allowed near sensitive farming areas, such as “the salad bowl”?
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🌟 Salinas Valley “Salad Bowl”
Monterey County, California, United States
The Salinas Valley in California is known as the "Salad Bowl" due to its extensive production of leafy greens and other crops. This 90-mile-long valley produces a significant portion of the United States' lettuce, broccoli, and spinach, earning it the nickname "America's Salad Bowl". The region's favorable climate and long growing season contribute to its agricultural productivity.
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CONSIDER THE LONG TERM CONSEQUENCES TO THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY AND FARMLAND
✳ Toxic Fallout: Heavy Metals Moss Landing BESS Fire
On January 16, 2025, a massive fire broke out at the Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage System, burning an estimated 80% of the 1,200 MWh of batteries and sending a thick plume of toxic smoke across the region.
Now, weeks later, new data is emerging—and it’s raising serious concerns. Residents are reporting breathing issues, digestive problems, and skin irritation, while independent researchers have detected alarming levels of heavy metals like cobalt, nickel, lithium, and manganese in the surrounding environment.
But is anyone really looking at the full scope of contamination?
00:00 - Intro
01:12 - Monterey County Soil Screening
02:01 - Monterey County Drinking Water Samples
02:29 - EPA Air Monitoring
03:51 - Vistra Air Monitoring
04:49 - Wetland Soil Samples
05:58 - Grassroots Data (Surface Samples)
07:29 - Disclaimer
08:02 - Cobalt Contamination
08:40 - Manganese Contamination
09:25 - Lithium Contamination
09:55 - Nickel Contamination
10:25 - Surface to Volumetric Contamination
11:11 - NIOSH Reference Data
11:32 - Residents Health Issues
12:22 - Request for Future Studies
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✳ A Grass Roots Group Took Matters Into Their Own Hands, with Over 100 Trained Volunteers, Took Surface Wipe Samples
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🌟 HOW TO ENSURE LONG TERM MONITERING OF LAND AND CONTAMINATION?
Thanks to StacheD Training for this important reporting
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✳ Farmers WARN of TOXIC VEGETABLES After Massive Lithium Fire Next to "Salad Bowl of America"
Feb 9 2025
Independent reporter Tina-Desiree Berg covered a community meeting in Castroville, California where residents expressed their growing concerns weeks after the massive Vistra Lithium Battery Plant fire spread toxic chemicals as far as 50 to 100 miles and sickened residents with nosebleeds, headaches, burning lungs, chemical burns, dizziness, breathing problems, metallic taste in mouth, and more.
In this clip, Tina speaks with two local farmers about the growing concern that the toxic chemicals released during the fire may have contaminated local crops in the nearby "Salad Bowl of America"—the farming area that produces 70% of Americans' vegetables (and a lot of our fruits).
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How restore the soil and pull the toxins out?
Do they even know how to do it?
What role does hemp play in restoring soil?
If it takes 5 years to restore the soil, how to sustain farmers during this time?
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✳ MASSIVE Lithium Battery Fire ENDANGERING America's Vegetable Supply?
Jordan Chariton interviews residents affected by the Moss Landing Lithium Battery Plant fire that has sickened countless residents in Northern California and
potentially contaminated local farmlands that produce 70 percent of America's greens and vegetables (the region is known as the "Salad Bowl of America").
Jordan speaks with Laurie and Sheryl, who have experiencing serious health symptoms along with many other residents who live close to the plant and relatively far away.
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✳ LIVE With CA Politician Calling to SHUT DOWN Lithium Plant After Fire Sickened Residents
Feb 6 2025
Tina-Desiree Berg is LIVE in Northern California continuing to cover the aftermath of the disastrous Vistra lithium battery plant fire that is sickening local residents and potentially contaminating the "Salad Bowl of America"—the large areas of farming that produces 70% of America's vegetables and a lot of our fruits.
Tina is interviewing Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church to discuss his concerns over the plant and his desire to shut down the pause until safer regulations are implemented to prevent mass lithium fires that release an alarming quantity of toxic chemicals.
Church has compared the lithium battery plant fire to the Three-Mile-Island nuclear meltdown that happened in Pennsylvania in 1979.
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Hydrogen fluoride (fluorane) is an inorganic compound with chemical formula HF.
It is a very poisonous, colorless gas or liquid.
Hydrogen Fluoride Discussed In this Interview
✳ Ex-Fire Chief Warns of VERY TOXIC Lithium Fire in America's Salad Bowl: "I'd Be Extremely Concerned"
Jordan Chariton interviewed Sil Caggiano, a Hazardous Waste Expert and former Battalion Chief of the Youngstown Fire Department, about the Moss Landing California Lithium battery plant fire that has sickened local residents and potentially threatened local vegetable crops that serve 70% of America.
Caggiano explains why the EPA’s assurances to the public of no health concerns are highly dubious.
