Safe handling of battery materials - there are no ready-made solutions

The handling of battery materials is related to occupational safety issues. The common view of the industry is that no existing standards have yet been formed for handling battery materials. It is more about practices transferred to the sector from other industries. This shows the explosive growth rate of the industry: not all functions and practices have been standardized yet, and standardization is lagging.

Nevertheless, things have already developed a lot. Although there are no perfect solutions, we always try to find practical and cost-effective solutions for the given situation. At Tamtron Precision, together with our customers, we have become aware of and noticed a lot of already working ways to improve occupational safety in the battery industry.

Toxicity of battery materials

In general, issues central to occupational safety are toxic substances constantly handled in production. Materials containing heavy metals are toxic to breathe, and the skin must also be protected from contact, which means using a whole-body protective suit and a fresh air mask. Occupational safety when handling big bags is also an important issue. However, the EU machinery directive already takes a stand on this, following which the basics are fine.

Solutions for reducing dust

The dust generated in the process spreads quickly with the shoes and clothes to their surroundings. It is complicated to avoid the transport of fine dust, so the key is to minimize dusting as much as possible. We are constantly researching and developing solutions to prevent the dust generated when emptying big bags.

“We are working on developing technology related to handling big bags.”

We already have two different ways of low-dust solutions. First, a blade breaks the big bag, against which the bottom of the sack is raised, and the sack empties into a closed container. In the second method, there is a sock at the bottom of the sack, which is attached to a counter piece, which seals the sack airtight. Both solutions are very low dust.

We are also constantly developing new things to meet the needs of the battery industry. We are working on developing technology related to handling big bags, which can be used to improve work safety further.

As said, there are no perfect solutions in the occupational safety of the battery industry yet, but better and better solutions are being created every day. You can’t pick any solution from the pharmacy shelf, but together with our customers, we always strive to find the result that suits them best.