1 discarded battery. Start in science

Harm from batteries environment so great that many people are not truly aware of it. And this despite the fact that today they have become an integral part of our lives. It is no longer possible to imagine our ordinary average day without them. But due to the fact that batteries contain various metals, they are extremely harmful. But at the same time, it is only thanks to the interaction of these metals with each other that the operation of most of the devices that we now use is ensured.

When the battery runs out

Various scientists have long been trying to assess the harm caused by batteries. Thus, researchers have already established that just one used AA battery, which was thrown away in a forest or park, can contaminate about 20 square meters of territory with heavy metals.

To make it even clearer what harm batteries cause to the environment, they even carried out special calculations, achieving specific numerical expressions. For example, on twenty square meters contaminated with heavy metals, two trees will not grow, several thousand earthworms, thanks to which the earth becomes fertile, will not be able to live and develop, several families of moles and hedgehogs will not be able to exist. And all this is the damage that only one small AA battery will cause.

Impact on humans

It should be said right away that the harm of batteries to humans is also noticeable. This happens when salts of heavy metals, which are formed after the decomposition of its body, end up in underground groundwater. It is likely that they may end up at the filtration station. Then there will be direct harm to human health.

Western countries have long recognized the harm caused by batteries. Therefore, they must not be thrown into regular trash bins after use. There are special containers for this. Of these, the batteries are sent for recycling without causing any harm to anyone. In Russia, this practice appears only in last years. Containers for collecting dead batteries are installed in shopping centers, universities, and crowded places, but so far there are clearly not enough of them.

Children also suffer

Many people try to objectively assess the harm and benefits of batteries. Of course, they have made human life much more convenient and comfortable, but the consequences of them if disposed of incorrectly can be catastrophic. Therefore, you should not completely abandon batteries, you should just dispose of them correctly. In addition, it should be taken into account that our children feel the harm from batteries.

Babies strive to explore the world and often put all kinds of objects in their mouths. When a child does this with a battery, even if it has not been working for a long time, chemical reactions will immediately begin to occur in contact with saliva. Heavy metals are activated, this will not end well.

Therefore, it is so important to never leave batteries in easily accessible places if you have small children at home. After all, used batteries often begin to leak. They pour out chemical substances, which can cause serious harm to the skin of even an adult.

How to solve this problem in Europe

In Europe, both the harm and the benefits of batteries have long been appreciated. Therefore, large-scale programs for their disposal are now being developed.

It is worth noting that about 160 thousand batteries are sold every year in the European Union. Most of them are intended for household use. Moreover, almost half of them end up in city landfills.

At the same time, in Europe there are currently only two factories operating that are engaged in their safe processing. All this is due to the high cost of the process itself and the long payback period, which is unprofitable for entrepreneurs. As a result, most of the used batteries are sent to safe disposal, since there simply are not so many enterprises capable of recycling them.

So this problem remains relevant not only for Russia, but also for Europe.

How to reduce battery damage

To reduce the environmental damage caused by used batteries, several rules must be followed.

Firstly, think in advance about the likely consequences and give preference to equipment that can do without batteries. If this is possible, of course. Try to use alternative energy sources or use mechanisms that are wound manually, as is the case with watches.

Thirdly, pay attention in the store to ensure that the batteries indicate that they do not contain mercury and cadmium. These are the most dangerous heavy metals that can be included in their composition.

Fourthly, it is strictly forbidden to throw used and expired batteries into a general trash bin. Just store it separately and, if necessary, throw it away in a specialized container. If this is not possible, for example, a collection point for dead batteries has not yet appeared in your city, then store them in a tightly closed plastic bag until better times.

What harm do batteries cause?

Let's try to figure out why batteries are actually so harmful. American scientists have calculated that they currently account for about half of the pollution from the total share of all household waste.

