NEW YORK (BRAIN) — The City Council will discuss five proposed legislative bills about lithium-ion battery fire safety next week in response to the outbreak of incidents this year.
The Nov. 14 meeting comes after the latest incident of an apartment building fire Saturday — the cause traced to lithium-ion batteries for e-mobility devices — injured 38 people.
One bill, proposed by Councilman Oswald Feliz, would require mobility device batteries to be listed and labeled by a nationally recognized testing laboratory or other approved organization in order to be sold. Punishment would range from no monetary penalty for first-time violators to $1,000 for each subsequent violation within two years.
Two of the bills are proposed by Councilwoman Gale A. Brewer. One would require the Fire Department of New York to develop an informational campaign to educate the public on fire risks posed by powered mobility devices.
The other would prohibit the sale and assembly of second-hand lithium-ion batteries that have been assembled or reconditioned using cells removed from used batteries. Violators would be subject to a civil penalty, ranging from $200 for a first violation to $1,000 for each subsequent violation within two years. It would also prohibit the assembly of such batteries.
The other bills:
- Requiring the fire department to report on safety measures to mitigate fire risk associated with powered mobility devices.
- Providing food delivery workers with information on safety measures that mitigate the fire risks posed by powered mobility devices. It would require that the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, in consultation with the fire department, establish materials that provide guidance on safe use and storage of powered mobility devices. Additionally, food service establishments, third-party food delivery services, and third-party courier services would be required to distribute such materials to food delivery workers.
