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Environmental Concerns With Electric Forklift Batteries

Electric forklifts are among the more stable and safe types of forklift. Gasoline and diesel powered forklifts emit toxic exhaust and pose serious fire hazards. Electric forklifts are powered by rechargeable batteries, which, however, pose their own hazards. There are both personal safety concerns and environmental concerns when dealing with the manufacture, use, storage and disposal of forklift batteries.

  1. Manufacturing

    • Most forklift batteries are lead-acid rechargeable batteries. This type of battery is created by placing lead plates into a sulfuric acid solution. The use of lead in manufacturing creates drainage and runoff water concerns. When mixed into a water supply, lead can cause several types of diseases and can even lead to death when ingested by humans. The sulfuric acid found in lead-acid batteries can burn a person on contact with bare skin and the noxious fumes can cause serious damage after long-term exposure.

    Normal Use and Storage

    • When lead-acid batteries are used to power a forklift and many other types of vehicles, hydrogen gas can be created as a chemical byproduct when recharging. Smoking, flames, sparks or heat near a recharging lead-acid forklift battery can cause an explosion if the flammable hydrogen gas ignites.

      Also, the sulfuric acid contained in the batteries is capable of causing chemical burns if a person were to come into contact with it. Although this generally does not happen during normal use, a punctured or damaged battery may leak or splash this dangerous acid onto a forklift operator.

    Disposal

    • Lead-acid batteries should always be recycled. Improper disposal of these types of batteries creates a serious environmental hazard. For this reason, all lead-acid batteries sold in the United States require that a "core charge" be paid if a used battery is not turned in when a new one is purchased. The lead in this type of battery can be recycled or reused in new batteries and the sulfuric acid can either be neutralized or recycled. Improper disposal of lead-acid batteries can cause lead to be introduced into water supplies or soil. Lead poisoning is not isolated to humans or even animals, and it can decimate many types of plants and animals when a high enough concentration is present. Also, the acid solution found in lead-acid batteries poses lasting environmental pollution dangers.

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