In Moscow alone, about two to three thousand tons of batteries are thrown away every year. In the United States, residents buy approximately three billion batteries every year, and almost 180 thousand tons end up in city landfills. On a global scale, this causes catastrophic harm to the environment.

Battery composition

Batteries contain many hazardous metals that cause direct harm to human health. For example, this is lead, which can accumulate over time in the body, affecting nervous system, kidneys and bone tissue. It also contains cadmium, which is harmful to the kidneys and lungs, and mercury, which can cause irreparable damage to the nervous system and brain. Zinc and nickel cause dermatitis in humans, and alkalis, which are invariably found in all batteries, burn the skin and mucous membranes. All this can lead to serious illnesses.

Now you know why batteries need to be returned.

Impact of metals on humans

For clarity, we will tell you in more detail about how heavy metals contained in dead batteries affect the human body.

Let's start with lead. This is one of the key components of any battery. Over time, lead can accumulate in bones unnoticed by humans, leading to their inevitable destruction. At the same time, it is simultaneously deposited in the kidneys and liver, important organs of the human body. Exposure to lead in children can be fatal. With prolonged contact with this metal, chronic brain diseases develop and mental retardation is provoked.

Most batteries contain mercury, one of the most toxic and dangerous metals. known to man. It can also accumulate in the human body. Primarily in tissues, it can also enter the body directly from water, through food products prepared from poisoned animals or plants.

Another metal that is part of modern batteries also accumulates in the body. This is cadmium. Chronic poisoning with it leads to the destruction of human bones and diseases such as anemia. Cadmium can disrupt the functioning of almost every organ in the human body, block the functioning of enzymes, and even provoke lung cancer. And all this can happen due to one improperly disposed battery.

Nickel is a key cause of allergies in many people. This is called contact dermatitis. With prolonged and continuous entry into the human body, poisoning may occur due to high toxicity.

This is why it is so important to dispose of batteries only in designated areas.

In everyday life, we constantly use items with batteries. We live in a time and in a world where we can’t live without them. They are in watches, in cameras, in calculators, in flashlights, and in toys. They are usually complex.

Thanks to them, many devices work. It would seem that they have so many benefits, but we do not feel that batteries are harmful to the environment. But, alas, this is not so. Let's look at the disadvantages of this power source.

The benefits of batteries for children are zero. They must be kept away, out of reach. Before the age of 4, they still don’t really understand anything and can swallow a battery. Parents should carefully select toys for their child. The dangers of batteries for children are most frightening. It is unknown what will happen when the battery ends up in a child’s stomach or, God forbid, gets stuck somewhere.

Nature deserves respect

Looking at the most ordinary battery, you can see a crossed out trash can on it - a sign that says that we should not throw them away, but rather recycle them.

It is estimated that each battery thrown into the trash can pollute about 20 square meters. m of land. This is neither more nor less.

Batteries have been and will continue to be harmful to nature until people start taking care of them. This is also their environment, the environment in which they live.

Heavy metals are killing us

Heavy metals include mercury, lead and cadmium. With their help, the harm of batteries to humans is more than guaranteed. Mercury impairs vision, hearing, and causes diseases of the nervous system. Mercury is poison. Lead affects the kidneys and sometimes the brain. Cadmium is the most dangerous - it causes cancer. The environmental impact of batteries, as you can see, is obvious.

Danger is near

Although the batteries themselves are safe, they must be handled with care, especially damaged ones. Lead-acid batteries cause a lot of damage to batteries on the ground. Lead - toxic metal. When it gets into the ground, the soil becomes contaminated and it gets into the air when it dries out. Hence the environmental impact of batteries.

Reducing harm

Research on the environmental harm of batteries proves that batteries are extremely harmful to the environment. We have put together a life hack for preserving the cleanliness of the ecology of at least the area in which you live:

buy and use equipment that does not require batteries to operate;
Buy batteries that can be recharged more than once;
Pay attention to the inscriptions “no mercury”, “no cadmium” and the like;
Don't just throw batteries into a regular trash bin; take them for recycling.