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Thanks to Status Coup News for this important reporting
✳ "ASTRONOMICALLY BAD": Lithium Battery Fire Sickens Residents, Sparks Worry of ANOTHER Sacrifice Zone
✳ Californians SICK After Lithium Battery Plant INFERNO - LIVE From Moss Landing, CA
Locals, Brian Roeder and Matthew McFaul Speak on the Timeline of Events
Independent journalist Tina-Desiree Berg is LIVE ON-THE-GROUND in Northern California to speak with Brian Roeder and Matthew McFaul, two effected residents near the massive Vistra Lithium Battery Plant fire that erupted for days in mid January, 2025.
Since then, local residents as far as 50 miles away have been sick, dealing with nosebleeds, lung burning, respiratory issues, headaches, dizziness, fatigue, metallic taste in mouth, and more.
Making matters more alarming, the toxic chemicals released from the fire have very likely contaminated the "Salad Bowl of America"—the surrounding farms that produce 70% of America's vegetables including lettuce, broccoli, spinach, artichokes, cauliflower, celery (and also lots of fruits including strawberries and blueberries).
Residents have largely been left to deal with this on their own; many of their doctors don't know what chemicals to test them for or what tests to conduct.
Meanwhile, like in other environmental disasters we have covered, the EPA has claimed they are not finding worrisome levels of chemical contamination—which residents do not believe.
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✳ A massive battery fire in California could cast a dark shadow on clean energy expansion
Fast Company
BY Dan Gearino and Inside Climate News
The blaze at Moss Landing in Monterey County, California may have been worse because of the plant’s design and the types of batteries used.
Days before President Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office and took actions to stall the transition to clean energy, a disaster unfolded on the other side of the country that may have an outsize effect on the pace of the transition.
A fire broke out last Thursday at the Moss Landing Energy Storage Facility in California, one of the largest battery energy storage systems in the world. The fire raged through the weekend, forcing local officials to evacuate nearby homes and close roads.
Battery storage is an essential part of the transition away from fossil fuels. It works in tandem with solar and wind power to provide electricity during periods when the renewable resources aren’t available.
But lithium-ion batteries, the most common technology used in storage systems, are flammable. And if they catch fire, it can be difficult to extinguish.
Last week’s fire is the latest and largest of several at the Moss Landing site in recent years, and I expect that it will become the main example opponents of carbon-free electricity use to try to stop battery development in other places.
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A Graphic I found on social media
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✳ Huge Northern California lithium battery storage fire called "Three Mile Island" event for the emerging industry
The Moss Landing Power Plant, about 95 miles south of San Francisco, is owned and operated by Vistra subsidiary Dynegy and also houses two independent battery storage plants. The plant that is burning is owned by Vistra Energy while a second battery storage facility on the same site is owned by Pacific Gas and Electric, which said the incident was not a PG&E event.
There have been no injuries reported in the fire, which is being allowed to burn itself out as is standard procedure for such fires, according to the Monterey County Emergency Operations Center. However, the smoke from the fire has forced other residents not under evacuation orders to close their windows and remain indoors.
Monterey County Supervisor Glenn Church called the incident a "Three Mile Island event" for the industry, referencing the 1979 partial meltdown at a Pennsylvania nuclear power plant, the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history. The battery energy storage systems industry, known by the acronym BESS, develops systems to store energy from electric, solar, electric, wind, and other energy systems.
"I think that this is, uh, can best be described as a worst-case scenario of a disaster that's happened here. Nobody really predicted anything on this line," said Church. "This is really a lot more than just a fire, it's a wake-up call for this industry. And if we're going to be moving ahead with sustainable energy we need to have safe battery systems in place."
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✳ Smoke from fire at California lithium battery plant raises concerns about air quality
Jan 17 2025
A fire at the world’s largest battery storage plant in Northern California smoldered Friday after sending plumes of toxic smoke into the atmosphere, leading to the evacuation of up to 1,500 people. The blaze also shook up the young battery storage industry.
The fire at the Vistra Energy lithium battery plant in Moss Landing generated huge flames and significant amounts of smoke Thursday but had diminished significantly by Friday, Fire Chief Joel Mendoza of the North County Fire Protection District of Monterey County said. Vistra is based in Texas.
“There’s very little, if any, of a plume emitting from that building,” Mendoza said. Crews are not engaging with the fire and are waiting for it to burn out, he said.
Letting lithium-ion battery fires burn out is not unusual because they burn very hot and are hard to put out.
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✳ Disaster at Moss Landing: The Risk of Battery Storage
On January 16, 2025, a massive fire erupted at the Moss Landing Battery Energy Storage Facility in California, the world’s largest of its kind. This video examines the events leading up to the fire, the design flaws that allowed it to spread, and why firefighters made the decision to let it burn.
I (StacheD Training) also compare this incident to other battery storage facility disasters, like the Otay Mesa fire, and discuss
what it means for the future of clean energy storage.
Are outdated designs putting communities at risk?
What lessons can be learned to prevent the next disaster?
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Thanks for this Shema. I gave up watching news over a year ago but GLAD you reported on the fire at Mass Landing. I can't handle the lengthy videos of Inspire/conSpire anymore either but thanks to you I know to CHECK where the salads are coming from that me and Twinkie eat. I hoep you weren't affected by the fire in any way. Have a magical and blessed week Shema, I appreciate you!