EPU7: Electric Vehicle Fires and Emergency Management
Tue, 6/2: 10:30 AM - 10:55 AM CDT
Pop-Up Education Sessions
Pop-Up Education Sessions
Ernest N. Morial New Orleans Convention Center
Room: Exhibit Hall, Booth 516
Description
As electric vehicle adoption accelerates, firefighters and emergency responders increasingly encounter electric vehicle (EV) and lithium-ion battery fires with unique and potentially more toxic exposures compared to traditional internal combustion engine vehicle fires.
This session brings together three expert perspectives to address EV fire incidents from initial response through cleanup and remediation.
The occupational exposure assessment perspective will present findings from full-scale fire tests comparing electric vehicle and internal combustion engine vehicle fires, including air and surface sampling results and toxicological findings. Implications for firefighter and secondary responder health and safety will be discussed, as well as identification of critical knowledge gaps.
The environmental health management perspective will address key contaminants from EV fires (heavy metals, PFAS, battery electrolyte residues), their migration pathways, and sampling strategies for defining contamination profiles. Decision-making frameworks for cleanup will be discussed, including applicable standards for determining site safety and reoccupation criteria, as well as waste disposal challenges.
The HazMat perspective will address incident command coordination, pre-incident planning for EV-specific hazards (battery isolation, water runoff containment), safe removal and transport of damaged batteries, and protocols for managing electrolyte spills and other contaminants.
This session brings together three expert perspectives to address EV fire incidents from initial response through cleanup and remediation.
The occupational exposure assessment perspective will present findings from full-scale fire tests comparing electric vehicle and internal combustion engine vehicle fires, including air and surface sampling results and toxicological findings. Implications for firefighter and secondary responder health and safety will be discussed, as well as identification of critical knowledge gaps.
The environmental health management perspective will address key contaminants from EV fires (heavy metals, PFAS, battery electrolyte residues), their migration pathways, and sampling strategies for defining contamination profiles. Decision-making frameworks for cleanup will be discussed, including applicable standards for determining site safety and reoccupation criteria, as well as waste disposal challenges.
The HazMat perspective will address incident command coordination, pre-incident planning for EV-specific hazards (battery isolation, water runoff containment), safe removal and transport of damaged batteries, and protocols for managing electrolyte spills and other contaminants.
Learning Outcomes
Upon completion participants will be able to:
• Identify unique hazards associated with electric vehicle battery fires, including toxic combustion by-products and environmental contamination pathways.
• Compare monitoring and sampling strategies for assessing occupational exposures, environmental contamination, and site remediation needs following EV fire incidents.
• Integrate multi-disciplinary approaches for managing EV fire incidents from initial response through final cleanup.
• Identify unique hazards associated with electric vehicle battery fires, including toxic combustion by-products and environmental contamination pathways.
• Compare monitoring and sampling strategies for assessing occupational exposures, environmental contamination, and site remediation needs following EV fire incidents.
• Integrate multi-disciplinary approaches for managing EV fire incidents from initial response through final cleanup.
Core Competencies
Hazard Communication
Work Environments, Occupations, and Industrial Processes
Keywords
Aerosol and airborne particulate monitoring
Emergency preparedness and response
Environmental protection and monitoring
Exposure Assessment
Risk assessment and management
Session Availability
In-person
OnDemand
Targeted Audience
Practitioner