Small, but big problems

The environmental impact of batteries is everywhere. So you threw away the battery, suspecting nothing and forgetting about it, and at this time it little by little spoils and complicates your life and the lives of those around you.

Where am I leading with all this? I suggest we talk about used batteries.

According to scientists from the USA, it became known that batteries account for 50% of toxic waste. All harmful substances have a negative effect on nature as soon as the battery ends up in the trash. If they penetrate into the human body, and this will happen anyway, they accumulate there, accumulate, and eventually become a threat to life. For example, cadmium can cause lung cancer. And who wants to die or get hurt just from an ordinary battery?

It is impossible to neutralize the battery by recycling it like regular garbage. It needs special processing. EU countries take this very seriously global threat. So let's take care of our health and the state of the environment. If you don't do this, no one will.

These convenient and important elements of our everyday life - batteries, or household batteries ("finger", "little finger", etc.) - are by no means harmless for the environment and for you and me, respectively. It is not for nothing that you can see a sign on the batteries, meaning that they should not be thrown into a regular trash can, but should be taken to a special recycling point. The reason for this is the content of heavy metals in them (mercury, lead, cadmium, nickel, zinc, manganese, lithium). Scientists have calculated that one (!) small battery thrown into a trash can can pollute approximately 20 square meters of soil or 400 liters of water. Heavy metals can accumulate in the body of humans and animals, causing serious harm to health.

For example, mercury is one of the most dangerous toxic substances for humans. It affects the liver and kidneys, nervous system and brain, causing diseases of the respiratory system, nervous disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, hearing and vision impairment.

Lead mainly accumulates in the kidneys, it causes nervous disorders and brain diseases, joint and muscle pain, can damage the fetus in the womb, and slow down the growth of the child.
Cadmium is a carcinogen that causes cancer. It accumulates in the thyroid gland, bones, kidneys and liver, negatively affecting the functioning of all organs.

How are harmful substances released from batteries?
Do not think that the landfill is far away and the harm from batteries does not affect us. Everything is connected to everything. When garbage is burned at landfills (spontaneously), dioxins end up in the ground and water, then in the plants we eat (mushrooms, berries). They spread over long distances, affecting the entire population, so it does not matter whether a person lives in close proximity to an incinerator or not. They penetrate into the soil, groundwater and reservoirs. Boiling water does not remove heavy metals, unlike bacteria.
Even if the batteries are not burned, their cases in water or soil gradually become corroded and destroyed, after which harmful substances are released into the environment.

How to minimize damage?
When buying batteries, it is better to take those that say “mercury-free” and “cadmium-free”. You can also buy rechargeable batteries that are used repeatedly; one battery can replace a thousand or more regular batteries, which ultimately will not end up in the trash bin.

And, of course, it must be recycled! In our city there are special enterprises that accept batteries from the public (for a small fee) for recycling.

As part of the environmental women's race "Running Lena", free acceptance of batteries will be organized from the partner of KS Almazcreditservice. Bring your own batteries, let's reduce your negative impact on the environment!

Ecological problems, caused by the decomposition of old batteries and accumulators, cause serious concern among modern scientists. What is the harm of batteries for the environment and humans?

When used correctly, batteries are relatively safe batteries, without which it is difficult to imagine life. modern man, however, after their service life expires and we send them to the trash, hazardous substances, along with the rest of the garbage, end up in a landfill, where, as a result of unfavorable storage factors, the batteries are damaged and poison the air, soil and groundwater.

As you know, all modern batteries generate electricity due to chemical reactions, occurring during the interaction of heavy metals with alkaline and acidic electrolytes. Substances such as lead, mercury, cadmium, magnesium, nickel, acids and alkalis have a destructive effect on all living things.

