Environmental Cost of Hybrids' Battery Recycling?

LostMyBeaver writes "I have been considering the purchase of an electric or hybrid vehicle for some time. The biggest problem I have currently is that both technologies make use of rechargable batteries. The same tree-huggers telling me gasoline is bad are telling me that batteries are bad too. I'm only partially knowledgable in this area, but it appears the battery technologies are generally based at least on lithium ion, nickel metal hydride, lead acid and nickel-cadmium. I was hoping someone on Slashdot would be knowledgable enough to explain the environmental cost of recycling these batteries. If I understand correctly, after these chemicals are 'spent' so the cells no longer maintain a charge, they are not useful for producing new batteries. I can only imagine that the most common method of recycling the cells is to store the toxic chemicals of the batteries in barrels and refilling the cells with new chemicals. This sounds like an environmental disaster to me. Is there someone here that can help me sleep better at night by explaining what really happens?"

Radioactive Batteries

[HaeMaker]

The DOOZY I heard the other day from a mechanic, who I believe is afraid his job is disappearing, is that batteries in the Prius are RADIOACTIVE!

Build a wall

[theverylastperson]

We can use all the leftover batteries to finish building the electric fence between the US and Mexico. Just imagine, a fence that keeps going and going (insert Pink Bunny with drum here).

Re:$200 bounty

[Anonymous Coward]

Great. So now we'll have to worry about people tearing open the backs of our cars to remove our _perfectly good, multi-thousand-dollar_ battery packs to sell them for $200 to feed their addictions (heroin, alcohol, food, gasoline, etc.).

Re:$200 bounty

[Quantos]

Umm *pause for twitching*, where do you park?

Re:Build a wall

[Sir_Ace]

And when the wall is done, we can throw the rest over when no one is looking!

Re:$200 bounty

[Sir_Ace]

You forgot 8" floppy disks... Can't... Have... Enough....

Re:Radioactive Batteries

[pig_man1899]

According to my mechanic, now that muffler fluid and blinker fluid are the same, the cost to replace has come down at least 10%. He says they are still working on making cheaper muffler bearings however.

Clearly you know nothing...

[ameline]

It's the muffler bearings that need periodic replacement, and the *blinker" fluid that needs to be replenished from time to time.

Both products can be found here;
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=10 [kalecoauto.com]
http://kalecoauto.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=2&products_id=6 [kalecoauto.com]

Re:Google Much?

[lysergic.acid]

yes, life is dangerous also. so let's just forget about risk analysis.

i think i'll just pop some oxy-contin, muscle relaxants, and sleep pills, wash it all down with 151, then drive down to TJ to have unprotected sex with some hookers. and if i'm still alive the next day, maybe i'll shoot some coke and then ride a motorcycle on the freeway without a helmet.

Re:Google Much?

[stefanlasiewski]

And they won't. All Toyota have been doing is advising prius owners to use their car as a small gasoline-only vehicle. The devil's in the wording.

FUD.

Do you think all Prius owners would remain quiet about this? If Prius batteries were failing after 8 years, wouldn't more people jump on that news?

Re:Ownership

[mustafap]

I'm paranoid about theft, so I always take my battery with me when I park. Solves both problems.

Re:Car's Battery

[Anonymous Coward]

... you sure as hell don't want to do it yourself. That thing is 330 volts, 6.5 amps, and a hell of lot bigger/heavier than a standard car battery.

pussy

To recycle one hybrid's battery

[Anonymous Coward]

...You have to burn down several thousand acres of the Amazon. It's science. Then after burning down the rain forest, the next step is to empty the battery chemicals into an humpback whale habitat (as the humpbacks are now totally addicted to NiMH that's what a few years of prius' does!) With those two totally benign and environmentally friendly steps complete next you place an entire litter of kittens back into the battery chambers and fill the annulus up with new acid.

All in all the procedure has negative carbon footprint due to the removal of somewhere around 8 or 10 heavy carbon producing kittens from the environment. I would even suggest repeating this process every 10,000 miles in a daily driver.

Re:$200 bounty

[hardburn]

I, however, would gladly spend at least 30 minutes tearing open a Prius just for fun.

Re:$200 bounty

[Hognoxious]

I've never seen someone excited about their vehicle being hard to service before.

Whereas a 5.7 litre V8 engine can be lifted out with one hand and just clips into place?

Re:Ownership

[Hognoxious]

Both problems? All three. If you can carry a Prius battery around, you're not going to get mugged.

Re:Sounds good...

[brusk]

And fat friars are made of delicious, delicious monkflesh.

Re:Sounds good...

[Hognoxious]

A 1960 John Deere tractor runs just fine on biodiesel made from fat friers

I'm an overweight monk, you insensitive clod!

Solution

[Tablizer]

The same tree-huggers telling me gasoline is bad are telling me that batteries are bad too.

I've found a perfect solution: make the car use tree-huggers as fuel ;-)
       

Re:$200 bounty

[jeremymiles]

Toyota. They give you $200. Hence the title of the post.

Re:Google Much?

[imboboage0]

The sleep pill and 151 combo is a bad idea. Might I recommend sticking to the oxys, relaxants, and unprotected sex.

Re:Four legs good, two legs bad.

[dogmatixpsych]

Squatting on a tree branch might disturb bugs or damage the bark. It might also damage mossy growth. It's best just to get rid of all humans. After all, only humans are evil and damage the environment. [Yes, I'm being sarcastic]. :)

Re:$200 bounty

[dotgain]

As someone else has said in this thread: Never under or overestimate a meth addict.

The only time they're predictable is straight after you've shot 'em.

Re:Car's Battery

[Nefarious Wheel]

I = V/R
If your resistance remains the same, 330V is gonna provide a heckuva lot more amps to run through you.

V/I = Futile

Re:all batteries can hurt you

[adavies42]

A lecturer was showing us some details of a connector strip when he got his gold wedding ring across the battery and earth. It was VAPOURISED off his finger!

I will never forget the smell!

I love the smell of gold vapor in the morning. It smells like ... world domination.
- Sauron

Re:$200 bounty

[Profane MuthaFucka]

Ayn Rand would *never* use a collective noun.

Re:all batteries can hurt you

[NeilTheStupidHead]

While I don't scoff at the hazards of working with electrical devices and don't recommend jewlery for several reasons while doing hands on work of most kinds, I have to wonder how large your hands are to have a ring that would short between the terminals in a 12V automotive battery.

Dear Slashdot

[figa]

I was thinking of buying a gas or diesel powered automobile, but I heard that they have batteries that contain lead and sulfuric acid. They have to be replaced frequently over the lifetime of a car, and if the batteries are improperly cared for, they can explode. This sounds like an environmental disaster to me. Can anyone explain the entire lifecycle of car batteries before I make the leap and purchase a car?

What's with all the anti-hybrid sentiment on Slashdot lately? I followed the comments to this article [slashdot.org] last Thursday, and there are a surprising number of people who go out of their way to make up reasons not to get better gas mileage. Hybrids are some of the geekiest and most technologically advanced cars on the road.

I'm all for questioning the environmental impact of manufacturing, but this topic really reads like a troll. Next week, are we going to see "I heard that Priuses kill blind people..."?