According to scientists, the harm of used batteries is much worse than we can imagine: one battery, for example, can make more than 400 liters of water and pollute about 20 square meters of soil, kills 1 hedgehog, 2 moles and several thousand earthworms. This can lead to the death of plants and animals.

Of course harm from batteries This also applies to people in whose bodies toxic waste can cause irreversible damage and diseases such as cancer, brain, kidney and liver diseases.

Looking at an ordinary AA battery, you can always see a sign in the form crossed out trash can.

It means: " Do not throw away, must be taken to special disposal points" And this sign is on it for a reason! Each battery contains from 10 to 20 chemical elements, many of them are toxic poisonous substances.

This - mercury, nickel, cadmium, lead, which have the ability to accumulate in living organisms, including the human body, and cause significant harm to health.

For example, mercury- one of the most dangerous toxic substances for humans.

It affects the liver and kidneys, nervous system and brain, causing diseases of the respiratory system, nervous disorders, musculoskeletal disorders, hearing and vision impairment.

Lead mainly accumulates in the kidneys, it causes nervous disorders and brain diseases, joint and muscle pain, can damage the fetus in the womb, and inhibit the growth of the child.

Cadmium- a carcinogen that causes cancer. It accumulates in the thyroid gland, bones, kidneys and liver, negatively affecting the functioning of all organs.

Many of you can say that batteries thrown into the trash bin along with the rest of the garbage are taken to special landfills, where there is already a lot of different waste and nothing grows.

However, under the influence sun rays or in case of fire, the toxic toxic substances contained in the batteries can affect the human body located at a distance of several tens of kilometers, getting into the soil and groundwater, and from there into rivers and lakes and other natural bodies of water.

Hypothesis: Residents of the village of Solnechny and students of the municipal budgetary educational institution "Solnechnaya Secondary School No. 1" are little aware of collection points for recycled batteries and the main principle of recycling batteries is to throw them in the trash.

Target research work: to inform more residents of my village about the correct ways to dispose of used batteries; to develop the habit among residents of the village to properly dispose of used batteries.

Research objectives:

conduct a survey of schoolchildren and their parents to identify ways to recycle batteries, their awareness of special places for collecting batteries and their attitude to the problem of environmental pollution by batteries;
identify and prove that improper disposal of used batteries causes irreparable harm to the environment of the village or region;
inform as many residents of my village as possible about special collection points for used batteries by distributing printed products, demonstration of an educational video, participation in an educational game;
organize a collection point for batteries in your class and their further proper disposal with the help of parents.

Degree of knowledge: A battery is an autonomous source of electricity to power devices. Batteries can come in different sizes and types. However, they can also be disposable and rechargeable.

According to scientists from the US Environmental Protection Agency, it has become clear that batteries account for more than 50% of toxic emissions from all household waste. Batteries account for 0.25% of all emissions. Used batteries contain mercury, cadmium, magnesium, lead, tin, nickel, and zinc.

For example, in Europe the question of where batteries should be disposed of is not raised. Battery containers placed in all stores and institutions. The cost of new batteries initially includes a certain percentage, taking into account recycling, and when purchasing new products, the buyer can count on a discount if they hand over the old ones. In total, there are at least 40 recycling plants in Europe that recycle up to 45% of all chemical food sources.

IN USA There is a collection point where you can throw away used batteries at every store that sells them.

The collection and processing of elements is the responsibility of sellers and distributors of the relevant products, and manufacturers are required to finance all necessary activities. The amount of batteries recycled annually in the United States is up to 60%.

IN Japan most developed effective method recycling, so the batteries are currently being stored in warehouses in compliance with safety requirements. Australia has the highest rate of battery recycling - the amount of recycled batteries reaches 80%. Products that local businesses are unable to recycle themselves are sent to Europe.

The relevance of research: being the largest industrial region of Russia, on whose territory there are strategic oil and gas production enterprises, the Surgut region, like no other region in Russia, suffers from environmental problems, despite geographical location in the taiga region and the huge investments that the government and oil refining companies spend on the disposal of hazardous waste and petroleum products.

Numerous reception points in Surgut, non-ferrous metals and household waste do not solve the problem. Therefore, it is here that the personal responsibility of each resident for the environmental situation is especially important.

Yeah we can't decide global problems environmental pollution of our territory with household waste, oil and gas emissions, pollution of water bodies with sewage, prevent massive deforestation, etc.

But together, each of us can make a small contribution to the beginning of liberation natural resources from unnecessary garbage and the birth of a new era - the era of a clean environment, starting with yourself and your family, starting with the correct use of an unnecessary, already used up, small battery.

But, as a rule, people’s incorrect behavior towards the environment is associated with a lack of correct and reliable information or low information awareness.

Therefore, the purpose of my research work will be divided into two parts:
information about the dangers and ways to properly dispose of batteries and develop the habit among the residents of my village to properly dispose of used batteries.

I assume that few people have thought about this problem, because it would never occur to anyone that a small shiny battery is source of enormous danger, both for humans and the environment as a whole.

Place and timing of the study:

location of the questionnaire: Surgut district, Solnechny settlement;
location of the event, distribution of demonstration material and printed materials: Surgut district, Solnechny settlement, MBOU "Solnechnaya Secondary School No. 1";
study of battery collection places: Surgut,
Dates: September - October 2017.

Research methods:

analysis of literary sources and Internet sources;
survey of village residents of school age and adults;
qualitative analysis of the results obtained;
presentation of data: slide presentation, video demonstration, development of an educational game;
development and distribution of printed materials.

Methods for achieving the set goal and objectives:

distribution of the questionnaire “The Battery in My Life”;
organizing and conducting the “Second Life of a Small Battery” event in the classroom;
creation and demonstration to school students of an educational video “The Story of a Small Battery”;
development and distribution of leaflets “A battery is not a toy!” among teachers and parents;
development of an educational game “The Journey of a Small Battery” for classmates.

Human life is constantly in motion, just like scientific and technological progress. A huge number of modern inventions require autonomous energy sources - batteries and accumulators. But sooner or later, every battery expires and needs to be thrown away. Few people know how powerful the effect of these little things is on the environment and human health.

A battery is an autonomous source of electricity to power devices. Batteries can come in different sizes and types. However, they can also be disposable and rechargeable.

If people throw batteries in the trash, they end up in city landfills. And since waste disposal sites (where they exist) are not equipped with filtration protection from harmful impurities and heavy metals, therefore all these super-harmful substances end up in groundwater.

Meanwhile, the harmful substances contained in used batteries, entering the human body (and this necessarily happens), accumulate in it, so even a small amount of them indicates a specific danger. For example, cadmium affects the functioning of every organ in the body, blocks the functioning of enzymes, and can cause lung cancer.

It should be added that one battery pollutes 400 liters of water and 20 m2 of soil with harmful components.

Disposal of used batteries in the EU

Every year, more than 160,000 batteries for household use are created on the European Union market. More than 45% of them end up in city landfills. There are only two factories in Europe that are capable of recycling batteries. This is due to the high cost of processing. That is why most of them are sent for safe burial.

Tips for using batteries to reduce their environmental impact

It is recommended to give preference to equipment that does not require the use of batteries: products powered by mains power, alternative energy sources, or manual winding.
You should buy batteries that can be recharged with new ones.
You need to buy batteries labeled “cadmium-free” and “mercury-free”.
Do not dispose of batteries in the general waste bin. They need to be stored in places for subsequent disposal. If it is not possible to take the batteries to collection points, it is recommended to save them in a closed plastic container, preferably not in the house, until better times.
Finding like-minded people will help clean up the planet and also create responsibility for the collected cargo. In addition, this will provide a greater opportunity to take the batteries out for recycling.

Nikita Volkov “A small battery and its great harm to the environment” especially for the Eco-Life website.